Tough-on-crime stance plays up strength of Manitoba PC government: political expert

Manitoba's Progressive Conservative government has adopted a stronger approach on crime in a bid to turn its fortunes around, a political scientist said.

"There's kind of longstanding concerns that Manitobans have about health care, about education, but those are issues that the government is actually vulnerable on," Royce Koop, a University of Manitoba political studies professor, said.

"Crime is a newer concern, and it's a big concern of Manitobans, and this is something that the Tories are actually strong on," he said. "It's something that people tend to see parties of the right as having more strength on."

The Tories made funding announcements it said will make communities safer on five consecutive days. 

The measures include a new police unit to target violent criminals, more money for a downtown street patrol, additional staff at walk-in addictions clinics and doubling the funding for homeless shelters, and a new detention centre for Brandon.

Altogether, the province is committing around $24 million to address crime, homelessness and addictions. 

And the timing is good for a provincial government sagging in the polls, particularly in Winnipeg: Crime and homelessness were among the top issues Winnipeggers had entering the recent municipal election.

It only makes sense for the government to champion these issues then, Koop said.

"One of the things the parties are going to be doing is they're going to be emphasizing the issues that they're strong on," he said. "We expect the NDP to not want to talk about crime, to want to talk about education and health. We expect the opposite from the Tories."

A tough-on-crime approach gives the PCs an opportunity to exploit a potential weakness of the NDP, which has yet to communicate a detailed policy response regarding law enforcement, he said.

"The NDP wins elections in Manitoba by moving to the centre and where most Manitobans are is they're open to tough-on-crime approaches, but of course the membership in the NDP — the activists that work in the NDP, that campaign, that donate money — tend to be much more skeptical" around tougher crime approaches, Koop said.

Over the years as the Official Opposition, NDP Leader Wab Kinew has called on the government to address the root causes of crime. The party recently vowed to eliminate chronic homelessness within two terms in office if elected in 2023. 

On Thursday, Kinew told reporters it is incumbent upon public officials to outline ways to improve public safety, citing the work of the Sabe Peace Walkers, a group that offers safe walks to people who need them in Winnipeg's Osborne Village.

Bronwyn Dobchuk-Land, a criminal justice professor at the University of Manitoba, questioned whether a tough-on-crime platform still lands with voters.