WINNIPEG — Outgoing Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson has hung onto her legislature seat for the Progressive Conservatives.
Unofficial results from Elections Manitoba following Tuesday's provincial election show she is the successful candidate in Winnipeg's Tuxedo riding.
Stefanson nudged out New Democrat candidate Larissa Ashdown by 263 votes.
Stefanson announced she was stepping down as leader of the Tories after Wab Kinew's NDP won a majority government with 34 seats. The Progressive Conservatives garnered 22 seats while the Liberals held onto one seat after heading into the election with three.
The outgoing premier met briefly with Kinew on Thursday morning for a one-on-one to discuss the transition of power. A date for when the New Democrats take office has yet to be set, but Kinew said it would likely be sometime in November.
"I feel so honoured to be able to walk into the premier's office here at the legislature for the first time with a mandate from the people," he told reporters.
Kinew said afterward the two mostly spoke about health care during their brief meeting.
"The fact of the matter is that the government has the binders with all the information about the health-care system in it. Any insight they're willing to share I'll take seriously, but always my No. 1 group that I listen to are the people working on the front lines of our health-care system."
Kinew has said that within the first 100 days of taking office, he hopes to suspend the provincial fuel tax until inflation subsides.
He elaborated Thursday that may require changes to legislation.
"We're looking ahead to the transition to how we're going to be able to deliver this bottom line."
Stefanson has not said whether she plans to continue as a legislature member or whether she will stay on as party leader until a successor has been chosen. The Tories say she is to speak about her next steps in the coming days.
On election night, Stefanson thanked the residents of Tuxedo, where she has served for the past 23 years.
"I have served in Opposition in the past, so I understand the fundamental role that Opposition plays in our democracy," she said during her concession speech.
"As we head to the other side of the house, I can tell Manitobans that the team of Progressive Conservative MLAs that you elected tonight will keep fighting for you and we will hold the new government's feet to the fire."
Stefanson became the first woman to lead the province after winning a party leadership race when former premier Brian Pallister retired in 2021.
The New Democrats, who won 18 seats in the previous election, gained seats in urban ridings and held onto the north. The Tories held seats in rural areas, but cabinet ministers Rochelle Squires, Kevin Klein and Audrey Gordon were defeated in Winnipeg.
Further unofficial results from Elections Manitoba show the Winnipeg ridings of Waverley and Lagimodière flipped orange with David Pankratz and Tyler Blashko ousting Tory cabinet ministers Jon Reyes and Andrew Smith, respectively.
Elections Manitoba has voter turnout at 55 per cent with 487,000 votes cast. Turnout remained unchanged when compared to the last provincial election in 2019.
The agency said Thursday that votes from a few remote communities are to still be collected due to flight delays.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Oct. 5, 2023.
Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press
