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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tB.C. Premier David Eby, left, speaks as, left to right, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith listen at a closing news conference of the meeting of western premiers in Kananaskis, Alta., Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (Jeff McIntosh \/ The Canadian Press files)<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that Premier Kinew has said that he wants to get a Churchill pipeline built,\u201d the Alberta premier said on the Your Province, Your Premier broadcast.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s said, \u2018move a few Alberta barrels.\u2019 I think that\u2019s a really good message. He wants to talk about LNG (liquefied natural gas) export, which would also benefit us, and it would also benefit him because if he had new sources of revenue, it would reduce Manitoba\u2019s reliance on equalization. They get about $5 billion a year in equalization payments,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
Prof. Christopher Adams, of the University of Manitoba political studies department, said it\u2019s not surprising Smith clapped back at Kinew after he criticized her at the western premiers meeting last week in Kananaskis, Alta.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s smart to make that reply and also to not have Wab Kinew having the last word,\u201d Adams said Monday.<\/p>\n
At a May 26 news conference with the western premiers, Smith said a judge had erred in ruling that her government neglected its duty to consult with First Nations before announcing a referendum asking Albertans if they want to stay in Canada or have a referendum on leaving it. The populist premier has repeatedly said that more than 700,000 Albertans have signed petitions calling for a sovereignty vote.<\/p>\n
Smith said it\u2019s a mistake to expect consultations to be done in relation to citizen-initiated petitions calling for a referendum, which prompted Kinew to speak up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not correct, a lot of what you just said there, Premier Smith,\u201d Kinew said. \u201cIt is not up to the petition gatherers to fulfil the duty to consult.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is up to you, as the Alberta government, to fulfil the duty to consult,\u201d the Manitoba premier said, drawing national headlines. He called for national unity and asked for a delay in holding a referendum for a year or two so that some pipelines could get built.<\/p>\n
Adams said he thinks Kinew said what many Manitobans think about national unity.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look at the polling data and the vast majority of Canadians want Alberta not to separate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey see it as a threat to the survival of this country.<\/p>\n
Even in Alberta, the polls are showing \u2014 unless you\u2019re a United Conservative Party member \u2014 supporters of other parties are very, very much against separatism,\u201d Adams said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWab Kinew doesn\u2019t lose anything by standing up on this issue,\u201d the adjunct political studies professor said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s usually above 50 per cent in favourability ratings in Manitoba, and it\u2019s hard to believe that he could go much higher,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In March, a Free Press-Probe Research poll of Manitobans showed the NDP and Kinew \u2014 the most popular premier in the country according to national polls \u2014 have the support of 60 per cent of Winnipeggers, up a hair from 59 per cent in December.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s solidifying his reputation both within Manitoba and nationally,\u201d Adams said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t see him climbing the ladder any further in the polling numbers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s speaking straight from his beliefs. Even if he thought that he\u2019d lose a little bit of popularity, I think he would still speak his mind on these issues,\u201d Adams said.<\/p>\n
Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan said Smith is right to point out that Manitoba is a \u201chave-not\u201d province.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will continue to be that way under the NDP, where we are getting a historic, record-high level of federal transfer payments,\u201d Khan said Monday. \u201cThat\u2019s how Wab Kinew has run this province.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Khan noted that Kinew didn\u2019t sign a memorandum of understanding last summer with Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan to bring critical minerals and Canadian oil and gas to new markets. In the fall, Kinew set a target for Manitoba to become a self-sustaining \u201chave\u201d province by 2040 that no longer relies on federal equalization payments.<\/p>\n
More recently, Kinew has talked about Churchill having an LNG terminal by 2030, which Khan dismissed, saying the construction of a pipeline to the port would take a minimum of seven to 10 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all fake announcements,\u201d the PC leader said.<\/p>\n
Kinew was not made available for an interview Monday.<\/p>\n
carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
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Carol Sanders Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
Legislature reporter
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