WINNIPEG — It's election day in Manitoba. Heather Stefanson's Progressive Conservatives were fighting to win a third consecutive majority government, while Wab Kinew's NDP was trying to regain the government it lost in 2016.
Here are the latest developments (all times are CT):
11:30 p.m.
NDP Leader Wab Kinew, who is to become the first First Nations person to serve as a provincial premier, addressed young people of all backgrounds as he delivered his victory speech.
With his wife, children and mother behind him at the podium, Kinew says he was given a second chance at life.
He says he'd like to think he made good on that opportunity, and young people can do the same.
Kinew says a lot of people in big cities look down on Manitoba, calling it "flyover country."
But he says Manitoba did something more progressive than those places ever did, electing a team of New Democrats to fix health care and make life more affordable.
10:45 p.m.
Progressive Conservative Leader Heather Stefanson has conceded defeat to the NDP in the Manitoba provincial election, and says she is stepping down as party leader.
Stefanson congratulated NDP Leader Wab Kinew in a speech to party members, saying the PC team will hold the government's feet to the fire.
But she says she won't be at the helm.
Stefanson says her government brought the budget into balance while also making historic investments in health care and social services.
She says she will continue to work with the party as a new leader is chosen.
Stefanson is leading by a narrow margin in her Tuxedo constituency.
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10:05 p.m.
Families Minister Rochelle Squires has lost her seat in Riel to Mike Moyes of the NDP.
Squires was first elected in 2016 and was re-elected in 2019.
Kevin Klein, minister of environment and climate, has also been defeated in Kirkfield Park by Logan Oxenham of the NDP.
Obby Khan, Minister of Sport, Culture and Heritage, meanwhile, has been re-elected in Fort Whyte.
Other Progressive Conservative cabinet ministers who have won re-election include Justice Minister and Attorney General Kelvin Goertzen in Steinbach and Transportation and Infrastructure Doyle Piwniuk in Turtle Mountain.
Agriculture Minister Derek Johnson has won his seat in Interlake-Gimli and Education and Early Childhood Learning Wayne Ewasko has been elected in Lac du Bonnet.
Premier Heather Stefanson is leading in Tuxedo.
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9:40 p.m.
Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont has resigned as the party's leader.
Lamont has lost his Winnipeg-area constituency of St. Boniface to Robert Loiselle of the NDP.
The party, which had three seats when the election was called, has won just one tonight.
Liberal Cindy Lamoureux has been elected in Tyndall Park.
Lamont says the people have spoken.
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9:25 p.m.
The campaign manager for the Progressive Conservatives says her party has already established its success, as vote counts continue to pour in for the Manitoba provincial election.
Marni Larkin says the PCs were supposedly on the brink of decimation and struggling to recruit candidates, but when they knocked on doors, voters liked what they had to say.
Larkin says she expects it to be a long night, with the election coming down to a couple of hundred votes in a few ridings.
She also is defending ads the Tories took out during the campaign promising they would "stand firm" against a search the private Prairie Green Landfill north of Winnipeg for the remains of two slain Indigenous women.
Larkin says the ads were important to establish that Leader Heather Stefanson could make a heart-wrenching, difficult decision on behalf of Manitobans.
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8:55 p.m.
NDP Leader Wab Kinew has been re-elected in his Winnipeg riding.
Kinew prevailed over Rejeanne Caron of the Progressive Conservatives in Fort Rouge.
Early results show the NDP leading in 25 of the legislature's 57 seats, while the Progressive Conservatives are ahead in 19.
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8:45 p.m.
The New Democrats are off to an early lead in several constituencies as a handful of polls have begun reporting results in the Manitoba provincial election.
The NDP were leading in early results in areas of Winnipeg, including key ridings that had been held by members of the Progressive Conservative cabinet.
Winnipeg, where 32 of the 57 legislature seats are, is an important battleground for the NDP and the Progressive Conservatives.
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8:15 p.m.
Vote counting has started in the Manitoba provincial election.
At NDP headquarters, former cabinet minister Gord Mackintosh, who retired in 2016, says he feels his party ran a disciplined campaign.
Mackintosh called the party's campaign "very sure-footed" and was sympathetic to issues Manitobans are grappling with, like health care and the cost of living.
Opinion polls have suggested the NDP are in the lead.
The Progressive Conservatives, who held 36 of the legislature's 57 seats at dissolution, have been in office since 2016.
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8:00 p.m.
Polls have closed in Manitoba's provincial election.
Election headquarters for the Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats were quiet as both parties prepared for results to begin rolling in.
Heather Stefanson, who has led the incumbent PCs since former premier Brian Pallister retired in 2021, hopes to secure a third consecutive majority for the party.
The New Democrats, led by Wab Kinew, have been in Opposition for seven years.
Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont is hoping to add to the three seats the Liberals hold in the legislature.
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7:20 p.m.
Elections Manitoba says issues with its website earlier today have been resolved and vote counting machines have "generally been working well," despite power interruptions in some places.
Southern Manitoba experienced rain and thunderstorms when polls opened today.
Mike Ambrose, the communications director for Elections Manitoba, says in an email that in cases where there were power failures, the agency switched to manual procedures to maintain service.
Earlier in the day, Elections Manitoba communications officer Zack Rach said voters who were having trouble searching its website for information on where to vote were being directed to phone lines.
Rach said there were cases where the website wasn't loading properly for all users, but the issue has been resolved.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2023.
The Canadian Press
