Manitoba·AnalysisPaul Thomas, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Manitoba, said Premier Wab Kinew possesses all the attributes of a populist. But if that’s true, the question is: what kind of populist is he?Drilling down into Wab Kinew’s ideological drift on justice, energy and financesBartley Kives · CBC News · Posted: Nov 05, 2025 4:52 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 6 minutesManitoba Premier Wab Kinew demonstrates the attributes of a populist, including recognizing ‘that staying in touch with public opinion is necessary to demonstrate responsiveness and to retain power,’ says political scientist Paul Thomas. (Bryce Hoye/CBC)For the third time in just over a year, Premier Wab Kinew has antagonized the legal community with comments criticizing lawyers, judges or the courts.The first instance occurred in October 2024, when Kinew said he kicked Fort Garry MLA Mark Wasyliw, a lawyer by profession, out of the NDP caucus because Wasyliw’s colleague Gerri Wiebe represented convicted sexual offender Peter Nygard in court.Kinew later apologized privately to Wiebe and publicly to the broader legal profession for impugning the work of defence lawyers.The second comment arrived in October of this year, when the premier appeared to criticize a judge for granting bail to a truck driver accused in a fatal crash. Kinew did not apologize for this comment, though he later asserted he did not reference a specific incident.Then on Monday, Kinew criticized the Supreme Court of Canada for ruling one-year mandatory minimum sentences for accessing or possessing child pornography are unconstitutional.The premier suggested people convicted of these offences should be subjected to violence behind bars — or worse.”Not only should [you] go to prison for a long time, they should bury you under the prison,” Kinew told reporters. “You shouldn’t get protective custody. They should put you into general population, if you know what I mean.”‘Populist talking points’Kinew’s latest comment provoked condemnation from some lawyers and their professional associations, just as his earlier statements did.Chris Gamby, a spokesperson for Manitoba’s criminal defence lawyers, said Kinew ought to take more time to understand decisions made by legal professionals before he speaks about them.The premier is uttering “populist talking points that come from the gut, if not from the brain,” Gamby said. “Are they helping our society deal with these issues? Or are they maybe hurting the discourse around these very real issues that we face?”While Kinew’s recent comments are of interest to the public, so is Gamby’s characterization of them.Manitoba’s NDP premier, who campaigned for office on a promise of being kinder and more hopeful than the former Progressive Conservative government, now stands accused of espousing populist sentiment.Political scientist Paul Thomas says Kinew has ‘shrewd political instincts’ on ‘top-of-mind’ issues. (CBC)It would be fair to consider Kinew himself to be a populist, given the conventional definition of the term as a politician who rails against the elites and purports to stand up for regular people.Paul Thomas, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Manitoba, said Kinew possesses all the attributes of a populist.”He is confident and certain in his convictions” and is “prepared to take the political risks of bold actions, like the landfill search,” Thomas said Tuesday via email.He also called Kinew a “dominating presence in the internal politics of the governing process,” with “shrewd political instincts about ‘top-of-mind’ issues.”Kinew “is very capable of making a strong emotional connection with citizens,” wrote Thomas. “He is highly competitive and likes to win. He recognizes that staying in touch with public opinion is necessary to demonstrate responsiveness and to retain power.”But what sort of populist is Kinew in an era when the right-wing populism of U.S. President Donald Trump, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hungary’s Viktor Orban has shaken up Western democracy, and left-wing populism is far less common?A lean to the right?Thomas said he does not believe Kinew consistently leans to the right or the left.Landfill search notwithstanding, there is a growing body of evidence this NDP premier is not averse to policies more frequently associated with the populist right.This extends beyond the comments Kinew has made about lawyers, judges and the courts.Kinew has not governed like a social democrat when it comes to fiscal matters. He chose to forgo $350 million of gasoline-tax revenue in the name of affordability, counting on the idea several pennies on every litre meant more to voters than a higher deficit resulting from the resulting financial shortfall.Under the Kinew administration, Manitoba Public Insurance sought a rate hike that its independent regulator determined was too low to be fiscally responsible.Kinew lauded a Manitoba Hydro rate ‘freeze,’ even though a consumer watchdog argued the utility needs to raise rates to maintain its infrastructure, expand generating capacity and service its debt. (CBC)Kinew lauded a “hydro freeze” (actually, a request for Manitoba Hydro to forgo a rate application) as another affordability measure, even as a consumer watchdog argued the utility must raise rates to cover some of the billions required to maintain its existing infrastructure, expand generating capacity and service its debt. Kinew has also not governed like a conventional NDP premier when it comes to energy policy. His NDP government waited two years to present a climate change plan that arrived with few specifics about meeting carbon emissions targets.He also now espouses support for extending fossil fuel pipelines across northern Manitoba after supporting protests against their extension across the northern U.S. plains.When it comes to justice, finances and energy, Kinew could fairly be described as a very blue NDP premier — or a very orange conservative premier. But putting aside the premier’s possibly flexible ideological orientation, the question is whether his approaches to justice, finances and energy are based on evidence. Kinew is “intuitive and spontaneous when taking positions on issues, which can be surprising for party followers and observers,” political scientist Thomas said.”In short, he does not always follow the conventional playbook for an NDP leader.”Both Thomas and his U of M colleague Chris Adams compare Kinew to former NDP premier Gary Doer, an avowed centrist. Yet it would be fair to suggest Kinew’s recent rhetoric on justice places him to the right of Doer.There is no question Kinew is comfortable playing the role of populist. The premier’s office, however, did not respond directly to a request for comment about the nature of Kinew’s populism.Time will tell whether Manitoba’s famously moderate voters will reward Kinew for campaigning from the moderate left and then governing from — well, wherever his shrewd instincts about top-of-mind issues take him.ABOUT THE AUTHORBartley Kives joined CBC Manitoba in 2016. Prior to that, he spent three years at the Winnipeg Sun and then 18 at the Winnipeg Free Press, writing about politics, music, food and outdoor recreation. He’s the author of three books – two of them Canadian bestsellers – and the winner of a Canadian Screen Award for reporting.
If Wab Kinew is a populist, what kind of populist is he?
