Rural people in Manitoba often complain that the provincial government has “perimeter vision,” the inability to look beyond the highway that rings Winnipeg.
And farmers particularly complain that their industry seldom gets the attention it deserves when the government and opposition argue in the legislature.
But in many rural ridings this election, agriculture and farming issues are playing a key role.
That’s especially true in the Interlake riding, where voters on farms and in the small towns of this parkland and cattle country are seeing two farming leaders challenge an NDP incumbent for his seat.
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“It proves the importance of agriculture in our community,” said Liberal candidate Leslie Jacobson, former president of Keystone Agricultural Producers and former head of the Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council.
Agriculture is the basis of the local economy, said Betty Green, Progressive Conservative candidate and president of the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association.
“We need a strong representative who can speak of agriculture and rural development,” said Green, who is also on the executive of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.
“The area needs someone with a strong background in agriculture.”
The interlake constituency covers a vast area, spreading from the cattle country north of Gimli and between lakes Winnipeg and Manitoba up into northern forests and Indian reserves.
NDP incumbent Tom Nevakshonoff said his riding contains “a little bit of everything we have in Manitoba.”
But agriculture is the biggest part of the local economy.
He may not have the depth of farm experience as Green and Jacobson, but Nevakshonoff said his government is doing more for local farmers than either opposition party is offering.
People in the Interlake want to pay less education tax on farmland, but their most important need is to have good access to places to sell their grain and cattle, he said.
The NDP has spent money on repairing key roads and increasing drainage system maintenance, which is exactly what local farmers want, he said.
“My producers out in the Interlake are more interested in having good infrastructure than in having a tax cut,” said Nevakshonoff.
“I focus on infrastructure more than anything else.”
He also said his government has helped minimize the threat of tuberculosis spreading out of Riding Mountain National Park and is encouraging sustainable rural development.
He said the Tory and Liberal tax cut promises aren’t sustainable.
“I think most people see that as an act of desperation,” said Nevakshonoff.
“They’ll say anything to get support. If you want to have huge cuts in taxes, you’re going to have to have huge cuts in services.”
But Green said her party’s tax cut pledge is affordable. And she said the NDP has made farming harder by adding red tape to livestock production.
“We’re getting more and more regulations restricting entrepreneurship and opportunities for people in the area,” said Green.
“They’re becoming onerous.”
She said the NDP has also made life harder by imposing restrictions on spring truck travel, which limit the flow of essential items into the Interlake’s towns and farms.
Jacobson said the government has not done enough to convince young people to stay in farming. A Liberal government would work to dispel the pessimism about farming.
“We’re giving people an alternative,” said Jacobson.
The riding has been NDP since 1969, an achievement Nevakshonoff credits to good MLAs who worked hard to keep their constituents on side.
“We’ve held this seat because our MLAs work at holding it,” said Nevakshonoff.
“We win because we deliver when we’re in office.”
But Green said she thinks farmers will swing toward her party because the NDP has not shown enough interest in agriculture.
“We need someone from agriculture,” she said.
