Manitoba raids the rainy day fund again

25 February, 2006

Oops! It appears as if the Province will once again dip into the rainy day fund to keep up from going into deficit. This has been a common occurance with Manitoba's NDP government and it fuels calls for their defeat, which I think will be a certainty should Doer not run in the next election.


Manitoba Tory leadership candidate and Fort Whyte MLA Hugh McFadyen.

Mind you, the Manitoba Tories aren't helping themselves so far with a lacklustre group of candidates vying for the leadership. The veterans are staying away, which is most unfortunate for them. Hugh McFadyen is young at 38, and is a veteran political insider, having been a senior advisor to Premier Gary Filmon and chief of staff to Mayor Sam Katz. He's also a formidalbe curler, having taken his team to the 1987 World Juniors for a silver medal. Winnipeg is the curling capital of Manitoba, by the way. I haven't fully sized up Hugh McFadyen, and it's safe to say most people don't know much about him. We'll hear a lot more, though, as the Manitoba Tories are scheduled to elect a new leader in April.


Greg Selinger has a PhD from the London School of Economics, a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Queen's University and a Bachelor of Social Work Degree from the University of Manitoba.


From today's Winnipeg Free Press.
Spending numbers
What they budgeted versus what they actually spent

2000:

Budget - $6.398 billion

actual - $6.615 billion

overspent - $217 million (3.4 %)

2001:

budget - $6.757 billion

actual - $6.737 billion

underspent - $19 million (-0.3%)

2002:

budget - $6.928 billion

actual - $6.943 billion

overspent - $16 million (0.2 %)

2003:

budget - $7.256 billion

actual - $7.439 billion

overspent - $184 million (2.5 %)

2004:

budget - $7.471 billion

actual - $7.635 billion

overspent - $164 million (2.2 %)

2005:

budget - $8.063 billion

forecast - $8.338 billion

overspent - $275 billion (%)

-- Source: Manitoba Finance