Trade war top of mind for voters in Manitoba’s second biggest city

Known as “The Wheat City,” Brandon is Manitoba’s second largest municipality – deeply rooted in agriculture.

The city is recognized for hosting the province’s biggest agricultural events, including the Manitoba Ag Days, and the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair.

The majority of those who live here either are farmers, or know of one.

About 25 minutes south of Brandon, near Minto, Man., is where Jake Ayre and his family farm.

He says discussions around tariffs and the trade war between Canada and the United States have kept him on edge.

“Probably the biggest thing we have noticed is marketing of crops,” says Ayre, who has been farming with his family in the region for more than 20 years. “On the grain producers’ side, there has been a lack of movement of the grain going to our end-buyer because it was destined for the states.”

Ayre says farmers deal with uncertainty every year, as they are fully dependent on the weather. He is used to the uncertainty, but says the unknown is causing more stress.

“One of the biggest things is cash-flow,” he says. “How do you continue to pay bills when your income is impacted.”

Just up the road from Ayre, on the eastern edge of the Brandon Hills, sits Howpark Farms. This farm has been owned and operated by Ian Grossart and his family since 1879.

He says they’ve endured many ups and downs over the years, but that the current political climate is unlike anything he has seen before.

“This is just another thing which maybe we don’t want to be dealing with,” says Grossart. “It’s another curveball in agriculture.”

He says he isn’t panicking but is unsure what could come next for his grain and cattle farm.

“Markets like stability and with unknowns like that, it creates problems as far as being able to contract for fall delivery of crops and knowing what those prices will be.”

Safety and violence a concern downtown, mayor says

Although the trade war and uncertainty with tariffs is a hot topic in this region, there are other issues that plague those in the Brandon-area.

Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett is focused on revitalizing the city’s downtown core.

Escalating violence and safety concerns have deterred people away from what he says should be the main attraction spot.

“We need bail reform,” says Fawcett. “We do know that we have a lot of repeat offenders in our city, and we just need that system to be done better.”

Fawcett says he would like to see more funding from the federal government for infrastructure projects taking place in an around the city.

“We need designated funding for water and waste in particular,” he says. “It’s something to us that is very important.”

Voter turnout for the Brandon-Souris area in 2021 was just under 62 per cent, which was on par with the national turnout.

“We want to make sure we have good representation for our area,” Fawcett says. “We are the second largest city in the province, we represent a large regional hub, and we need to make sure we have voices in Ottawa.”

Voters heard at Brandon-Souris candidates’ debate

Brandon held its candidates’ debate, giving residents the opportunity to share their opinions ahead of the election.

The Conservative and New Democrat candidates were in attendance, but the Liberal candidate did not participate due to family reasons.

Many of the area’s residents I spoke to wanted to have their voices heard. CTV News spoke to some of the folks who participated in the debate to get a sense of what issues are of top-mind to them.

For Kevin Spooner, it’s safety.

“What’s more important than safety? I can’t think of anything,” he says. “What I do when I go downtown, is I take reasonable precautions and when I do that, I’ve never had a safety concern downtown.”

For Brandon resident Elaine Gibson, it’s health care.

“I would like to see us keep the dental plan and pharmacare,” she says. “I would like to see New Democrats back into Parliament to be that conscience of Parliament that they have so often done.”

Climate change is another important issue for Gibson.

“Environment is taking a back seat this time around, and I think that needs to be upped and ensured that we have that,” she says.

Others CTV News spoke to said they want rural cities and towns, like Brandon, not to be forgotten about beyond the federal election.

Margaret Whetter, who is a long-time resident in the region, says she would like to see homelessness addressed – a problem she says continues to get worse.

“We have an issue with homelessness and drug addiction,” she says. “I would like to see additional housing for homeless people.”

“Our food banks are also full and overloaded.”