BY COLIN SLARK

A familiar face is throwing her hat into the political ring for the next provincial election.

Former city councillor Lonnie Patterson announced on Tuesday that she would once again seek the Manitoba NDP’s nomination for the constituency of Brandon East.

An NDP stronghold since 1969, Progressive Conservative MLA Len Isleifson has represented Brandon East since 2016 after defeating former Gary Doer and Greg Selinger cabinet minister Drew Caldwell and flipping the seat blue for the first time.

When Manitobans returned to the polls in 2019, Patterson unsuccessfully challenged Isleifson as the NDP candidate, but placed second with 36.2 per cent of the vote.

Since then, Patterson has become the party’s president.

Speaking to the Sun by phone on Tuesday, Patterson said she would continue as president as she pursues the nomination, though she will recuse herself from nomination- related decisions and central election planning committee meetings until the local race has been completed.

“There are two reasons,” Patterson said about her decision to run again. “One of the big ones is that a lot of people asked me to run again after the last provincial election. They felt that I mounted a strong campaign and that what I was talking about during that election reflected their values and reflected what they wanted to see in the constituency.”

After being asked by potential constituents to run again, Patterson said that when thinking about the decision, her experiences as an education worker during the pandemic showed her how much the people of Brandon East could use an experienced voice in the Manitoba legislature.

Manitoba’s next provincial election will take place on or before Oct. 3, 2023, meaning there are approximately two years before residents head back to the polls barring any early election calls like provincially in 2019 or federally earlier in 2021.

However, Patterson said she would start to get involved in the near future by door-knocking and registering new party memberships in the constituency.

Since the last election, Patterson said she has heard a lot of complaints regarding delays in the health-care system, a lack of support available in the education system, difficulties finding child care and the increasing cost of basic needs.

“We see the minimum wage go up at a snail’s pace, but we see the cost of other things like fruits and vegetables and Hydro all going up at a much greater rate,” Patterson noted. “Quite honestly, [these issues] were there before the pandemic — it’s just that the pandemic has really magnifi ed them and shone a light on those realities.”

For a party that has been looking to get back into government for the last six years, Patterson said the NDP has been working hard to acknowledge the struggles of Manitoba in their work at the legislature and in through the media.

On Saturday, the NDP’s main competition will make history by electing the first-ever female Progressive Conservative leader and consequently Manitoba’s first female premier as party members choose between former provincial health minister Heather Stefanson and former Saint Boniface MP Shelly Glover.

Despite the PCs achieving those historic firsts, Patterson said that they still believe in the same policies and ideals as before.

“I think it’s really important that our elected government have gender diversity,” Patterson said. “Increasing the number of women, non-binary or gender non-conforming people that are running for office and eventually get elected is a good thing, I think. In terms of the PC party, it really does not matter who wins this weekend. They still have the same values, they still put the bottom line ahead of people, and I really think that it’s the Manitoba NDP that is working on understanding the real issues in our health-care and education systems and really trying to build a vision for a positive future for Manitoba.”

With the announcement of Patterson’s candidacy, the Sun also reached out to the Manitoba Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives to see if they had any candidates for nomination or confirmed candidates yet. In an emailed statement from the Liberals’ election readiness committee, cochairs Sachit Mehra and Ernie Gilroy wrote the following: “Manitoba Liberals have been actively recruiting across the province for months. We have received interest from various potential candidates to run in Brandon and surrounding constituencies. Right now, we are in the process of intake and screening for candidates and we have several nominations planned, with more to be announced shortly.”

The Manitoba NDP sent this statement: “The Manitoba NDP is actively preparing for the next election, and this includes starting our nomination process. The Manitoba NDP will hold nomination contests in constituencies throughout Manitoba over the coming months and we anticipate more people will announce their intention to seek the nomination in the coming weeks. We are excited by all the great people who are putting their names forward and we will be ready to offer a real alternative to the PCs in the next election.”

While PCs did not respond by press time, all parties have a long time to get their ducks in a row ahead of Manitoba’s next election. » cslark@brandonsun.com » Twitter: @ColinSlark

Lonnie Patterson finished second when she ran for the NDP in Brandon East in the 2019 provincial election. (Submitted)