Klein’s Anti-Canadian Views Make Him Unfit For Mayor

Klein’s Anti-Canadian Views Make Him Unfit For Mayor

WINNIPEG, TREATY 1 – The city’s largest union questions mayoral candidate Kevin Klein’s suitability to lead in divisive times.

“At a time when CUPE has been advocating to council to favour Canadian workers, the last thing Winnipeg needs is a mayor who’ll bend a knee to American interests,” said Patrick Troughton, President of CUPE Local 500.

“We’re looking for positive action on things that actually matter to Winnipeg. Klein has argued for a softer trade posture toward the U.S. We’re cautious about anyone who wants to contract out essential operations to outside or foreign agencies beyond the control of Winnipeg.”

Klein has said he blames Canada for the ongoing trade standoff, putting him offside with a significant majority of Canadians, including Canadian business and labour groups. He has said the Americans care more about Canadian business than the Canadian government and that Canada’s behaviour is embarrassing, undercutting our negotiating position and proving himself unfit to be part of team Canada as a big city mayor.

“There is no place for Canadian leaders to fall offside with team Canada,” said Gina McKay, President of CUPE MB. “When everyone from Wab Kinew to Doug Ford and Pierre Poilievre to Avi Lewis can get onto team Canada, this really shows that Kevin Klein is an extremist and outside the mainstream of Canadian politics.”

CUPE 500’s Local Guarantee campaign launched in March and has brought numerous ideas to the forefront in the lead-up to the October municipal election. These include improvements to our water & waste infrastructure, public compost, bringing services back in-house for more local control, and introducing a fourth branch of 911 that would deploy social workers to mental health calls.

The Local Guarantee campaign can be found at LocalGuarantee.ca.

CUPE 500 represents more than 5,000 workers employed by the City of Winnipeg, making it one of the largest municipal locals in Canada. The local has a long history of advocating for workers’ rights and quality public services in Winnipeg.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees is Canada’s largest union representing more than 800,000 members. In Manitoba, CUPE represents approximately 40,000 members working in health care facilities, personal care homes, home care, school divisions, municipal services, social services, disability support services, child care centres, public utilities, libraries, and family emergency services.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Garett Williams, CUPE Communications / Media Contact 204-942-0343