First-term Member of the Manitoba Legislature, Wab Kinew, announces his bid to become leader of the provincial New Democratic Party (NDP). He said he's running "for people whose voices aren't often heard."
WINNIPEG, MB-Member of the Legislature (MLA) Wab Kinew has thrown his hat in the ring to become the leader of the Manitoba New Democratic Party (NDP). Joined by family, friends, and supporters at the Manitoba Legislature, Kinew announced he's a candidate for the NDP leadership.
Kinew said he's running "for people whose voices aren't often heard" and he gave the example of an inmate at the Manitoba Youth Centre. "I want to say directly to that young person, 'I am you, and you change your life for the better,'" Kinew stated.
Speaking at a low-key gathering beneath the statue of Louis Riel, Kinew told the crowd that he is willing to sacrifice his own well-being by allowing himself to be exposed to personal attacks about his past.
In his younger days, Kinew was known as a rapper who sang misogynistic and anti-homosexual lyrics. In his first election as MLA, he convinced the voters of his riding of Fort Rouge that he was a changed man. His memoir The Reason You Walk also is evidence that he is a different man.
