In the days leading up to Tuesday’s byelection in Tuxedo, some residents were being urged to not vote for Progressive Conservative candidate Lawrence Pinsky.
As early as June 14 constituents in the west Winnipeg riding were told via robocall from a group called Tuxedo Citizens United that Pinsky can’t be trusted.
“We urge you to consider your options if you plan on voting for Lawrence Pinsky and the PCs… there’s so many things about Lawrence we simply don’t know,” said a voice in the audio recording, a copy of which was obtained by the Free Press.
The calls cited a Free Press story on Pinsky’s ongoing court case, said he wasn’t in Canada when nominated to run in the byelection and claimed he ran the risk of slighting small businesses, if elected.
Pinsky finished second to the NDP’s Carla Compton, a political rookie, in the race to fill the seat former Tory premier Heather Stefanson held since 2000.
Pinsky is currently embroiled in a legal battle with an Interlake business, which is accusing the lawyer of not paying a $6,000 bill for the installation of a fireplace and chimney at his family cottage.
The robocall message questioned how Pinsky would represent small businesses.
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILE
Tuxedo PC candidate Lawrence Pinsky finished second to the NDP’s Carla Compton, a political rookie, in the race to fill the seat former Tory premier Heather Stefanson held since 2000.
“If Pinsky doesn’t pay his cottage renovation bills, how will he respect our tax dollars… if these are his actions as a private individual, how can we expect him to act as our representative?” the message went on to say.
Tuxedo Citizens United doesn’t have an online presence and is not registered with Elections Manitoba as a third party. Calls and emails to the group went unanswered Wednesday.
The robocall didn’t endorse any specific candidate — Compton, Liberal Jamie Pfau or Green candidate Janine Gibson.
Elections Manitoba communications director Mike Ambrose confirmed his office received about a half-dozen calls regarding the automated message.
Ambrose said the calls aren’t prohibited by the Elections Act or Elections Financing Act, and anything that’s said in automated messages is fair game as long as there isn’t a “false statement of a candidate’s character,” according to legislation.
Ambrose declined to comment on whether he thought the messages were considered false statements about Pinsky’s character.
A Pinsky campaign spokesperson said in an emailed statement the candidate’s camp has contacted the elections office about the robocalls and are looking at options about a formal complaint.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the calls had not been forwarded to the elections commissioner for investigation, Ambrose said.
An NDP spokesperson said the Compton campaign was made aware a group was using the messaging in the days before the election, but denied knowing anything about the unknown organization.
“The Manitoba NDP focused our campaign on rebuilding health care and making life more affordable for Manitobans,” an emailed statement from a party spokesperson said. “Tuesday’s election results are a clear indication voters in Tuxedo have rejected the divisive narrative of the PCs and are united behind our positive vision for one Manitoba.”
University of Winnipeg political science professor Malcolm Bird said robocalls typically don’t influence elections.
Compton flipped the historically Tory seat Tuesday night, squeezing ahead in the polls by 600 votes.
“I think people are make their decision based on other informational sources. If I get robocalls, which isn’t that often, I don’t pay much attention to them,” said Bird.
While election interference is a hot-button topic in Canadian politics, Bird said the Tuxedo robocalls don’t quite fit the bill.
“This is sort of a micro-illustration of that,” he said. “There are people who have agendas or vendettas or something against a particular party or a particular person, and so sometimes you see things like this.”
Tuesday’s win for the NDPs signalled the first time a non-PC MLA will represent the riding since its inception in 1981, bringing the NDP seat count in the 57-seat legislature to 35. The Tories now number 21 MLAs and the Liberals have a single seat.
nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca
Nicole Buffie
Multimedia producer
Nicole Buffie is a multimedia producer who reports for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom in 2023. Read more about Nicole.
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