As part of our extensive pre-election survey conducted for the Winnipeg Free Press and CTV Winnipeg, Probe Research surveyed 1,200 Manitobans about some of the critical issues facing the province. Some of the key highlights include:

  • Health care is the dominant topic in the 2019 Manitoba election campaign, with nearly one-half of Manitobans saying this is their top-of-mind issue.Health care is the dominant topic in the 2019 Manitoba election campaign, with nearly one-half of Manitobans saying this is their top-of-mind issue.

manitoba issues list

  • Manitobans are mainly opposed to privatizing most services currently delivered by Crown corporations, but are split on whether to allow more private sector involvement in selling liquor in retail stores. PC supporters are more open to privatization than those backing other parties.

views on privatizing crown services by party

  • Manitobans are generally in favour of amalgamating school divisions, with those living in Winnipeg open to the idea of creating one single division for the entire city.

views on amalgamation divisions

  • Only one-in-five Manitobans feel the current Progressive Conservative government has handled the methamphetamine crisis well, with more than one-half saying the PCs have done a poor job. Manitobans are most likely to say increasing the number of detox programs and long-term treatment beds, as well as providing more street outreach, will do the most to deal with the issue.

PC performance meth crisis

  • Manitobans are more likely to be in favour of increasing spending on public services such as health care and education, even if it means taking longer to balance the provincial budget. Six-in-ten say the government needs to increase spending on these services, compared to four-in-ten who say the provincial government should focus on balancing the budget as soon as possible.

views on balanced budgets

Methodology: Between August 13th and 24th, 2019, Probe Research conducted an online survey of N=1,200 Manitoba adults on behalf of the Winnipeg Free Press and CTV Winnipeg. Respondents to the survey were recruited from Probe Research’s proprietary online panel, as well as a national online panel. Minor statistical weighting has been applied to this sample to ensure that age, regional and gender characteristics properly reflect known attributes of Manitoba’s population based on 2016 Census data. The sample has also been weighted by voting behaviour based on the results of the 2016 provincial election. Because an online panel is a sample of convenience, no statistical margin-of-error can be ascribed. For the purposes of comparison, a probabilistic sample of N=1,200 would have a margin of error of  ± 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.​

Note: Media outlets reporting on these survey results must attribute them to the survey sponsors (the Winnipeg Free Press and CTV Winnipeg).