PCs Call for External Review Into Manitoba Wildfire Preparedness Following Repeat NDP Mismanagement
SHOAL LAKE — Following a pattern of negligence by the Kinew government leading up to one of the worst wildfire seasons in Manitoba, Progressive Conservatives are calling for a long-overdue external review into the province’s lack of wildfire preparedness.
“Manitoba experienced one of its worst wildfire seasons in history this summer, and the province should have been more prepared,” said Riding Mountain MLA Greg Nesbitt, PC Critic for Environment. “This is not about politics. Two Manitobans lost their lives. Thousands were displaced. We cannot afford to let that happen again.”
Immediately upon taking office in 2023, Premier Wab Kinew declined to follow through on urgent plans approved by the previous PC government to conduct an external review of Manitoba’s wildfire preparedness.
Documents recently obtained by the media now show that the NDP government conducted nothing more than internal wildfire response assessments that consisted of only “meeting notes and verbal discussion” with no written recommendations about ways to improve future planning and operating procedures.
PCs are demanding that the province conduct a thorough external review before the 2026 wildfire season to identify any shortcomings that exist within the wildfire service. To ensure full transparency, Opposition and independent MLAs must also be kept privy throughout the review process, added Nesbitt.
“Having visited northern First Nations and communities, I’ve seen firsthand how much of northern Manitoba lacks crucial resources to mitigate the spread of wildfires,” said Nesbitt, who previously served as PC Minister of Natural Resources. “That’s why I authorized the review as minister. I am completely shocked that the NDP cancelled it.”
Between 2024 and 2025, the Kinew government has cut Manitoba’s emergency expenditures budget by $50 million, or 50%, as well as slashing the province’s emergency management budget by $1.1 million.
Repeated Negligence
Despite issuing two states of emergency during the 2025 wildfire season, the NDP repeatedly rejected calls from Manitobans, including Opposition Leader Obby Khan, for regular government briefings to provide up-to-date information daily.
The fallout of the NDP’s review cancellation, lack of transparency, and budget cuts was readily apparent in 2025. At the outset of the wildfire season, Indigenous leadership—including the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak—criticized the provincial government for their slow and poorly-communicated response as 17,000 people in northern First Nations were forced to evacuate their homes. Pleading for firefighting resources, the Chief of Pimicikamak Cree Nation said, “Why do we have to beg?”
Workers at the frontline were also neglected. Flin Flon nurses were “disgusted” with the health authority’s unprepared, frantic scramble to evacuate patients from the city. Retired conservation experts eager to help fight the fires were completely ignored, and when the issue was raised in the Legislature, PC MLAs were heckled.
Manitoba’s lack of preparedness was evident, with real issues being identified on the ground by evacuees, frontline workers, Indigenous communities, and local businesses alike. PCs are therefore urging Premier Kinew, Minister Ian Bushie, and Minister Lisa Naylor to make the right decision and launch a thorough external review.
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For media inquiries, please contact PCCaucus_Media@leg.gov.mb.ca