Meet the Candidate: Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa People’s Party Candidate Donnan McKenna

A retired RCMP Superintendent originally from Ontario but raised in Manitoba, Donnan McKenna says he got into politics because of his feelings about how the government handled the pandemic.

McKenna decries many of the government’s decisions regarding vaccine mandates as unscientific, although the preponderance of evidence does still point to the transmissibility of the virus, particularly the variants. Standing up against proof of vaccination, or vaccine passports, has been a key issue during his campaign.

When asked if he believes it’s feasible to reach the People’s Party’s goal of fixing the deficit within one term, McKenna replies, “You bet it is. I have no doubt in my mind that it would be reduced in one term.” He goes on to cite the shuttering of small businesses during the pandemic instead of the big box stores as a key mishandling of the situation.

As for where that money will come from, McKenna identified two key components. First, he says they intend to cut back or eliminate foreign aid. “What we’re not going to have is money flowing overseas for Liberal pet projects,” says McKenna. “It’s not going to happen anymore.” He then goes on to question the integrity of the CBC and indicates that the People’s Party intends to defund them.

“I’ll give you an anecdotal story because that’s my speciality,” says McKenna when he tells the tale of his father’s arrival in Canada as an Irish immigrant. And indeed, many of McKenna’s points are accompanied by an anecdote to illustrate his beliefs and ideas.

Other topics raised include a concern over inflation and hyperinflation due to pandemic spending, and the implementation of carbon tax. McKenna claims that he is sympathetic to environmental concerns but disagrees with what he calls “climate alarmism,” saying that he sees the current government focusing on one issue or solution to the exclusion of the nuances of the situation.

Regarding Reconciliation, McKenna says we need to live up to our treaty obligations, but also says, “We need to negotiate our way out of all of these treaties,” as he looks at different ways of forging that relationship.

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