Months out from an election and low in polls, Manitoba premier makes changes

Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson is parting ways with two senior staff she brought in not long ago, with an election slated for October.

Philip Houde, who was hired as the premier’s chief of staff in May, is leaving the post and no replacement has been named. Houde had served under previous Progressive Conservative premiers, including Stefanson’s predecessor, Brian Pallister.

Stefanson brought Houde back last spring, months after she took over as premier.

The premier’s office did not go into detail Thursday on the reasons for the change, other than to say it was part of a move to “refresh the Manitoba government’s administration and prepare it to better address the current priority concerns of Manitobans.”

Houde thanked Stefanson for his time in the job and said he continues to support the Tories. A written comment appeared to hint that his departure was not voluntary.

“We serve at the pleasure of the premier and while I came back to try and help us with the 2023 election, I’m at peace moving on,” Houde wrote in a message to The Canadian Press.

Stefanson also announced Thursday the departure of Don Leitch, who was hired as clerk of the executive council – essentially the head of the civil service – when she was chosen as Tory leader and premier in the autumn of 2021. He is being replaced by Kathryn Gerrard, who has worked as a deputy minister.

One political analyst said the departures of Houde and Leitch seem to be a sign that Stefanson is trying to revive her party’s fortunes after trailing the Opposition New Democrats in opinion polls her entire time in office.

The Tories “haven’t moved the needle in terms of their polling or her popularity and so some of that she may blame on her advisers and not getting the kind of key advice she needed to improve the situation,” said Paul Thomas, professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba.

In recent media interviews, Stefanson has said the government needs to do a better job communicating and getting its messages out.

“Well, some of the advice around communications would have come from these two gentlemen,” Thomas said.

Leitch’s departure is not too surprising, Thomas said, because he first served in the position in the 1980s and likely agreed to come back for only a short period of time.

Houde’s leaving is more surprising, Thomas said.

“You would have thought that as (the Tories) try to put together a game plan to improve their prospects for the fall election, that it would be helpful to have him around.”