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Wab Kinew

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Wab Kinew
MLA
Leader of the Opposition in Manitoba
Incumbent
Assumed office
September 16, 2017
Preceded byFlor Marcelino
Leader of the Manitoba New Democratic Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
September 16, 2017
Preceded byFlor Marcelino (interim)
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for Fort Rouge
Incumbent
Assumed office
April 19, 2016
Preceded byJennifer Howard
Personal details
Born
Wabanakwut Kinew

(1981-12-31) December 31, 1981 (age 43)
Kenora, Ontario
Political partyNew Democratic
Spouse
Lisa Monkman
​
(m. 2014)​
[1]
Children3
Alma materUniversity of Manitoba (BA)
OccupationBroadcaster, university administrator, musician
Websitewabkinew.ca Edit this at Wikidata

Wabanakwut "Wab" Kinew MLA (/wɑːb kɪˈnuː/; born December 31, 1981),[2] is the Leader of the Manitoba New Democratic Party and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.

Before entering politics, he was a musician, broadcaster and university administrator, best known as a host of programming on CBC Radio and CBC Television.[3]

Background

Career

Kinew began working in broadcasting after the Winnipeg Free Press published a letter to the editor which he had written about Team Canada hockey, and a local CBC Radio producer contacted him to express interest in creating and airing a documentary feature on the matter.[2]

In 2010, Kinew was a finalist for the Future Leaders of Manitoba award and lost to Canadian filmmaker and director Adam Smoluk.[4] Other notable finalists of the award include Olympic champion Jennifer Jones, radio personality David 'Ace' Burpee,[5] friend of Bell Let's Talk Karuna (Andi) Sharma,[6] artist Kal Barteski,[7] and Canadian restaurateur and philanthropist Sachit Mehra.[8]

Kinew has been a reporter and host for the CBC's radio and television operations,[9] including the weekly arts magazine show The 204 in Winnipeg and the national documentary series 8th Fire in 2012.[3] He is also a host of the documentary program Fault Lines on Al Jazeera America.[10]

In 2014, he appeared as a panelist on CBC Radio's Canada Reads, defending Joseph Boyden's novel The Orenda.[11] The novel won the competition.

Kinew was a guest host of Q for two weeks in December 2014,[12] and moderated the 2015 edition of Canada Reads.[13]

Music

After being a member of the hip-hop groups Slangblossom and the Dead Indians[14] in the mid 2000s, Kinew released his debut individual CD as a rapper, Live by the Drum, in 2009.[9] The CD won an Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Award for Best Rap/Hip-Hop CD.[15] His second CD, Mide-Sun, followed in 2010.[16]

Albums

Year Album details Awards
2009 Live By the Drum
  • Released: January 24, 2009
 Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Award
2010 Mide-Sun
  • Released: September 4, 2021

University administration

In 2011, the University of Winnipeg named Kinew its first director of Indigenous inclusion.[15] In 2014, Kinew was appointed acting associate vice-president of Indigenous Affairs after Jennifer Rattray resigned the position.[2] He is also an honorary witness for the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission.[2]

On October 25, 2014, Kinew received an honorary doctorate degree from Cape Breton University.[17]

Writing

Kinew has written two books, a personal memoir and a children's book, which were published by Penguin Canada.

The memoir, The Reason You Walk, chronicles the year 2012, during which Kinew strove to reconnect with the Indigenous man who raised him. The reviewer for The Globe and Mail commented: "the undeniable significance of The Reason You Walk's message, and the fact that the book holds so much for both aboriginal and non-aboriginal readers, makes it a must-read. This is not just a memoir, it's a meditation on the purpose of living." Kinew was honoured with the 2016 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for non-fiction, for this book, which comes with a $10,000 cash award.[18]

In 2018, Kinew's children's book Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes about notable figures in First Nations history, including John Herrington, Sacagawea, Carey Price, and Crazy Horse. He was inspired to write the stories of such people by Barack Obama's Of Thee I Sing, and K’naan’s song Take a Minute.[19]

In 2021, Kinew wrote a YA fantasy novel "Walking in Two Worlds" published by Penguin Teen; an Indigenous teen girl is caught between two worlds, both real and virtual.[20]


Politics

He considered running for the leadership of the Assembly of First Nations in its 2014 leadership election,[21] but decided not to mount a campaign as he was newly married in August and felt it was not the right time to be away from home for an extended period.[2]

In 2016, he was announced as a Manitoba New Democratic Party candidate for Fort Rouge in the 2016 provincial election.[22] During the final days of the campaign, misogynistic and anti-gay tweets and other social media comments were discovered by media on Kinew's Twitter feed. This created a scandal with calls for the New Democratic Party to drop Kinew from the ballots.[23][24] Kinew apologized for his past comments.

On April 19, 2016, Kinew defeated Manitoba Liberal leader Rana Bokhari in the riding of Fort Rouge.[25] He was subsequently named the NDP's spokesperson for reconciliation and critic for education, advanced learning, and training as well as housing and community development.[26]

Kinew ran for leadership of the Manitoba NDP in 2017 and was elected leader at the convention of September 16, defeating the only other candidate, former cabinet minister Steve Ashton, by a margin of three to one.

Kinew led the Manitoba NDP into the 2019 provincial election; the party gained 6 seats but the PCs were re-elected to a majority.[27]

Personal life

Kinew recounts that he "experienced racially motivated assaults by adults" during his time growing up in suburban Winnipeg.[28] In 2003, Kinew was convicted of impaired driving.[28] Kinew has since quit drinking and in 2014 applied for a pardon from the Canadian government, which was granted by the Parole Board of Canada in 2016. The Parole Board ruling removed from the Canadian Police Information Centre database references to his convictions on assaulting a taxi driver, a Driving Under the Influence conviction for refusing a breathalyzer sample, and two breaches of court orders.[29]

In the spring of 2003, Kinew was charged with two counts of domestic assault related to allegations that he threw his then-girlfriend across a room during an argument. The charges were subsequently stayed. Kinew denies the allegations.[30]

Kinew is married to Lisa, a family physician who practises medicine at an inner-city clinic,[31] and has two sons from a previous relationship.[28]

Electoral record

2019 Manitoba general election: Fort Rouge (electoral district)
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Wab Kinew 5,055 51.0 +13.4 $23,922.64
Progressive Conservative Edna Nabess 1,857 18.7 -10.1 $7,290.07
Green James Beddome 1,580 15.9 +4.9 $8,974.33
Liberal Cyndy Friesen 1,290 13.0 -7.1 $8,223.63
Manitoba Michael McCracken 54 0.5 -1.5 $582.58
Independent Bradley Hebert 30 0.3 -0.2 $0.00
Total valid votes 100.0  
Total rejected ballots 30
Turnout 9,913
Eligible voters 16,870
Source: Elections Manitoba[32]


2016 Manitoba general election: Fort Rouge
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Wab Kinew 3,360 37.63 -13.63 $39,199.49
Progressive Conservative Audrey Gordon 2,571 28.80 8.64 $42,245.54
Liberal Rana Bokhari 1,792 20.07 -3.06 $30,238.82
Green Grant Sharp 983 11.01 5.57 $322.90
Manitoba Matthew Ostrove 175 1.96 – $945.26
Communist Paula Ducharme 47 0.53 – $33.67
Total valid votes / expense limit 8,928 – – $44,855.00
Rejected 125 –
Eligible voters / turnout 13,896 65.15 3.92
New Democratic hold Swing –11.04
Source(s)
Source: Manitoba. Chief Electoral Officer (2016). Statement of Votes for the 41st Provincial General Election, April 19, 2016 (PDF) (Report). Winnipeg: Elections Manitoba.
"Election Returns: 41st General Election". Elections Manitoba. 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2018.

References

  1. ^ Agnes Welch, Mary (2017). "Wab Kinew". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Wab Kinew: behind the voice of CBC’s Q guest host". Toronto Star, December 15, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "CBC series 8th Fire aims to dispel native stereotypes". Toronto Star, January 17, 2012.
  4. ^ "FTM's Adam Smoluk wins Future Leaders of MB award". Film Training Manitoba. February 5, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  5. ^ Wilson, Jill (August 15, 2019). "Honey of an idea: Winnipeg DJ turns made-in-Manitoba condiment into potato chip flavour for charity". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  6. ^ "Friends of Bell Let's Talk". Bell Let's Talk. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  7. ^ Coopsammy, Eleanor. "Winnipeg artist's large labour of love on way to Churchill — full of food". CBC Manitoba. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  8. ^ Sanderson, David (April 27, 2014). "Butter chicken in every pot..." Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Aboriginal rapper, CBC host has plenty to say". Winnipeg Free Press, January 24, 2009.
  10. ^ "Canadian journalists Ali Velshi, Wab Kinew join Al Jazeera America". The Canadian Journalism Project, April 9, 2013.
  11. ^ "Joseph Boyden's novel The Orenda wins CBC's Canada Reads contest". Edmonton Journal, March 6, 2014.
  12. ^ "CBC ponders new name for ‘Q’ in light of Jian Ghomeshi scandal". CityNews, November 12, 2014.
  13. ^ "Canada Reads 2015: One book to break barriers". CBC Books, November 19, 2014.
  14. ^ "Dead Indians website - music page". Archived from the original on September 8, 2005. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  15. ^ a b "UWinnipeg names first Director of Indigenous Inclusion". University of Winnipeg, October 4, 2012.
  16. ^ Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water. Portage & Main Press, 2013. ISBN 978-1-55379-307-6. p. 384.
  17. ^ David Akin, "Wab Kinew: “This country is true. This country is strong. This country is free.”". canoe.ca, October 29, 2014.
  18. ^ "Second Annual Kobo Emerging Writer Prize Winners Announced". Kobo. June 21, 2016. Retrieved June 11, 2019. Camilla Gibb, Author and Non-Fiction Judge, says: 'Wab Kinew's story is a deeply moving memoir about the possibility of forgiveness and healing within a family, a community and a country coming to terms with the damaging legacy of the residential school system. The son of an Anishinaabe chief and a non-native woman, Kinew moves within two worlds, as did his father, both seeking to reconcile conflicting parts of selves shaped by different cultural forces. Wab Kinew's book is a gift to this country.'
  19. ^ "Wab Kinew celebrates Indigenous heroes with new children's book". The Kingston Whig-Standard. September 21, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  20. ^ ""Walking in Two Worlds by Wab Kinew"". September 14, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  21. ^ "Wab Kinew eyes run for Assembly of First Nations chief". CBC News, May 20, 2014.
  22. ^ "Wab Kinew NDP’s candidate in Fort Rouge". Winnipeg Free Press, February 2, 2016.
  23. ^ "The Liberals say Kinew's social media comments, which surfaced earlier this week, are demeaning to women, gays and lesbians". Toronto Star. March 11, 2016. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
  24. ^ "Selinger stands by Kinew". Sault Star. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
  25. ^ "Wab Kinew beats out Liberal leader Rana Bokhari to win in Fort Rouge". Global Manitoba, April 20, 2016.
  26. ^ "MLA's appointed as critics". Winnipeg Free Press, May 16, 2016.
  27. ^ "Manitoba Election: Incumbent premier Brian Pallister's full victory speech after PCs re-elected | Watch News Videos Online". Global News. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  28. ^ a b c "The accidental journalist: Wab Kinew emerges as contender to host Q". The Globe and Mail, December 19, 2014.
  29. ^ Martin, Nick (September 20, 2017). "Sep 2017: Kinew sought pardon for crimes before running for office". Winnipeg Free Press.
  30. ^ Woman at centre of Wab Kinew domestic assault allegations says she was thrown http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/wab-kinew-domestic-assault-allegations-1.4290885
  31. ^ "Kinew might be in queue to host Q: Guest spot last month piqued his interest" Winnipeg Free Press, January 9, 2015.
  32. ^ "2019 Voting Area Maps and Station-by-Station Results" (PDF). Elections Manitoba. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
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