Keystone Party of Manitoba should not be confused with Keystone Party of Pennsylvania.
| Keystone Party of Manitoba | |
| Leader: | Kevin Friesen |
| President: | David Andres[1] |
| Colorcode: |
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| Headquarters: | P.O. Box 904 Grunthal, Manitoba R0A 0R0[2] |
| Ideology: | Right-libertarianism Fiscal conservatism |
| Position: | Centre-right to right-wing |
| Seats3 Title: | Seats in Legislature |
| Country: | Canada |
| State: | Manitoba |
| Parties Dab1: | List of political parties in Manitoba |
| Elections Dab1: | List of Manitoba general elections |
The Keystone Party of Manitoba is a provincial political party in Manitoba, Canada. It was registered on June 28, 2022.[3]
The party was officially launched on July 15, 2022, at a meeting where it elected local farmer, Kevin Friesen, as its first leader. It describes itself as a grassroots party that seeks to overcome divides and promote a common Manitoban identity.[4] Described as far-right by multiple media outlets, party leadership insists they are "close to centre" and define their ideology on the protection of civil liberties.[5]
See main article: 2023 Manitoba general election. The party amassed over 2,500 signatures of voters needed to become a registered party in Manitoba and hoped to field candidates in all 57 Manitoba constituencies during the 43rd Manitoba general election.[6] [7] The party is basing its campaign on trying to connect with voters disatisifed with government overreach during the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] The party hopes to garner votes from small-c Conservatives discontent with the longtime leadership of the provincial Conservative party and that party's failure to balance the province's budget during their tenure. The party will also be assisted as 10 longtime centrist members of the Conservative party are retiring, and their likely replacements would be more partisan. Additionally, the party is having trouble reaching its goal of running 57 candidates in all 57 districts due to the rural, agrarian nature of their platform and voter base which hasn't been received well in more urban parts of the province.[9] Another barrier is the hands off approach the party and its leadership are taking towards constituent associations, insisting on a grassroots approach and only allowing residents of the constituency to form an association, limiting the number of candidates they could run.[10] The party held its convention in the Austin community centre on June 17, 2023, to establish the party's constitution and policies.[11]
The Keystone Party only stood five candidates for the election. Their best showing was in Turtle Mountain where the party's leader, Kevin Friesen, stood, running on a platform of slashing government debt, reducing the cost of living, and repairing the district's roads.[12] Friesen received 1,489 votes or 17.1% of the electorate, coming in third place. The party's second best showing was in La Verendrye where the party's candidate, Matthew Wiebe received 736 votes or 9.8% of the electorate also coming in third place. Wiebe, a political outsider and farmer, stated that he ran because "people don’t trust the PC party to be conservative anymore."[13] [14] The party also stood candidates in Agassiz where they got 721 votes (9.7%), Swan River where they got 394 votes (5.2%), and Interlake-Gimli where they got 391 votes (3.8%). In total the party garnered 3,731 votes. Friesen stated that he was pleased and excited at the support the party got, especially since it was the first election they contested, and the fact that in every riding they contested they did better than the Green Party of Manitoba.[15]
Kevin Friesen stated that the party intends to stand for the 44th Manitoba general election immediately after the 43rd election. He also stated that he will again run in Turtle Mountain and that the main priority for the party was to win over conservatives dissatisfied with the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba.
The party has a ten-point Statement of Principles. These principles are as follows:[16]