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The latest developments in the Manitoba election; polls are closed

Sep 10, 2019 | 6:02 PM

WINNIPEG — 8:00 p.m. CDT

The polls have closed in the Manitoba election with Brian Pallister and his Progressive Conservatives hoping they’ve done enough to sell voters on giving them a second term.

The vote marked the end of a four-week summertime campaign that offered few surprises and did not garner much in the way of public attention.

The Tories offered voters a platform of continued cost-cutting and tax reductions.

Pallister declared Manitoba the most improved province in Canada under his leadership.

The Opposition New Democrats and their leader, Wab Kinew, focused on Pallister’s health-care reforms during the campaign and have promised to reverse some of the Tory cuts.

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont promised more public spending than other parties to boost the economy and improve health care.

Pallister called the election more than a year ahead of the scheduled date and gave different reasons for the early call.

He initially referred to the ability to go early as a competitive advantage, then said holding the vote this year would avoid a clash with Manitoba’s 150th birthday celebrations in 2020.

The Canadian Press