Manitoba news: Wab Kinew says work underway to fight election interference [Video]

WINNIPEG –

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says work is underway on a bill aimed at protecting provincial elections from foreign interference, forged images and videos, and other issues that could unfairly affect the vote.

“I think there’s a lot of examples that concern us about having free and fair elections, which to me is one of our most important democratic rights,” Kinew said in a year-end interview with The Canadian Press.

“I’ve seen a draft bill already. We are bringing in legislation, probably in the first (legislature) sitting of 2025, to address a lot of these issues.”

The provincial Elections Act already bans people from disseminating false information about candidates, impersonating election officials and more. Penalties include up to a $10,000 fine and a year in jail.

Manitoba’s chief electoral officer, Shipra Verma, said in a recent annual report that the law should be expanded to also ban objectively false information about …