Keystone Party of Manitoba

The Keystone Party of Manitoba is a provincial political party in Manitoba, Canada. It was registered on June 28, 2022.

Foundation
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. 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.

2023 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. The party is basing its campaign on trying to connect with voters disatisifed with government overreach during the COVID-19 pandemic. 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. 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. The party held its convention in the Austin community centre on June 17, 2023, to establish the party's constitution and policies.

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. 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." 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.

44th Manitoba general election
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.

Party platform
The party has a ten-point Statement of Principles. These principles are as follows:


 * Fundamental Rights. Advocating for the abolition of human rights tribunals and for their powers to be delegated to other court systems.
 * Personal Freedoms. Everyone is entitled to equal opportunity and to ensure that legislation reflects these opportunities.
 * Social Responsibility. Persons unable to care for themselves should be cared for by the Province's government.
 * Service-Based Leadership. Elected officials should be free to vote as they deem fit and must be held accountable by their constituents.
 * Free Enterprise. Holding that the Free Market should be the driving force behind Manitoba's economy. That protectionism is kept to a minimum to create a robust economy.
 * Jurisdictional Government. That Manitoba should actively resist federal oversight as outlined in sections 92 to 95 of the Canadian Constitution. That parents should determine what schools their children go to and that the Province should "protect air, land, and water as a heritage to pass from generation to generation".
 * Localism. Limit the size of the provincial government to empower local municipalities.
 * Justice Equality. To end backlogs in the courts to ensure they're affordable for the individual. And to ensure laws are applied equally to everyone regardless of their status and stature.
 * Results-Based Policy. Smaller government, lower spending and balanced budgets as means to ensure financial freedom.
 * Trust. The government should strive to build trust between communities, and that the best way to build trust is through transparency.