Grant Devine tried it with his Rally 'Round Saskatchewan stunt, Pierre Trudeau tried it with his "our land is strong" campaign and most recently Lorne Calvert tried it with Saskatchewan's 'Wide Open Future' campaign. Manitoba's NDP government is looking for a way to keep its residents and bring back those that have left.

Apparently Manitoba has an image problem, and the government wants to fix it with a $500,000 "branding" campaign. Sounds like short-term pain for long-term gain, but don't forget this is also the same government that committed to end hallway medicine with a $15 million injection into our health care system and we all know that failed miserably.

During the 2003 provincial election, keeping young professionals in the province was on the minds of all major political parties. The victorious NDP committed to do something about it - but this is not the first time Manitoba taxpayers have paid for botched election commitments made by the current government. In 2002, the province launched "Manitoba Calling," a magazine designed to emphasize the province's strengths coupled with job advertisements. With little success, and $200,000 later, the government silently ended circulation.

Fast-forward to 2004 and the Premier's Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) has recommended a branding strategy as a beneficial way to strip away the negative image outsiders may have of Manitoba. As an aside, the PEAC are the same busy beavers that recommended the province create yet another Crown Corporation called Travel Manitoba that will begin its work in April of 2005. A further little factoid on this project - no Manitoba advertising companies were even in the running for the contract. Manitoba's Advertising Association was unaware that such a project was even on the radar screen and as they appropriately pointed out earlier this year, this is not a ringing endorsement for our homegrown ad firms.

The stated purpose of the campaign is to show the rest of Canada and the world what a wonderful place Manitoba is to live, and to win back the expatriates in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. However this taxpayer-funded campaign, currently pegged at half a million dollars, is manipulative because it goes for our hearts, and not our minds. It plays on our feelings of loyalty and patriotism, and attempts to channel them toward the government's political gain. It's cynical because the government knows that 'appearing' to do something is more politically expedient than actually affecting change.

The company which will be handling the onerous task of branding Manitoba - Interbrand, from New York, will surely have their work cut out for them. How do you put a positive spin on the highest income taxes west of Quebec Fostering an economic climate that keeps young people working, conducting business and raising families are just some issues that need to be focused on, doing so will give you something to sell to expatriates.

Rest assured Manitobans, the final decision won't be made by politicians on how to brand Manitoba; this mighty task, with input from the public via a website, will be left up to a group of unelected and unaccountable individuals. Make your voice heard, visit the website at www.brandmanitoba.ca take the survey and tell the committee exactly what you think Manitoba needs to make itself an attractive place to work and live. After all, you're paying for it.

Adrienne Batra
Provincial Director, Manitoba
Canadian Taxpayers Federation