Manitoba’s legislative assembly faces turmoil following accusations of racism and transphobia during heated exchanges between Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats. Both parties agree the recent shouting matches exceed acceptable bounds, though they differ on responsibility.
Speaker Calls for Decorum
Tom Lindsey, Speaker of the Manitoba Legislature, urged members to maintain order on Wednesday amid ongoing clashes. “The levels … in this chamber every day prevent me from being able to do the job of Speaker properly. I am once again imploring all members to keep the levels … to a minimum, to try harder to be respectful of each other, and of your Speaker,” Lindsey stated.
On Tuesday, Lindsey issued nearly three dozen “order” calls during question period as barbs flew between the NDP and Progressive Conservatives throughout the afternoon.
Transphobia Allegation Against Opposition Leader
Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara, Manitoba’s first non-binary MLA, reported hearing Opposition Leader Obby Khan direct a transphobic remark at them. “The leader of the Opposition started yelling across the way, at me, ‘You’re terrible,’ and then said to me, while leaning forward, ‘Whatever you are,'” Asagwara recounted to reporters.
Asagwara emphasized the impact: “To hear somebody who wants to call himself a leader refer to another human being as ‘whatever you are’ doesn’t dehumanize me. It dehumanizes those people in our communities who are already unsafe, who are already vulnerable, and who maybe, maybe when they look in the mirror, don’t have the level of confidence within themselves to just shake it off.”
Asagwara confirmed calling Khan a bigot on Wednesday. Premier Wab Kinew and House Leader Nahanni Fontaine assert Khan targeted Asagwara’s gender identity, referencing his role in 2023 PC campaign ads on parental rights aimed at trans and gender-nonconforming youth.
Video from Tuesday’s question period proves inconclusive on the exact words exchanged.
Khan’s Denial and Counter-Accusations
Khan acknowledged tempers flared Tuesday but denied the specific remark. “Yesterday, unfortunately, tempers flared. I apologize for this … I did say, ‘You are a terrible person.’ I followed that up by saying, ‘Whatever you are saying, say it outside,'” he clarified.
Khan described the phrase as a common challenge to repeat comments outside, where parliamentary privilege does not apply. He accused NDP members, including Kinew, of labeling him racist and claimed Fontaine said, “Oh, cry me a river, you poor immigrant”—a remark she denies.
“The heckles were there yesterday when … the premier said I was a millionaire, and I explained that my family came here as immigrants. I was born in Ottawa, and we couldn’t afford a pair of football cleats to play football and … we struggled growing up,” Khan explained. “And yet, the premier and the minister of families say, ‘Cry me a river, poor immigrant.'”
Heckling Culture and Speaker’s Role
Asagwara, Fontaine, and Khan recognize heckling as a longstanding feature of question period but stress boundaries exist. Khan questions Speaker Lindsey’s impartiality, suggesting NDP members receive leniency.
“I hope that this is an opportunity for us to all move forward on a level playing field. The Speaker, as we know, is supposed to be non-political, non-biased, down the middle. I don’t see how that’s being conducted that way right now,” Khan said. Lindsey maintains he cannot fully control House behavior.
Lindsey warned both sides Wednesday: “both sides are guilty of hollering back and forth insults, and both sides need to stop it.” He is investigating Khan’s alleged comment and previously addressed decorum issues in spring 2025 and at the fall sitting’s start on October 1, threatening ejections for non-compliance.
