WINNIPEG – A political analyst says the Manitoba government is entering uncharted waters with a new bill aimed at cracking down on election disinformation.
University of Manitoba professor emeritus Paul Thomas says the proposed changes seem to try to go into the mindset of potential offenders and determine their motive.
The bill, now before the legislature, proposes new measures against deliberate attempts to spread false information about candidates or undermine confidence in elections.
It would penalize people, in the period leading up to an election, for knowingly making false statements or having reckless disregard as to whether the statements are false.
The bill also gives the provincial elections commissioner new powers to issue stop notices to people making false statements, which can carry fines of up to $20,000 a day if they are ignored.
Justice Minister Matt Wiebe says the bill is aimed at protecting fair elections and the stop-notice provisions allow for disinformation to be dealt with quickly.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2025
