Wab Kinew

Early life and education

Wab Kinew was born on December 31, 1981, in Kenora, Ontario, and is a member of the Ojibways of Onigaming First Nation in Northwestern Ontario. His father was Tobasonakwut Kinew, a former local and regional chief and a professor of Indigenous governance at the University of Winnipeg, and his mother is Dr. Kathi Avery Kinew, a policy analyst. His family moved to suburban Winnipeg during his childhood, where he attended Collège Béliveau, a French immersion school, and spent summers in Onigaming. Kinew completed his secondary education at the University of Winnipeg Collegiate, a private high school he later described in a 2014 interview as one of the best in the city. He pursued post-secondary studies at the University of Manitoba, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. Kinew also undertook graduate work towards a master's degree in Indigenous governance, though he did not complete this program before his career in broadcasting began.

Broadcasting and media career

Kinew's media career began after a letter he wrote to the Winnipeg Free Press about Team Canada hockey caught the attention of a local CBC Radio producer, leading to the creation and airing of a documentary feature on the subject. He became a reporter and host for the CBC's radio and television operations, including the weekly Winnipeg arts magazine show The 204. His national profile grew with his work on the 2012 documentary series 8th Fire, for which he was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award. Kinew also hosted the documentary program Fault Lines on Al Jazeera America, expanding his work into international current affairs journalism. In 2014, he appeared as a panelist on CBC Radio's Canada Reads, successfully defending Joseph Boyden's novel The Orenda, which won the competition. He later served as a guest host for the national radio program Q for two weeks in December 2014 and moderated the 2015 edition of Canada Reads. In 2010, his professional standing was recognized when he was named a finalist for the Future Leaders of Manitoba award, a distinction he lost to filmmaker Adam Smoluk, and other notable finalists that year included Olympic champion Jennifer Jones and radio personality David 'Ace' Burpee.

Music and university administration

Parallel to his broadcasting work, Kinew maintained an active career in music. In the mid-2000s, he was a member of the Winnipeg hip-hop groups Slangblossom and the Dead Indians. He launched his solo career with the release of his debut CD, Live by the Drum, in 2009, which won an Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Award for Best Rap/Hip-Hop CD. His second album, Mide-Sun, followed in 2010. In the academic sphere, the University of Winnipeg named Kinew its first director of Indigenous Inclusion in 2011. He was promoted to associate vice-president of Indigenous Relations in 2014 following the resignation of Jennifer Rattray. In this role, he also served as an honorary witness for the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission. His contributions to Indigenous education and reconciliation were recognized with an honorary doctorate degree from Cape Breton University, which he received on October 25, 2014.

Literary works and awards

Wab Kinew is the author of six books, all published by Penguin Canada, which span memoir, children's literature, and young adult fiction. His first book, the 2015 memoir The Reason You Walk, chronicles the year 2012 and his efforts to reconnect with his father while addressing his past struggles with alcoholism, his assault conviction involving a taxi driver, and misogynistic and homophobic lyrics from his music career. The book won the 2016 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for non-fiction, which included a $10,000 cash award, and a Globe and Mail reviewer noted its significance for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous readers. In 2018, he published the children's book Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes, inspired by Barack Obama's Of Thee I Sing and K'naan's song Take a Minute. It profiles figures like John Herrington, Sacagawea, Carey Price, and Crazy Horse and was shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature.

His 2021 young adult fantasy novel, Walking in Two Worlds, in which an Indigenous teen girl is caught between the real world and a virtual video-game universe, won an Aurora Award for science fiction and fantasy in 2022. Kinew has written a total of six books published by Penguin Canada. His subsequent publications include The Everlasting Road in 2023, An Anishinaabe Christmas in 2024, and We Are Who We Are: An Ode to Indigenous Heroes Past and Present in 2026. His 2015 memoir, The Reason You Walk, chronicles the year 2012 and won the 2016 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for non-fiction. His 2018 children's book, Go Show the World, made the shortlist for the Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature.

Published works by Wab Kinew:

• The Reason You Walk: A Memoir (2015)
• Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes (2018)
• Walking in Two Worlds (2021)
• The Everlasting Road (2023)
• An Anishinaabe Christmas (2024)
• We Are Who We Are: An Ode to Indigenous Heroes Past and Present (2026)

Entry into politics and opposition leadership

Kinew first considered a run for national Indigenous leadership in 2014 but decided against campaigning for the Assembly of First Nations leadership due to being newly married in August and feeling it was not the right time to be away from home. He formally entered provincial politics in 2016 as the Manitoba NDP candidate for Fort Rouge. During the final days of that campaign, past misogynistic and homophobic tweets and social media comments were discovered on his feed, creating a scandal and calls for the NDP to drop him from the ballot. Following an apology, he won the election on April 19, 2016, defeating Manitoba Liberal Party leader Rana Bokhari. He was subsequently named the NDP's spokesperson for reconciliation and opposition critic for Education, Advanced Learning, and Training, as well as for Housing and Community Development.

In 2017, Kinew ran for and won the leadership of the Manitoba NDP, defeating former cabinet minister Steve Ashton by a margin of 728 votes to 253 at the party's September 16 convention. This victory made him the first elected First Nations leader of a major party in Manitoba's history. As leader of the opposition, he introduced several private member's bills, including Bill 223 in 2017 to mark September 30 as Orange Shirt Day, Bill 228 in 2019 to establish Sikh Heritage Month, and a bill to bestow the title of honorary first premier on Métis leader Louis Riel and require his contributions be taught in schools. He led the NDP into the 2019 provincial election, where the party gained six seats but failed to defeat the incumbent Progressive Conservative majority government, after which the NDP gained a lead in public opinion polls.

Premiership of Manitoba: policy and governance

Kinew led the Manitoba NDP to victory in the 2023 provincial election on a platform focused on healthcare reform and was sworn in as premier on October 18, 2023. During his first year, his government implemented a provincial fuel tax holiday set to last until the end of 2024, a measure costing an estimated $340 million in tax revenue. He announced a five-point plan to address crime and public safety, which included creating a community monitoring and supervision program for chronic offenders. Fulfilling a major campaign pledge, his government authorized a search of the Prairie Green Landfill for the remains of victims of the 2022 Winnipeg serial killings. The search began in December 2024 and located the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran on February 26, 2025, with identifications confirmed by police on March 7 and March 17, 2025. Kinew stated the search was completed significantly under budget.

In healthcare, his administration expanded Manitoba pharmacare to cover prescription birth control and menopause transition medications, expanded the capacity of existing health clinics, opened the first of five planned new neighbourhood health clinics, and began replacing paper health cards with plastic ones starting in 2025. The NDP's 2024 budget increased overall spending by six percent. Other social policy initiatives included a December 2024 pledge to begin moving people from homeless encampments into proper housing in 2025. On economic and energy files, Kinew signed agreements with other provinces in 2025 to reduce interprovincial trade barriers during a trade war with the United States, created a meth task force to combat drug trafficking, and his government froze some electricity exports to the United States while redirecting hydro exports to Canadian projects. His government also established a new Manitoba Crown Indigenous Corporation in 2025.

Major infrastructure and budgetary actions:

• Announced a $51 million investment in the Arctic Gateway Group to improve the Hudson Bay rail line and build a new critical-minerals storage facility at the Port of Churchill, aimed at increasing northern trade.
• The government's 2026 budget reported a $498 million deficit.
• The 2026 budget included the elimination of the provincial sales tax on groceries and the continuation of a price freeze on one-litre milk cartons.
• His government promoted the expansion of the Port of Churchill as a key trade corridor.

Personal life and legal history

Kinew has recounted experiencing racially motivated assaults by adults while growing up in suburban Winnipeg. After moving out of his parents' home at age 19, he developed problems with alcohol that led to a series of legal issues. In February 2003, he was arrested in Winnipeg after a witness followed his erratic driving for several kilometres, seeing him lose control of his vehicle twice. Police reported he had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and a near-empty bottle of gin in the back seat, and he was later convicted of impaired driving after refusing a breathalyzer. In June 2003, the RCMP charged him with two counts of domestic assault related to allegations by his then-girlfriend, Tara Hart, who stated he threw her across a room. These charges were stayed in 2004, with Kinew denying the allegations and Hart maintaining they were true, and she said she never heard from the Crown on why the charges were stayed.

In June 2004, while bound by a court recognizance, Kinew was arrested following an altercation with a taxi driver where, according to the Crown, he made racial comments, punched the driver in the face, pushed him to the ground, and kicked him, resulting in a conviction for assault. His account in his 2015 memoir differed significantly from the court record. Also in 2004, he received a conditional discharge for an assault in Ontario after getting into a fight, and he has stated a 2006 charge for stealing a money order was stayed when he repaid the money. Kinew has stated he underwent extensive rehabilitation, including attending sweat lodges, a sun dance ceremony where he fasted for four days and pulled buffalo skulls by piercings, and regular Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. He quit drinking and was granted a pardon by the Parole Board of Canada in 2016, which removed records of his convictions for assault, impaired driving, and breaches of court orders from the police database. Kinew married Dr. Lisa Monkman, an Ojibwe family physician who practises at an inner-city clinic, in September 2016. They have a son born in May 2017, and Kinew has two sons from a previous relationship. He is trilingual, speaking Ojibwe, English, and French.

Electoral performance and political milestones

Kinew's political career is marked by several historic firsts and consistent electoral success in his riding. He first won the seat of Fort Rouge in 2016 and has held it since, providing a stable base for his leadership. His victory in the 2017 NDP leadership convention was decisive, and his subsequent election as premier in 2023 broke a significant historical barrier. The following table outlines the provincial election results under his leadership.

His leadership has been defined by a focus on healthcare, reconciliation, and economic policies. He implemented a provincial fuel tax holiday until the end of 2024 and his government's 2026 budget eliminated the provincial sales tax on groceries. The NDP won the 2023 provincial election, making Kinew the first First Nations person to be elected a provincial premier in Canada. He is also Manitoba's first Indigenous premier since Métis Premier John Norquay in 1887. Ahead of the 2023 election, the race tightened during the campaign period, which focused on healthcare reform.

Questions about Wab Kinew

What are some of Wab Kinew's major accomplishments as premier?

As premier, Kinew implemented a provincial fuel tax holiday, costing the provincial government $340 million in tax revenue. His government announced a 5-point plan to address crime and public safety. The government began searching the Prairie Green Landfill for remains of victims of the 2022 Winnipeg serial killings, finding the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran in 2025. His government also expanded pharmacare coverage, began opening new neighbourhood health clinics, and introduced plastic health cards. In 2025, he signed agreements with other provinces to reduce interprovincial trade barriers and created a new Manitoba Crown Indigenous Corporation.

What books has Wab Kinew written?

Wab Kinew has written six books published by Penguin Canada. These are The Reason You Walk, Go Show the World, Walking in Two Worlds, The Everlasting Road, An Anishinaabe Christmas, and We Are Who We Are: An Ode to Indigenous Heroes Past and Present. The Reason You Walk is a memoir that won the 2016 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize. Walking in Two Worlds won an Aurora Award in 2022. Go Show the World was shortlisted for a Governor General's Literary Award.

What is Wab Kinew known for?

Wab Kinew is known as the 25th Premier of Manitoba, a position he has held since October 2023. He is also the leader of the Manitoba New Democratic Party, a role he has held since 2017. Before his political career, he was a prominent author, musician, and broadcaster, best known for hosting programming on CBC Radio and CBC Television. Kinew holds the historic distinction of being Canada's first provincial premier of First Nations descent. He is Manitoba's first Indigenous premier since Métis Premier John Norquay in 1887.

What is Wab Kinew's background before politics?

Before entering politics, Wab Kinew had a varied career in media, music, and university administration. He was a reporter and host for CBC, working on shows like the weekly arts magazine The 204 and the national documentary series 8th Fire, which earned him a Canadian Screen Award nomination. As a musician, he released hip hop albums, winning an Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Award for his 2009 CD Live by the Drum. In university administration, he served as the University of Winnipeg's first director of Indigenous Inclusion and later as its associate vice president of Indigenous Relations.

When did Wab Kinew become premier of Manitoba?

Wab Kinew was sworn in as Premier of Manitoba on October 18, 2023. He attained this position after leading the Manitoba New Democratic Party to victory in the 2023 provincial election. Prior to becoming premier, he had served as the Leader of the Opposition since 2017. He has represented the riding of Fort Rouge in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba since first being elected in 2016.

What is Wab Kinew's Indigenous heritage?

Wab Kinew is a member of the Ojibways of Onigaming First Nation in Northwestern Ontario. He was born in Kenora, Ontario, and is the son of Tobasonakwut Kinew, a former local and regional chief and a professor of Indigenous governance. This heritage makes him Canada's first provincial premier of First Nations descent. He is also recognized as Manitoba's first Indigenous premier since the tenure of Métis Premier John Norquay, which ended in 1887.

Sources and further reading

• Wab Kinew (Wikipedia)
• The life of Wab Kinew: From rapper and broadcaster to ... (cbc.ca)

Checked by the Yadude Books desk. Last updated 2026-10-23.