Manitoba Conservative Election Ad Did Not Violate Campaign Law: Election Commissioner – Winnipeg | The Canadian News

Manitoba’s election commissioner says the ruling progressive conservatives did not violate campaign rules when they filmed part of an advertisement inside the prime minister’s office.

The complaint came from the New Opposition Democrats and concerned an announcement during the 2019 provincial elections.

The ad showed then-Prime Minister Brian Pallister speaking to people in various places, including a short part in which he was shown in his office with some fellow Conservatives.

The new Democrats said the use of the prime minister’s office violated a ban on using government resources in announcements leading up to an election period.

The NDP also said that the use of the office was an inappropriate contribution to a campaign.

Elections Commissioner Bill Bowles rejected both allegations, saying the takeover of the prime minister’s office was a brief glance at Pallister with a wall near him.

“The whole scene is less than two seconds long, and unless the viewer is watching closely, they could be completely lost,” Bowles wrote in his letter to NDP headquarters and a lawyer for Pallister.

Pallister made a donation to the campaign by allowing his office wall to be displayed, but did the same by allowing family photos to be used in the ad, Bowles wrote.

“I note that the purpose of the advertising and contribution limits in the (Election Financing Act) is to ensure a reasonably level playing field between parties and candidates in an election,” he said.

“None of these donations … can reasonably be considered to have given the PC party or any of its candidates an unfair advantage.

“Childhood photographs, a car, an office wall, etc., are all types of assets that other candidates are likely to have access to.”

The Conservatives won a second consecutive majority in the 2019 election, which Pallister called a year ahead of the scheduled date. He resigned as prime minister last month.