Editing Manitoba (section)

== Government and politics ==
{{See also|Politics of Manitoba|List of rural municipalities in Manitoba|Monarchy in Manitoba}}
[[File:Parliamentwinnipeg manitoba.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A large concrete building with Classical-style columns and a green dome topped by a golden statue|The [[Manitoba Legislative Building]], meeting place of the [[Legislative Assembly of Manitoba]]]]
After the control of Rupert's Land was passed from Great Britain to the Government of Canada in 1869, Manitoba attained full-fledged rights and responsibilities of self-government as the first Canadian province carved out of [[Rupert's Land]].<ref>{{vcite book|author=Dupont, Jerry|title=The Common Law Abroad: Constitutional and Legal Legacy of the British Empire|publisher=Fred B Rothman & Co|year=2000|pages=139–142|isbn=978-0-8377-3125-4}}</ref> The [[Legislative Assembly of Manitoba]] was established on 14 July 1870. Political parties first emerged between 1878 and 1883, with a two-party system ([[Manitoba Liberal Party|Liberals]] and [[Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba|Conservatives]]).<ref name="adams">{{vcite journal|author=Adams, Chris|date=17 September 2006|title= Manitoba's Political Party Systems: An Historical Overview|journal=Annual Meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association|publisher=York University|pages=2–23}}</ref> The [[Progressive Party of Manitoba|United Farmers of Manitoba]] appeared in 1922, and later merged with the Liberals in 1932.<ref name="adams"/> Other parties, including the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), appeared during the Great Depression; in the 1950s, Manitoban politics became a three-party system, and the Liberals gradually declined in power.<ref name="adams"/> The CCF became the New Democratic Party of Manitoba (NDP), which came to power in 1969.<ref name="adams"/> Since then, the Progressive Conservatives and the NDP have been the dominant parties.<ref name="adams"/>

Like all Canadian provinces, Manitoba is governed by a [[unicameral legislative assembly]].<ref>{{vcite book|author=Summers, Harrison Boyd|title=Unicameral Legislatures|publisher=Wilson|year=1936|volume=11|page=9|oclc=1036784}}</ref> The [[executive (government)|executive branch]] is formed by the governing party; the [[party leader]] is the [[premier of Manitoba]], the head of the executive branch. The head of state, [[King Charles&nbsp;III]], is represented by the [[lieutenant governor of Manitoba]], who is appointed by the [[governor general of Canada]] on advice of the [[Prime Minister of Canada|prime minister]].<ref name="roles">{{vcite web|url=http://www.lg.gov.mb.ca/role/resp.html|title=Roles and Responsibilities|publisher=Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba|accessdate=29 October 2009|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091113194312/http://lg.gov.mb.ca/role/resp.html|archivedate=13 November 2009}}</ref> The head of state is primarily a ceremonial role, although the lieutenant governor has the official responsibility of ensuring Manitoba has a duly constituted government.<ref name="roles"/>

The Legislative Assembly consists of the 57 Members elected to represent the people of Manitoba.<ref>{{vcite book|author=Hogg, Peter W|title=The Role of Courts in Society|editor=Shetreet, Shimon|publisher=Aspen Publishing|year=1988|page=9|chapter=Necessity in Manitoba: The Role of Courts in Formative or Crisis Periods|isbn=978-90-247-3670-6}}</ref> The [[List of premiers of Manitoba|premier]] of Manitoba is [[Wab Kinew]], who was elected in the 2023 provincial election.<ref>{{vcite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/premier-designate-wab-kinew-election-news-conference-1.6986337|date=4 October 2023|title='I've got your back': Manitoba premier-designate Wab Kinew offers support to strikers|author=Bernhardt, Darren}}</ref> The province is represented in federal politics by 14 Members of Parliament and six [[Senate of Canada|Senators]].<ref>{{vcite web|url=http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx?TimePeriod=Current&Language=E|title=Members of Parliament|publisher=Government of Canada|accessdate=12 November 2009|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110424171818/http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx?Language=E&TimePeriod=Current|archivedate=24 April 2011}}</ref><ref>{{vcite web|url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/senmemb/senate/isenator.asp?Language=E|title=Senators|publisher=Government of Canada|accessdate=12 November 2009|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100224073149/http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/senmemb/senate/isenator.asp?Language=E|archivedate=24 February 2010}}</ref>

Manitoba's judiciary consists of the [[Manitoba Court of Appeal|Court of Appeal]], the [[Court of King's Bench of Manitoba|Court of King's Bench]], and the [[Provincial Court of Manitoba|Provincial Court]]. The Provincial Court is primarily for criminal law; 95 per cent of criminal cases in Manitoba are heard here.<ref>{{vcite web|url=http://www.manitobacourts.mb.ca/pr/pr_work.html|title=Provincial Court&nbsp;– Description of the Court's Work|date=21 September 2006|publisher=Manitoba Courts|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422060626/http://manitobacourts.mb.ca/pr/pr_work.html|archivedate=22 April 2009}}</ref> The Court of King's Bench is the highest trial court in the province. It has four jurisdictions: [[family law]] ([[child and family services]] cases), [[civil law (common law)|civil law]], [[criminal law]] (for [[indictable offence]]s), and [[appeal]]s. The Court of Appeal hears appeals from both benches; its decisions can only be appealed to the [[Supreme Court of Canada]].<ref>{{vcite book|author=Brawn, Dale|title=The Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba, 1870–1950: A Biographical History|publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2006|pages=16–20|isbn=978-0-8020-9225-0}}</ref>

=== Official languages ===
{{further|Bilingualism in Canada|Manitoba Act}}
Both English and French are [[official language]]s of the [[legislature of Manitoba|legislature]] and [[Provincial Court of Manitoba|courts]] of Manitoba, according to section 23 of the ''[[Manitoba Act, 1870]]'' (part of the [[Constitution of Canada]]).<ref name=bilingual>{{vcite web|date=August 2012|title=Bilingualism in Manitoba|url=https://www.gov.mb.ca/fls-slf/pdf/bilingualism_mb_august_2012.pdf|publisher=Government of Manitoba Francophone Affairs Secretariat|archivedate=24 January 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124233615/https://www.gov.mb.ca/fls-slf/pdf/bilingualism_mb_august_2012.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{vcite web|date=15 February 1870|title=Statutes of Canada (Manitoba Act 1870, Section 24)|url=https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_08050_3/38?r=0&s=1|website=Canadiana Online|page=24}}</ref> In April 1890, the Manitoba legislature attempted to abolish the official status of French and ceased to publish bilingual legislation. However, in 1985, the [[Supreme Court of Canada]] ruled in the [[Reference re Manitoba Language Rights]] that section 23 still applied, and that legislation published only in English was invalid (unilingual legislation was declared valid for a temporary period to allow time for translation).<ref>{{vcite book|author=Hebert, Raymond M|title=Manitoba's French-Language Crisis: A Cautionary Tale|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press|year=2005|pages=xiv–xvi, 11–12, 30, 67–69|isbn=978-0-7735-2790-4}}</ref>

Although French is an official language for the purposes of the legislature, legislation, and the courts, the ''Manitoba Act'' does not require it to be an official language for the purpose of the executive branch (except when performing legislative or judicial functions).<ref>In [1992] 1 S.C.R. 221–222 [http://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/834/index.do scc-csc.lexum.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520003655/http://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/834/index.do |date=20 May 2014 }}, the Supreme Court rejected the contentions of the Société Franco-manitobaine that §23 extends to executive functions of the executive branch.</ref> Hence, Manitoba's government is not completely bilingual. The Manitoba French Language Services Policy of 1999 is intended to provide a comparable level of provincial government services in both official languages.<ref>{{vcite web|url=https://www.gov.mb.ca/fls-slf/pdf/fls_policy.pdf|title=Manitoba Francophone Affairs Secretariat|publisher=Government of Manitoba|accessdate=29 October 2009|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524231502/http://www.gov.mb.ca/fls-slf/pdf/fls_policy.pdf|archivedate=24 May 2010}}</ref> According to the 2006 Census, 82.8 percent of Manitoba's population spoke only English, 3.2 percent spoke only French, 15.1 percent spoke both, and 0.9 percent spoke neither.<ref>{{vcite web|url=http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/demo15-eng.htm |title=Population by knowledge of official language, by province and territory (2006 Census) |date=11 December 2007 |publisher=Statistics Canada |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110115061228/http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/demo15-eng.htm |archivedate=15 January 2011 }}</ref>

In 2010, the provincial government of Manitoba passed the ''Aboriginal Languages Recognition Act'', which gives official recognition to seven indigenous languages: [[Cree language|Cree]], [[Dakota language|Dakota]], [[Dene language|Dene]], [[Inuktitut]], [[Michif]], [[Ojibway language|Ojibway]] and [[Oji-Cree language|Oji-Cree]].<ref>{{vcite web |url=http://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/statutes/ccsm/a001-5e.php |title=The Aboriginal Languages Recognition Act |publisher=Web2.gov.mb.ca |date=17 June 2010 |url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130411062204/http://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/statutes/ccsm/a001-5e.php |archivedate=11 April 2013  }}</ref>