Kinew marked the two-year anniversary of his election win by saying progress is being made on an emergency department in south Winnipeg he promised on the campaign trail.

He says shovels will be in the ground in March on the project, and more health-care workers have been added to the system to make the idea a reality.

Kinew is also promising progress on balancing the budget by 2027 -- a campaign promise proving to be elusive.

The government ran a higher-then-expected deficit last year and is on track to finish with more red ink again this year.

Kinew says government departments are being given targets in advance of next year's budget, and a bigger government-wide effort on cost control will be announced soon.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2025