A cabinet minister until the Tories were defeated by Wab Kinew’s New Democratic Party last year, Kevin Klein has been writing a column in the Winnipeg Sun since the October provincial election.Steve Lambert/The Canadian Press
The soon-to-be owner of three newspapers in the Manitoba market is excited about the future of local journalism but is not ruling out a run to become leader of the provincial Progressive Conservative Party.
“Never say never,” said Kevin Klein in a wide-ranging interview with The Globe and Mail. “That’s what I’ve learned from my time in politics.”
A cabinet minister until the Tories were defeated by Wab Kinew’s New Democratic Party last year, Mr. Klein has been writing a column in the Winnipeg Sun since the October provincial election. He was a city councillor until 2022, after which he ran in Winnipeg’s mayoral race that fall, where he placed third. Prior to that, save for a five-month break in 2014, he was publisher of the Winnipeg Sun from 2007 to 2015.
This week, Postmedia Network Canada Corp. announced it has agreed to sell three of the media chain’s titles to a group of investors led by Mr. Klein: The Graphic Leader, west of the provincial capital in the small city of Portage la Prairie; Kenora Miner & News, which serves the cottage country area around Lake of the Woods at the Manitoba-Ontario border; and the Winnipeg Sun.
The deal is scheduled to be finalized on or around June 1, subject to conditions set by Postmedia and the Klein Group Ltd. Financial details for the transaction were not disclosed.
Mr. Klein said that when he told his daughter he was acquiring the three papers, she asked him: “Isn’t print dead?”
“We all have to admit, the media business is certainly not a venture that everyone’s clamouring to get into,” he told The Globe. “But as I said to my daughter, ‘Remember dear, you still go to the news. You need it from somewhere and you want to make sure that it’s trustworthy. But more than anything, you want it to be local news about what is impacting you.’”
Premier Kinew, however, said he is skeptical about Mr. Klein’s plans with the newspapers. He noted that until recently, Mr. Klein was a partisan politician who was involved in an “ugly” campaign against the NDP.
“Manitobans are probably going to be keeping a careful eye on whether there is that balanced coverage,” Mr. Kinew told reporters at the legislature.
Mr. Klein said he understands where the Premier’s comments are coming from, but that does not deter him. After the deal closes, he is expected to become president and CEO of the newspapers – a role that will be similar to the one he held as publisher, he added.
But Mr. Klein appears to still be interested in a future political career.
Manitoba Tories picked Wayne Ewasko, another ex-cabinet minister, to be their interim leader in January after former premier Heather Stefanson resigned from the post following her party’s rough loss on election night. The Official Opposition party is expected to hold a vote for a permanent leader in April, 2025.
Mr. Klein said he has not decided whether he will be tossing his hat in that ring. “I want to be very clear that this new venture is what I’m fully committed to right now,” he said. “I want to hear from our readers, subscribers and also the employees. I want to see what is working and what isn’t.”
The Klein Group, which does not publicly list its major shareholders, has “people involved that are all from Manitoba,” Mr. Klein said.
“It wouldn’t be prudent to say we’re looking to make changes. We’re looking to learn, and we’re excited to listen. And then from that, we’ll see what the future brings. We want to provide critical news, information that’s factual, and allow readers to form their own minds about what’s happening around them.”
In a press release, the companies said, both unionized and non-unionized employees at the media outlets are expected to continue in their roles without any job cuts anticipated.
Postmedia president and chief executive Andrew MacLeod described Mr. Klein’s investment group as one that will continue the “long tradition of providing trusted and valuable journalism in these important markets,” adding in the press release that the newspapers will continue to benefit from his company’s support.
An internal memo to employees in Winnipeg on Monday, obtained by The Globe, offered further clarity about the partnership between the Klein Group and Postmedia. It stated that the local newspapers will still be able to make use of news stories and opinion columns from Postmedia’s other national outlets.
“This is a model that is unique to a distinct market,” the internal memo said. “The papers were no longer sustainable for us, and we were able to attract a local group with a commitment to keeping operations going.”
Last month, Postmedia reported a net loss of $20.1-million in its latest quarter as its revenue fell nearly 13 per cent. The media company, much like its competitors across the country, has faced severe headwinds over the years, cutting hundreds of jobs and closing dozens of Canadian dailies and weeklies.