The Manitoba legislature in 2024. Premier Wab Kinew's office says Richard Madan's salary is comparable to those of trade reps in other provinces.JOHN WOODS/The Canadian Press
Manitoba’s trade representative in Washington, D.C. is making $387,000 a year.
Premier Wab Kinew’s office has revealed the salary for Richard Madan, a former television reporter hired in the spring to head up a trade office inside the Canadian Embassy.
The premier’s office says Madan’s pay is similar to money spent by some other provinces, including Ontario and Saskatchewan, on trade representatives or third-party lobby firms.
But Opposition Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan says Ontario has hired someone with trade experience, while Madan’s background is in reporting.
Madan’s salary is roughly double that of Kinew’s, and the NDP government initially declined to disclose it in the spring.
The premier’s office says Madan has started to organize an advocacy day for Manitoba on Capitol Hill to show U.S. officials facts about the province’s supply chains for food and minerals.