Manitoba’s premier has flatly rejected a plan by six Manitoba First Nations to move their casino from the rural north to the provincial capital Winnipeg.

The tribal operators of the Aseneskak Casino have been trying for years to move their gaming operation from the Opaskwayak Cree Nation near The Pas to a more populous region of the Canadian province, with Winnipeg their preferred destination. On Thursday, Premier Brian Pallister (pictured) gave them his answer: “Absolutely no.”

Pallister, whose Progressive Conservative government took power in April after nearly 17 years of NDP rule, said Winnipeg’s market was already saturated with gambling options, including the Shark Club Gaming Centre, which opened in 2013 as a partnership between the provincial gaming monopoly and True North Sports & Entertainment.

Pallister slammed the NDP for its major expansion of gambling, saying it “hasn’t solved our social problems. In fact, it’s actually made more of them worse.”