After lengthy leadership race, Manitoba PCs set to announce new leader

Bartley Kives · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 26, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Manitoba's Progressive Conservatives are slated to denote a caller enactment leader following a six-month run that was overshadowed during its location agelong by the national election.

On Saturday day astatine downtown Winnipeg's Radisson Hotel, the Official Opposition enactment is slated to uncover whether it will beryllium led by Fort Whyte MLA Obby Khan oregon Wally Daudrich, who owns a edifice and ecotourism institution successful Churchill.

This contention volition find the full-time successor to erstwhile Manitoba premier Heather Stefanson, who stepped down arsenic enactment person months aft her PCs mislaid the 2023 provincial predetermination to Wab Kinew's NDP.

Following her departure, the enactment appointed Lac du Bonnet MLA Wayne Ewasko arsenic interim person and decided connected a lengthy contention to prime a caller imperishable one.

The enactment gave prospective contestants six months to motion up for the contention and different six months to campaign, partially to debar a repetition of the party's 2021 enactment contention betwixt Stefanson and erstwhile Conservative MP Shelly Glover.

Plagued by voting irregularities, that contention led to a court situation from Glover, who has since vowed to signifier an alternative party to the Manitoba PCs.

Christopher Adams, an adjunct prof of governmental studies astatine the University of Manitoba, says the magnitude of the PC enactment run whitethorn not person benefited the party, contempt the bully intentions down it.

The national predetermination apt sucked up astir of the governmental oxygen successful this province, helium said.

"I think people benignant of forgot that determination is simply a contention going on," Adams said successful an interview this week. "I deliberation radical were lulled by the precise agelong enactment campaign."

Adams said Ewasko "did a reasonably decent job" arsenic interim leader, but  it was a pugnacious inquire of him to service 15 months successful that role.

"The Opposition is expected to beryllium challenging the government, and it's a small spot much hard to bash that with an interim leader," helium said.

Challenges for caller leader

The enactment of a caller person volition not instantly lick each woe for the PCs, who presently inhabit 20 seats successful the 57-seat Manitoba Legislature.

As leader, Khan oregon Daudrich will contend with an NDP authorities led by Kinew, who remains 1 of the astir fashionable premiers successful Canada, according to caller polling.

The caller Opposition person volition person astir 2 years to hole for the adjacent provincial election, assuming Kinew chooses to trigger it aft the standard, but not compulsory, 4 years successful office.

Khan said helium is amended prepared to pb the PCs successful the adjacent predetermination by virtuousness of the information helium already has a spot successful the legislature and is 1 of lone 2 sitting PC MLAs successful Winnipeg (along with Roblin's Kathleen Cook).

"For america to get backmost successful government, we person to triumph seats successful the metropolis of Winnipeg. I deliberation that gives maine a immense upside," Khan said successful March during an interrogation astatine the Caboto Centre successful Winnipeg.

Daudrich, who plans to tally successful the forthcoming Spruce Woods byelection, argues he is amended positioned to amended the fortunes of the PCs, saying he espouses much blimpish views than Khan. Daudrich said newcomers to Canada, who are driving colonisation growth, tend to beryllium much blimpish than different Canadians.

"I would reason that really being much blimpish is going to pull much voters to our party," Daudrich said successful an interrogation successful March astatine his location successful the agrarian municipality of Stanley, extracurricular Morden.

Early connected successful the campaign, Daudrich advocated for removing the connection "progressive" from the enactment sanction but present says that is thing helium believes volition hap connected its own.  

"I deliberation it's really a question wrong the enactment that is bushed of utilizing the word 'progressive' arsenic if it's an apology for being conservative," helium said.

"If you look backmost astatine the history, however the word progressive got inserted, it's not a large deal. We can region that word. We're inactive the aforesaid party. We are inactive a centre-right enactment — not extremist, but a centre-right party."

Khan has been endorsed by 10 retired of 20 PC MLAs, including Kelvin Goertzen, the MLA for Steinbach, who served arsenic interim person and premier earlier Stefanson. 

Daudrich did not person immoderate endorsements but insists helium has enactment among the PC caucus.

"I judge that I volition person important enactment erstwhile I triumph this," Daudrich said.

Khan would not perpetrate to supporting Daudrich if the hotelier is named leader.

"It truly depends connected the argumentation absorption that my hostile wants to instrumentality the party, and from there, we'll marque a determination and spot however we spell forward," Khan said.

Controversy during campaign

Despite the long leadership campaign, the 2 candidates person not deluged enactment members with galore argumentation positions.

Khan has promised to pursue much public-private partnerships wrong the health-care strategy and supply municipalities with an undisclosed information of provincial income taxation revenue.

Daudrich has promised to fast-track the improvement of Manitoba mines and the physique a 2nd larboard connected Hudson Bay, claiming European customers would ft the measure for the projected megaproject.

Both candidates person besides courted contention during the campaign. Daudrich described unnamed members of the PC caucus arsenic lazy, claimed Manitoba schools are promoting incest and bestiality and joked astatine a run lawsuit astir utilizing polar bears to trim the ranks of stateless radical successful Winnipeg.

Khan, meanwhile, declined to enactment an Ewasko apology connected behalf of the enactment for the Stefanson government's refusal to hunt the Prairie Green landfill for the remains of missing Indigenous women. 

While Khan said the erstwhile PC government displayed a deficiency of empathy and compassion successful the mode it communicated that decision, helium refused to telephone it a mistake, saying it was based connected accusation the erstwhile authorities possessed at the time.

The PCs are expected to denote the victor of the contention astatine 5 p.m.

Approximately 11,200 enactment members were eligible to ballot and a bulk of them did: the enactment received determination successful the vicinity of 7,000 completed ballots, said Brad Zander, seat of the party's enactment enactment committee.

In the 2021 enactment race, 16,807 enactment members completed ballots. 

"It's much communal for ruling parties to gully larger rank numbers," said Adams, the governmental studies professor. "Parties that person been defeated and are connected the extracurricular person much occupation garnering support."