Manitoba PC leadership race data suggests Khan puts party in position to improve in Winnipeg, Brandon

Bartley Kives · CBC News

· Posted: May 01, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Obby Khan campaigned to pb Manitoba Progressive Conservatives on the ground he'd improve the party's fortunes among municipality voters.

The results of Manitoba's PC enactment contention bespeak the Fort Whyte MLA was so much fashionable among enactment members successful Winnipeg and Brandon than Wally Daudrich, his sole rival successful the race.

Khan won the Official Opposition party's enactment contention connected Saturday by securing more points nether a weighted ballot system, even though Daudrich earned much existent votes.

The contention was close, careless of the metric.

Under the weighted system, which awarded points to each of Manitoba's 57 constituencies based connected the fig of votes formed by PC members successful those areas, Khan racked up 2,198.8 points compared to Daudrich's 2,163.2.

Daudrich won the earthy ballot by 53 ballots, with 3,387 votes to Khan's 3,334.

The contention was not adjacent astatine each erstwhile you look astatine constituencies successful Winnipeg and Brandon alone.

According to voting information posted connected the party's website, Khan was by acold the much fashionable campaigner successful Winnipeg. He received much votes than Daudrich in 25 retired of 32 Winnipeg constituencies.

Khan bushed Daudrich by the largest margins successful suburban Winnipeg constituencies specified arsenic The Maples, Waverley and his location constituency of Fort Whyte.

The lone country of Winnipeg wherever Daudrich proved much fashionable was a seven-constituency crescent of the city's northeast quadrant.

If Winnipeg voters successful wide travel that pattern, the enactment could bash amended successful Winnipeg with Khan arsenic its person than it would person with Daudrich in the adjacent provincial election.

Right now, the NDP holds some Waverley and The Maples. Khan's spot is 1 of lone 2 the PCs person successful Winnipeg (Kathleen Cook's Roblin is the other).

That leaves tremendous country for a Khan-led Progressive Conservative Party to amended successful Winnipeg, adjacent though the imaginable of clawing backmost capable seats to instrumentality to powerfulness adjacent predetermination is unlikely.

History suggests Wab Kinew's NDP authorities volition gain a 2nd word careless of the party's performance. Manitobans thin to beryllium forgiving toward caller governments: The past 1 to endure decision aft a azygous word was Sterling Lyon's Progressive Conservative government, which was successful powerfulness from 1977 to 1981.

Daudrich much fashionable successful agrarian areas

The PC leadership contention information besides shows Khan won some of the constituencies successful Brandon, whose demographics are somewhat akin to those successful Winnipeg.

While Brandon East mostly prefers the NDP, Brian Pallister's Progressive Conservatives won some this riding and Brandon West successful some the 2016 and 2019 provincial elections.

In non-urban Manitoba constituencies, Daudrich was the much fashionable campaigner successful the PC enactment race. He won 20 retired of 23 constituencies located wholly extracurricular Winnipeg and Brandon.

He earned his largest percent of the ballot successful the agrarian constituencies of Dawson Trail, Turtle Mountain and La Verendrye, each solidly PC constituencies implicit the past decade.

In different words, Daudrich did champion successful areas that are unlikely to ever vote NDP. Khan did amended wherever the PCs request to grow.

So connected the ground of numbers alone, Khan presents the enactment with a amended accidental of whittling distant astatine the NDP's spot number successful the future.

The question is whether helium tin really bash so.

Khan said the archetypal measurement successful that task is rebuilding spot with voters, peculiarly successful Winnipeg.

"We person immoderate enactment to bash arsenic a enactment to rebuild that trust. We've got to rebuild that relationship," helium said Wednesday successful an interview.

Asked whether that rebuilding requires a much vociferous disavowal of the party's mean-spirited 2023 predetermination run than Manitobans person heard from him before, Khan suggested that whitethorn beryllium connected the way.

"I person a batch much to accidental connected a batch of things that person happened successful the past with this party," helium said, promising much specifics later.

Khan is susceptible present connected 2 main fronts. He did not connection full-throated support when interim PC person Wayne Ewasko apologized for Heather Stefanson's refusal to hunt the Prairie Green landfill for the remains of murdered First Nations women.

He besides did not afloat region himself from his ain relation successful the 2023 provincial election, erstwhile helium served arsenic the look of his party's vague committedness to bolster "parental rights."

In an interrogation successful March, Khan said helium was not alert the word whitethorn beryllium seen as a transphobic dogwhistle erstwhile the run was underway.

"I was alert aft the campaign, actually,  that immoderate radical would usage that arsenic a canine whistle. It was not my intent astatine all. I don't judge successful that astatine all," Khan said connected March 7.

The NDP revisited Khan's track grounds successful an onslaught website that went online minutes aft Khan won the PC enactment race. Premier Wab Kinew, however, has not spoken to CBC News about Khan since the PC enactment contention concluded connected Saturday.

Kinew and Khan volition look each different arsenic enactment leaders for the archetypal time when the legislative league resumes connected Monday — the archetypal time Khan volition person the accidental to embark upon his stated ngo of making his enactment much palatable successful areas of the state with much pavement than prairie grass.