WINNIPEG – Manitoba Progressive Conservatives are to announce a new leader today after roughly 11,000 party members were eligible to vote by mail-in and drop-box ballots in recent weeks.
The Tories will choose either Obby Khan, a former Canadian Football League player and business owner elected in 2022, or Wally Daudrich, a hotel owner and longtime party board member who has not held elected office.
It’s the first leadership race for the Tories since former premier Heather Stefanson resigned after the party lost the 2023 provincial election.
The leadership campaign lasted for several months and saw the two candidates offer different visions for the party’s future.
Khan received the backing of most caucus members and promoted himself as a big-tent politician who can work with a wide range of people and is ready to lead with a seat in the legislature.
Daudrich has said the party needs to return to more conservative positions and that he would focus on smaller government and a more business-friendly environment.
The race saw Khan take few risks. He kept his promises general. At one point, he promised to give municipalities a share of the provincial sales tax but refused to specify a percentage.
Daudrich staked out more socially conservative ground.
He said some of his supporters feel the education system has become an “indoctrination system” and criticized the NDP government’s decision to cover the cost of prescription birth control.
He stirred up controversy by joking that he would tackle homelessness by letting polar bears loose outside the legislature in Winnipeg.
As the Tories look to rebuild, Winnipeg is set to play a pivotal role.
The Tories hold two of the 32 legislature seats in the capital, while the governing New Democrats have 29. Opinion polls suggest the NDP continue to enjoy broad support among voters and the New Democrats have been in much better financial shape.
For the leadership race, Tory officials hope to avoid a repeat of the internal acrimony seen in the 2021 contest, when Stefanson narrowly beat challenger Shelly Glover. There was a late surge in party memberships, many people complained they didn’t receive ballots in time to vote, and Glover unsuccessfully challenged the outcome in court.
Party officials allotted more time for ballots to be distributed and returned this time around.
They also changed the way votes are tabulated.
Instead of a one-member, one-vote system, the party adopted a point system that limits the influence of constituencies with large membership numbers. It prevents candidates from potentially winning by flooding one or two constituencies with new membership sales.
The new system allots one point for every vote a candidate receives in constituencies with up to 100 voting members. After that, a sliding scale kicks in. A constituency with 400 voting members is worth 200 points and no constituency is worth more than 500 points.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2025.
