19 hours Ago By Brandon Sun
Obby Khan is the new leader of Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative Party. The question that remains to be answered, however, is whether he has a party to lead. Read this article for free: Already have an account? As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
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99 a X percent off the regular rate. Obby Khan is the new leader of Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative Party. The question that remains to be answered, however, is whether he has a party to lead.
Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Opinion Obby Khan is the new leader of Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative Party. The question that remains to be answered, however, is whether he has a party to lead. Last Saturday, Khan was announced as the PC Party’s new leader following a tight two-way leadership contest between himself and Churchill hotel owner Wally Daudrich.
The outcome is not without controversy, as Daudrich received 53 more votes from party members than Khan, but Khan scored more points according to a formula used by the party that awards points based on the number of votes cast by members in each provincial constituency. The new system allocated one point for every vote a candidate received in constituencies with up to 100 voting members, up to a maximum of 500 points for an electoral district with 1,300 or more votes. The points from all 57 electoral districts added up to 2,198.
8 points for Khan (50.4 per cent) and 2,163.2 points for Daudrich (49.
6 per cent). That is far from resounding mandate that both Khan and the PC Party needed. To make matters worse, the majority of party members in more than half of the 20 constituencies currently represented by Tory MLAs voted for Daudrich in the leadership contest.
In Steinbach, for example, which is represented by former cabinet minister Kelvin Goertzen, Daudrich received 73.5 points to Khan’s 26.5 points — and that’s despite the fact that Goertzen had campaigned for Khan during the leadership race.
Daudrich also received majority of votes cast in the Tory-held ridings of Borderland, Dawson Trail, La Verendrye, Lac du Bonnet, Lakeside, Midland, Morden-Winkler, Red River North, Riding Mountain, Selkirk, Springfield-Ritchot, Swan River, Turtle Mountain and the now-vacant riding of Spruce Woods, which was represented by newly elected Brandon-Souris MP Grant Jackson. Khan, on the other hand, received the majority of members’ votes in the held ridings of Fort Whyte (his own constituency), Roblin, Portage la Prairie, Brandon East and Brandon West. The fact that Daudrich received more total members’ votes than Khan, and also received the majority of votes cast in ridings currently held by the Tories, creates a huge problem for both Khan and his caucus.
How can he confidently build and lead a unified team in opposition to the NDP government with more than half of those caucus members knowing that the party members in their riding wanted the other guy to be party leader? Even if those caucus members support Khan, some feel a tough conflict of interest. Can they risk alienating the party members in their home ridings if doing so could result in them facing a nomination challenge prior to the next election? To make matters even more difficult for Khan and his party, the fledgling Keystone Party, which is viewed as further right on the political spectrum than the PC Party, openly invited Daudrich supporters to become members of that party after Saturday’s announcement. They praised Daudrich, saying that “If you’re among the many who believe the PC party no longer represents your values, know this: the Keystone party stands with you.
” During the months-long leadership contest, Khan repeatedly promised to build a “big tent” PC Party. The reality he now faces, however, is that his party that has never really recovered from the division and discord that occurred during the tight 2021 leadership contest between Heather Stefanson and Shelly Glover, which was tainted by allegations of irregularities and eventually ended up in court. All of that tension played a key role in the party’s defeat in the 2023 election and, given the significant support received by Daudrich during the leadership contest, has clearly not dissipated.
It remains unresolved and it is far from clear that Khan possesses the skill required to repair the divide before the next election in 2027. While the division within the PC Party harms the political and financial interests of that party, it also harms the interests of Manitobans. It is the responsibility of the opposition to hold the government to high standard of competency and integrity, and to ensure it is acting in the best interests of the people it was elected to serve.
A divided, distracted opposition party cannot accomplish that vital task if its members are continually squabbling over the leadership and direction of that party. Obby Khan has his work cut out for him as the new PC Party leader. We will soon see if he is up to the job.
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