Goertzen shares hopes for new PC leader

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This article was published 23/01/2024 (545 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With only a few names being discussed for leader of the PC Party at this point, Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen knows one thing is certain, it won’t be him.

“No, I will not be putting my name forward,” he said on Tuesday.

PC Party leader Heather Stefanson’s resignation took effect Monday, and Goertzen, who has served as interim premier before said he will not run for the leadership or put his name forward for the interim leader position.

Currently he is interim leader by default, a role he automatically fills because of his deputy leader status, but it’s one he won’t seek to retain when caucus meets.

Despite his experience in the position and more than two decades as an MLA, Goertzen said he’s looking forward to change.

“I really think it’s time for there to be a bit of a shift in direction for the party,” he said, clarifying he’s not talking about policy issues which will be discussed by leadership candidates. “Sometimes it’s good just to have different faces out front for the party, and so whether that’s a generational change or just somebody who hasn’t done the role before, I think it’s probably good for others to do it at this point.”

The PC Party has also adopted a new points system to elect a leader, replacing the one-member one-vote system.

Goertzen supported that move which allocates points that gives constituencies with more members, more voting power, but ensures all constituencies have representation, though he said it was “not without some reservation”.

“Party’s tend to move around different methods of selecting their leader, thinking that there’s some method that doesn’t have any weaknesses and may sometimes overemphasize the weaknesses of the system that they have,” he said. “The reality is that every system has strengths and every one has weaknesses.”

Goertzen supported the move from a delegate system to the one-member one-vote system which he said allowed for direct participation for all members. But that too comes with weaknesses.

“If you had certain areas or certain ridings or maybe certain groups that sold considerably more memberships than other areas or other groups, it gave a disproportionate voice and sometimes then didn’t require the person trying to become the leader to broaden out and speak to all Manitobans more generally,” he said.

The new system, proposed by former Elmwood-Transcona MP Lawrence Toet, is one that Goertzen said will be beneficial.

“It’s not a perfect system,” he said. “There will never be a perfect system, but I think it sort of struck the right balance in terms of where we are now.”

So far only a few names of have been suggested as the potential new leader.

Fort Whyte MLA Obby Khan confirmed Monday that he may take a run at the leadership.

Former Winnipeg city councillor and Manitoba environment minister Kevin Klein is also considering running.

There’s also been speculation that former Portage-Lisgar MP Candice Bergen Harris, who co-chaired the PC Party’s last election campaign could be interested, though she remained unavailable for comment.

Goertzen said he may endorse a candidate, provided he’s not involved in a position where he must remain impartial.

During the last leadership campaign he was interim premier, which prevented him sharing his thoughts on the candidates.

“If I’m not required to remain neutral than I’m open to endorsing a candidate,” he said.

But he already knows the type of person he’s like to see gain the top job for the Tories.

He said it’s important for the leader to appreciate the diversity of the province. “To me it’s important that a leader not always necessarily align themselves with one interest or another but is open and understanding that there is diversity of opinion,” he said.

“I think we’ve lost a lot of that these days in society where we disagree with people and so then we go further than that and assume because we disagree with them that they must be evil people or the positions that they hold are evil,” he added.

The new leader will also have to be a builder, someone that can work to increase volunteers and boost finances for the party, Goertzen said.

And because the reality is very few governments in Manitoba are toppled after a single term, Goertzen said they must be in it for the long haul.

Leadership campaigns can be hard on a political party, and Goertzen said having more candidates can lessen that stress.

“There’s more of a motive then for different candidates to work with other candidates and to be mindful of the fact that they might rely on another candidate’s support at another time,” he said.

“I also know from experience that leadership debates can be a bit of a family fight and there will be times when it will naturally get divisive,” he added.

Goertzen, who has only served three years less than Stefanson as an MLA said he’s always admired her professionalism and commitment to her work, and the fact that she took on difficult roles in government.

“Being health minister and justice minister and premier, I have some understanding of what those positions entail,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for anybody who fills those roles in any political party.”

“She’ll be remembered as a bit of a trailblazer for being the first female premier and I think there will be respect for the fact that she governed in difficult times,” he added.

– with files from the Winnipeg Free Press