COLUMN: View from the Legislature – New era for Manitoba PC’s begins

After what was a very long leadership race, Manitoba Progressive Conservative members elected a new leader to head the party as it prepares for the next provincial election scheduled for just over two years away. While members of the PC Caucus have been working hard over the past 16 months to hold the current NDP government accountable for its decisions, the reality is that the absence of a leader makes it difficult to set long term direction.

This past Saturday, Fort Whyte MLA, Obby Khan was elected as the new leader of the Manitoba PC Party. Hundreds of members of the PC Party gathered in a ballroom at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Winnipeg to hear the results. More than 7,000 people had cast their ballots for the two contestants, Mr. Khan or Wally Daudrich, a Churchill businessman. In the end, the vote was extremely close with Mr. Khan narrowly edging out Mr. Daudrich to be elected leader. The fact that the result was so close was not surprising. It seems that almost every election these days results in narrow margins of victory or loss. Canadians were reminded of that again on Monday night with another narrow federal election result.

Regardless of who members supported in the provincial leadership, both candidates are to be congratulated for putting forward great energy in a long contest. It takes a great deal of time, energy and money to run a provincial leadership campaign, and both Mr. Khan and Mr. Daudrich invested each of these.

Most Manitobans are likely unaware of the details of how political party leaders are elected. Unlike a general election, where every citizen of legal age can vote, generally only people who are members of a political party can vote for the leader of a party. In this leadership race, there were several months of campaigning and several weeks in which members could mail in their ballots or drop them off at designated locations. Party members themselves created the rules of the leadership election nearly two years ago. The voting process was monitored by an independent accounting firm and both candidates confirmed they were satisfied that the results were accurate and valid.

While this begins a new era for Manitoba Progressive Conservatives, there is a great deal of work to do. Defeating the NDP in the next provincial election will require a tremendous amount of work by everyone who supports the Manitoba PCs. The need for volunteers, financial support and policy ideas (to name a few), is important for any party. The leader of a party is critical to help set direction, but that is only built upon a strong base of party members and supporters.

The reality in Manitoba is that it is difficult to defeat a one term provincial government. It is rarely done. And it is only possible when there is an opposition that is united and working towards a common goal. As recently as the federal election this past month we have seen the negative effects when members of the same political party are divided against each other. Manitoba Progressive Conservatives will need to quickly gather their efforts, in a unified way, if they wish to be government after the next provincial election. Not that members of the same party will always agree on every issue. Debate and differences can make political parties strong. But ultimately there has to be a collective will to come together and present a unified alternative to the current government. I look forward to working with all Manitoba Progressive Conservatives toward that goal as this new era begins.