View From the Legislature

The resignation of former Manitoba Progressive Conservative Leader Heather Stefanson earlier this year kicked off the process to elect both the next leader of the PC Party and the Leader of the Official Opposition in the Manitoba Legislative Assembly. There are several steps that a political party undertakes when it comes to selecting a leader.

The first is the establishment of rules and time frames under which candidates run. This will often include a prescribed number of signatures that a candidate needs to have from Party members supporting their candidacy and an entrance fee. These are generally to ensure that a candidate has at least a minimum level of support to enter the leadership race and is committed to the process.

A leadership committee is also established to ensure that the rules of the race are followed and to adjudicate any concerns that the rules are not being followed. They also undertake a vetting process of candidates that will include standard checks regarding criminal records as one example.

These are all things that have been happening over the past few months and this past Tuesday was the deadline for candidates to officially enter the race to become the next PC Party leader. Two applications were completed and submitted. Fort Whyte MLA Obby Khan submitted his application and after the leadership committee interview process was declared as an approved candidate. Churchill hotelier and tourism operator Wally Daudrich submitted his application by the deadline and at the time of this writing it was going through the vetting process by the leadership committee.

The actual leadership election will be held on April 25th of next year. Between now and then, candidates will be seeking the support of Manitobans and encouraging them to become members of the PC Party as only members are eligible to vote in the leadership election of the PC Party.

Often people express surprise that there are not more leadership candidates in the race. While there are usually dozens of names that are speculated about in the lead up to the application deadline, it is generally a small number who actually let their name stand. There are several reasons for this but most of them are not related to the state of the Party itself but rather personal considerations.

Choosing to run for elected life is usually a longer-term commitment (a minimum of 4 years), and one that requires both personal and family sacrifice. It often involves having to put aside personal and professional interests for that period of time as well. For many, those considerations simply cannot be accommodated, or it is too great of a commitment. If you are a leader of a political party or a Cabinet Minister, the commitment is even greater as you are tasked with responsibilities province wide, not just in your own constituency. Also, the public scrutiny is even greater, which can also lead individuals and their families to decline the opportunity.

Public service is a great honour, but it is not for everyone. That is demonstrated in the fact that most political parties have relatively few people who vie for elected leadership positions. But the outcomes of the contests are important and those that do decide to contest these positions are to be commended for their commitment to Manitobans and the democratic process.