Ex-cabinet minister slams proposed Tory leadership rules

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This article was published 08/01/2024 (657 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister is urging party members to reject proposed leadership contest rules, claiming the reforms may put some candidates at a disadvantage.

However, party brass insists a preferential balloting system, recommended in the wake of the contentious 2021 leadership race, will not give anyone an unfair edge.

“It does give more weight to ridings that can sell more — that right there is not democracy,” said Kevin Klein, the former MLA for Kirkfield Park.

On Saturday, delegates will gather at a special meeting to vote on a package of changes to the party’s constitution and its leadership rules and procedures.

One proposed change includes moving away from the party’s one-member, one-vote system in favour of a point system.

Each constituency would be allocated a minimum of 100 points or one point per vote cast (whichever is less) to a maximum of 500 points, based on the number of ballots cast.

Klein, who lost his seat in the 2023 election, issued a statement Monday encouraging PC supporters to oppose the changes, which he described as confusing, complicated and arbitrary.

“They seem poorly thought out and confusing, but more importantly than that, they seem like a transparent attempt to tilt the playing field at the last minute,” Klein wrote in the statement posted to social media.

The PCs are preparing to hold a leadership race in the fall to replace Heather Stefanson after the election loss to Wab Kinew’s NDP on Oct. 3.

Stefanson has agreed to lead the PCs until her successor is chosen.

Klein — who is considering a leadership bid — said the party needs to rebuild trust that was lost following the last contest, which he called a “fiasco.”

The 2021 race to replace Brian Pallister was marred in controversy following a surge of new memberships and complaints that ballots had not been received days before the vote.

The result— which put Stefanson in charge by a narrow margin — was challenged in the Court of King’s Bench by opponent Shelly Glover, who alleged there were irregularities in the vote.

Justice James Edmond ruled that though there may have been some problems with the contest, there was no evidence any irregularities could have altered the outcome.

A subsequent leadership review conducted by Lawrence Toet and Grant Stefanson — who were part of the Glover and Stefanson campaigns, respectively — produced the recommended amendments, which were presented to members at the annual general meeting in April 2023.

The changes are intended to to prevent the party from being hijacked by outside and special interest groups while improving its processes and enhancing member engagement.

PC party president Brent Pooles said there is no merit to claims the proposed changes could benefit some candidates over others.

“If you have a positive vision and you’re a person that can bring people together, people will vote for you,” Pooles said.

Rather, candidates will still have an incentive to sell memberships, and constituencies with fewer members will still have a voice, he said.

“We’re not recreating the wheel here,” Pooles said. “There’s no way that this is tilting the playing field at the last minute to any candidate.”

Pooles said he expects delegates to bring forward amendments to the proposed changes at the meeting.

“The grassroots of the party has the final say,” he said.

He also insisted the leadership process is not being rushed.

Over the coming months candidates will engage Manitobans by presenting their vision and selling memberships as the party looks to hold a leadership convention in October, he said.

Klein said the party should stick with its one-member, one-vote system to select the new leader, who can then take the time to make changes.

A third party should also conduct the race to ensure transparency, he said.

Klein declined to give his reasons for claiming the party would bring forward changes in an attempt to “tilt the playing field.”

“It’s certainly not for me to say why,” he said.

Rather, the proposed rules do nothing to restore members’ trust in the party, he argued.

“The new leadership has to come in and rebuild this party from the ground up,” he said. “We have to give people a reason to be excited about the (PC) party.”

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca