Khan, Klein eyeing Tories’ top job in post-Stefanson era

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Three names that are well-known and a couple of others that aren’t are being bandied about as potential candidates for the leadership of Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives.

Experts say the challenge for the Tories in replacing former premier Heather Stefanson, whose resignation took effect Monday, is to find someone who has the support of the party’s rural base and is moderate enough to win seats Winnipeg — a requirement for winning a general election.

Fort Whyte MLA and former PC cabinet minister Obby Khan confirmed Monday that he may take a run at the leadership.

Former Winnipeg city councillor and Manitoba environment minister Kevin Klein, who lost his Kirkfield Park seat to the NDP and railed against the party establishment and its process for changing the rules, is “strongly considering” a bid, as well.

There has also been some speculation that former Portage-Lisgar MP Candice Bergen Harris, who left federal politics last year after serving as the federal Conservative party’s interim leader and co-chaired the provincial Tories’ divisive and failed election campaign, could be interested, too. She could not be reached for comment Monday.

During the campaign leading up to the Oct. 3 election, Khan pushed for “parental rights,” something critics referred to as a transphobic dog whistle.

The entrepreneur, who used to play for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, won his seat in a March 2022 byelection after former premier Brian Pallister was pushed out as leader and resigned his seat.

“They really need to be mindful of where Manitobans are at,” said Brandon University political science professor Kelly Saunders.

“We are more centrist compared to our Prairie cousins Saskatchewan and Alberta. The Manitoba PC party has to walk that more centrist, more pragmatic, more moderate line. We saw that in the last election, where some critics said they did veer too much towards the right.”

On Saturday, the party voted to change the leadership election rules from one-member, one-vote to a point system in order to limit the influence of constituencies with a lot of members and require candidates to get broader support across the province.

The new leadership race rules require a campaign that’s a minimum of 90 days. Last time, the result of a much shorter race was bitterly contested in court by candidate and former MP Shelly Glover, who narrowly lost to Stefanson.

“Clearly, the party is careful about not wanting to repeat some of the mistakes from last time, where it was a really rushed kind of job,” Saunders said.

“There were accusations that because (Stefanson) was the preferred insider candidate that the system was gamed a little bit to support her leadership.”

The new point system aims for balance and “it’s a tough one,” Saunders said.

“Whoever they pick as leader, I think has to be able to straddle that centrist divide, and make sure that it is still a progressive Conservative party if they want to be competitive,” she said.

Khan, Klein and Bergen are all carrying baggage from the previous government and election campaign. Saunders isn’t seeing a lot of likely contenders on the immediate horizon.

“It’s a pretty shallow pool right now,” she said.

Two rookie Tory MLAs with political experience, connections and considered potential leaders both said Monday they’re not ready for the top job.

“I just got elected and I’m focused right now on serving my constituents in Charleswood and Headingley,” said Roblin MLA and health critic Kathleen Cook, the former provincial director for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, who has worked for the Tories as a policy analyst.

“In addition to the fact that I’m really new to the role is that I have a young family at home. I think that in order to do that job well, it would probably take me away from them more often than I would like right now.”

Spruce Woods MLA and Manitoba Hydro critic Grant Jackson said he has no plans to throw his hat into the ring, either.

“I made a fairly big commitment to the constituents of Spruce Woods and I’m fairly young, so my focus right now is serving my constituents,” said Jackson, who turns 27 later this month.

Jackson has worked for federal MP Larry Maguire (Brandon-Souris), the previous PC government and as a special adviser in Stefanson’s office.

“I sincerely hope it’s a big race — I think that would be the healthiest thing for our party to have more than one or two candidates in this race,” Jackson said.

“I think what we need is someone who can appeal broadly to both rural and urban Manitobans. It’s going to be a very exciting couple of months.”

Khan said after meeting with party grassroots over the weekend, he planned to discuss things with “my family, my son, team and others before making a decision.”

Klein said the results of the October election are a clear indication that the Tories need to rebuild the party from the ground up.

“These are big challenges, and I’m strongly considering taking them on,” he said.

One former cabinet minister who refers to herself as a “recovering politician” was adamant she won’t seek the leadership.

Rochelle Squires, who lost her seat in Riel to the NDP and has been critical of the party and questioned its ethics in her Free Press column, refused to comment Monday other than to say she has no interest in the job.

“She’s going to get calls,” said Deveryn Ross, a former PC insider who was Pallister’s deputy chief of staff.

“She’s in her 50s, a centrist. I think a lot of pressure is going to be put on her to take a serious look” at a leadership bid, he said Monday.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca