PC leadership hopeful Khan accuses Sun of attacking him

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This article was published 24/01/2025 (281 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Progressive Conservative leadership hopeful Obby Khan has refused to take part in a debate organized by the Winnipeg Sun, stating that since part-owner Wally Daudrich declared his candidacy, the publication has gone after him with “misinformed attacks under the guise of editorial commentary.”

Khan wrote an email to followers that said Daudrich and Sun publisher Kevin Klein must address their conflict of interest. He said he was “astonished” to receive an invitation from “the Daudrich-Klein Sun group,” which refers to the candidate, and former PC cabinet minister Klein, who led the group that bought the newspaper after he lost his seat in the 2023 provincial election.

“We have declined this invitation to what we believe will be a biased, non-PC party-sanctioned debate,” said Khan, the member for Fort Whyte since a byelection in 2022.

He said he’s keen to debate Daudrich, but not if the Sun moderates it.

In an interview Friday, Khan pointed to stories and opinion pieces in the Sun that he said are biased and lack transparency because they fail to disclose that Daudrich is a director of the company, in addition to being a shareholder.

In response, Daudrich’s campaign spokesman Mike Patton said the candidate’s association with the newspaper shouldn’t surprise anyone who has been following the campaign closely.

“Wally has certainly been very public about it and by no means tried to keep it a secret,” he said in an email.

He deferred to the Sun for comment on any alleged bias. Klein did not respond to a request for comment Friday but forwarded a link to a story in his paper that day about tensions in the leadership race.

Khan listed several examples he said show the newspaper has picked sides.

“I’ve only been reached out to once for comment,” he said. When he provided a comment by the deadline provided, it wasn’t included in the published story until it was updated at a later date, Khan said.

The paper ran a photo of Khan — the first Muslim elected to the legislature — holding the Qur’an, and reported that he approves of pro-Palestinian activist Ramsey Zeid’s behaviour, by not condemning his social media posts.

Khan said the Sun article reported incorrectly that Zeid donated $5,000 to his leadership campaign, and implied that the donation was made close to Oct. 7 — the one-year anniversary of the Hamas terror attacks on Israel.

Khan said it was “utterly disgusting” misinformation. He said Zeid donated $1,100 to his campaign well before Oct. 7.

“It is appalling that that connection is made there.” When the Sun reported Thursday that Khan refused to participate in its debate, it again ran a photo of him with Zeid “for no apparent reason,” he said.

Khan said the newspaper has run old photos of him with the former head of the Yazidi Association of Manitoba, who has since been charged with sexual assault.

“There’s articles written in the Winnipeg Sun that have nothing to do with me, and yet there’s a picture of myself,” he said.

Until it posted a story Friday, the Sun was the only mainstream media outlet that didn’t report on the controversy over an Islamaphobic comment posted on Daudrich’s Facebook campaign page, as well as the demand for an apology from 17 Manitoba organizations, Khan said.

“If that doesn’t paint a very clear, decisive bias by the Daudrich-Klein Sun group, I don’t know what does.”

The groups called on the PC party to review Daudrich’s candidacy after they say he has refused to apologize for sharing an Islamophobic post on social media.

Daudrich’s campaign reposted a message from a supporter in early January that ended with, “We must stop Muslim Obby Khan from becoming the Conservative leader.”

At the time, Daudrich’s campaign manager said the sharing of the post was “an honest mistake” by their team. The post was removed.

A letter shared by the National Council of Canadian Muslims on Thursday signed by the 17 organizations — including Muslim, Jewish, Palestinian and Mennonite groups — urges Daudrich to apologize and “state an actionable commitment toward combating anti-Muslim sentiment within Manitoba.”

The letter says Daudrich’s response is unsatisfactory.

“Mr. Daudrich denies any wrongdoing, deflects responsibility to his campaign staff and team, and disrespectfully criticizes community members who raise concerns — these actions are not befitting a leadership candidate in a provincial party,” the letter states.

The letter was published “but never shared directly with us,” said Patton.

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“We have already dealt with this matter and have nothing further to add,” he said.

When asked about the post earlier this month, Khan said an apology and a condemnation of “that type of language” was necessary.

The party will chose its leader April 26.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter

In 1997, Carol started at the Free Press working nights as a copy editor. In 2000, she jumped at a chance to return to reporting. In early 2020 — before a global pandemic was declared — she agreed to pitch in, temporarily, at the Free Press legislature bureau. She’s been there ever since.

   Read full biography

Malak Abas
Reporter

Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg's North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020.

   Read full biography