Glover to launch Tory leadership campaign Friday

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This article was published 09/09/2021 (1645 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For the Progressive Conservative government to regain popularity and hang on to power in the 2023 provincial election, it will need a transfusion of new blood and ideas.

That’s the message of well-known leadership hopeful Shelly Glover, who Friday launches her campaign to run Manitoba.

“Shelly Glover offers the best opportunity to rejuvenate the party and capture another successful mandate from Manitobans,” her campaign website states.

It shows the former Winnipeg police officer and Conservative MP wearing a health-care aide uniform, holding a mask — a not-so-subtle reminder of her outspoken criticism of the Pallister government’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis.

Glover, 54, trained as a health-care aide during the pandemic to volunteer at understaffed personal care homes and has called for Manitoba to establish a seniors advocate to speak up for them.

Brian Pallister announced last month he was retiring as PC leader. On Aug. 31, the party caucus voted for Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen to serve as a caretaker premier until membership elects a new leader Oct. 30.

Glover, whose campaign slogan is “Integrity Honesty Compassion,” has also called out the PC government for its departure from legislative norms, including tabling 19 bills without providing the text or any details.

“We will have a government built on consultation, communication, and collaboration,” Glover’s campaign promised.

“This will be accomplished with input from Manitobans, party members, MLAs, front-line workers and subject matter experts. We have wonderful people with huge hearts and amazing ideas, and those ideas need to be the core of our government.”

Tuxedo MLA and former health minister Heather Stefanson and McPhillips MLA Shannon Martin have also said they plan to run for the Tory leadership.

Martin, who tweeted his support Thursday for safe injection sites in Manitoba, said he’s truly “progressive” and believes a leadership race is good for the party and all Manitobans.

“It requires a healthy competition where people are are able to to bring forward their their ideas, their vision,” said the former probation officer who ran a non-profit agency connecting people who have health challenges with meaningful jobs.

Establishing safe injection sites for those struggling with addiction is a progressive and pragmatic approach to an issue rather than ignoring, hiding or punishing it, Martin said in an interview.

“Addictions issues are in all of our communities, and turning a blind eye to that is not going to solve it,” he said.

“You can’t simply punish people into the right behaviour,” said Martin. “These issues all have underlying causes. In many instances, there is psychological trauma. There is physical addiction. There’s a reason.”

He’s yet to officially announce his candidacy or launch a website, but that’s coming, Martin said. In the meantime, he’s raising issues on social media.

Stefanson has been campaigning for weeks, and is believed to have the majority of the PC caucus supporting her.

Her motto “Together with Heather” pledges to listen to Manitobans rather than telling them what to do — one of the chief complaints made about Pallister’s leadership style. The longtime Tuxedo Tory has said she plans to take a less combative and more collaborative approach to governing, should she win.

Former PC party finance official Ken Lee is reportedly also seeking the leadership, but his conditional candidacy has not been confirmed.

To run for PC leader, every candidate must be approved by the party leadership election committee, sell at least 1,000 party memberships at $20 a piece by 5 p.m. Sept. 15, and pay a $25,000 entry fee.

The PC Party of Manitoba would not confirm any candidate has yet been declared a conditional candidate.

“While several individuals have publicly declared their intention to seek the leadership, it is party practice to disclose only those candidates who have completed the application process and been approved as a candidate,” leadership election committee Keith Stewart said in an email.

“We will have more to share as we approach the close of nominations.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca