Khan’s victory will be latest in long line of PC coronations

Opinion

For a political organization that purports to embrace the tenets of market economies, it’s odd how Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative party has an aversion to competition when it comes to choosing a new leader.

Over the past quarter century, the Tories have had only one truly competitive race for leader: the 2021 contest that saw former PC party leader Heather Stefanson win with the slimmest of margins over former federal Tory cabinet minister Shelly Glover. Even that race was marred by allegations of irregularities and attempts by Glover to swing the vote her way by signing up scores of anti-vaccine members.

Prior to that, former Tory leader Brian Pallister won the PC party leadership in 2012 by acclamation. In 2006, the Tory leadership race was technically a competition. But it was closer to a coronation after the party rallied around 38-year-old Hugh McFadyen, who won the contest with two-thirds of the vote. He was up against two fringe candidates, Tory MLA Ron Schuler and Neepawa Banner newspaper owner Ken Waddell. It wasn’t much of a race.

In 2000, Stuart Murray was acclaimed leader after former Tory minister Darren Praznik dropped out of the contest, claiming he had no chance of winning under the then-delegate system. The party appeared set on choosing Murray as its next leader long before the leadership convention was held.

You have to go back to 1983 to find a truly competitive and conventional PC party leadership race in Manitoba, when Gary Filmon (who became premier five years later) vied for the position as an underdog against former Tory finance minister Brian Ransom and then-Morris MLA Clayton Manness. It was a true competition that went to a second ballot.

Now, as the PC party prepares to select its next leader in late April, it looks like it will be another coronation. Fort Whyte MLA and former cabinet minister Obby Khan was the only approved candidate in the race as of Tuesday, the deadline for would-be candidates to submit their applications to the party.

There may be one other, Wally Daudrich, a longtime party board member, who submitted his application for leadership to the party on Monday (he announced last month that he might be interested in running). His application will be reviewed by the party’s leadership election committee. There’s no reason to believe he won’t be approved.

It’s hard to imagine, though, that Daurich’s last-minute entry into the race is nothing more than an attempt by the party to avoid the appearance of another coronation. But even if Daurich is approved by the leadership election committee, it will still be a de facto coronation. Daurich is a no-name candidate with no chance of winning.

Khan is a solid candidate for leader. He appears to have the right stuff for the job: he’s smart, articulate and has a strong presence in front of the camera. There’s no reason to believe the former Winnipeg Blue Bomber won’t serve the party well as it’s likely next leader. He could one day become Manitoba’s first Muslim premier.

However, leadership coronations are bad for democracy and bad for political parties. They lack an open exchange of ideas and debate on public policy issues. Leadership races should attract multiple candidates with diverse views and life experiences to stimulate interest and participation in the political process. Competitive leadership races draw public attention to political parties, attract new members and create excitement around the organization.

They also show that participation in politics is open to all. When a party coronates a new leader, it gives the impression that it’s a closed affair controlled by party elite.

It may simply be that no one else wants the PC party leadership job, a reflection of how politics has become increasingly toxic and less attractive to people – especially women – who would otherwise be inclined to participate in the political process. That’s something all political parties should be concerned about. But it doesn’t explain why the Manitoba Tories have had such difficulty attracting people to run for the leadership of their party over the past 25 years.

There’s no evidence that these coronations are by design. But the party should be asking itself why it’s been unable to attract viable candidates to enter the race. The Tories’ toxic and racist election campaign last year certainly didn’t help attract leadership candidates. But that doesn’t explain why at least three of the party’s last five leadership votes (including this one) have been coronations.

It doesn’t bode well for the future of the party.

tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca

Tom Brodbeck
Columnist

Tom Brodbeck is a columnist with the Free Press and has over 30 years experience in print media. He joined the Free Press in 2019. Born and raised in Montreal, Tom graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and commerce. Read more about Tom.

Tom provides commentary and analysis on political and related issues at the municipal, provincial and federal level. His columns are built on research and coverage of local events. The Free Press’s editing team reviews Tom’s columns before they are posted online or published in print – part of the Free Press’s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.

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