Fort Whyte MLA Obby Khan is throwing his hat in to be Manitoba’s next leader of the Progressive Conservative party.
A former Winnipeg Blue Bomber, entrepreneur and PC cabinet minister, Khan is the first to announce his candidacy for the leadership race. Party members will vote for a new leader April 26, 2025.
The party is seeking a new leader after former premier Heather Stefanson announced she would step aside after the Tories lost the Oct. 3 provincial election.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS files
Fort Whyte MLA Obby Khan is running for leader of the Manitoba Progressive Conservative party.
Khan made his decision to seek the leadership after spending time over the summer at events around the province and in Winnipeg, he said, where people responded to him in a “really positive way.”
“People really wanted me to take a shot at running for leader,” Khan told the Free Press Tuesday evening. “(I’m) extremely humbled and honoured people would say that to me.”
Khan was first elected to the legislature in March 2022, after former premier Brian Pallister resigned his seat, beating the Liberal candidate Willard Reaves, also a former Blue Bomber.
He was the first Muslim elected to the Manitoba legislature and was named sport, culture and heritage minister. Khan now serves as the Tory finance and public service critic.
“Seeing where this province is going, I do think we can do better. I believe in this party, I believe in the people in this party, I believe in the province, and I think we can do better for Manitoba,” said Khan.
Khan said he thinks he will be able to bridge varying sides in the party and province.
“I bring a wide perspective together, whether it be from people who’ve been around for a while, whether the newer ones, the younger ones, the rural ones, the city ones, the ones from different backgrounds and cultures from all across Manitoba — myself, from an immigrant family, a sports background, a business background — there’s so many people and cultures in Manitoba.
He said he plans to spend time speaking to party members and other people in the province during his campaign.
“There’s going to be a lot more news coming up in the near future,” Khan said, pointing to his campaign’s website at obbyforleader.ca.
In January, the PC 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 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 Conservative MP Shelly Glover, who narrowly lost to Stefanson.
The deadline for applications is Oct. 15.
— with files from Carol Sanders
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca
Erik Pindera
Reporter
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
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