2021 Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba leadership election

Last updated

2021 Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba leadership election
Flag of Manitoba.svg
←  2012 October 30, 2021 Next  →
  Heather Stefanson (cropped).jpg Shelly Glover 2014.jpg
Candidate Heather Stefanson Shelly Glover
Popular vote8,4058,042
Percentage51.1%48.9%
Leader before election

Kelvin Goertzen (interim)

Elected Leader

Heather Stefanson

2021 Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba leadership election
Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba Logo.svg
DateOctober 30, 2021
Resigning leader Brian Pallister
Ballots1
Candidates2
Entrance Fee$25,000

The 2021 Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba leadership election was held on October 30, 2021. The internal party election was called as a result of Premier Brian Pallister, the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba, announcing his resignation on August 10, 2021. As the Progressive Conservative Party had a majority in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, their new leader would automatically become the 24th premier of Manitoba.

Contents

The winner, Heather Stefanson, became the first female premier of Manitoba, on November 2, 2021, by virtue of winning the internal party election.

Background

On August 10, 2021, Brian Pallister announced that he would not be seeking re-election in the next provincial election, although the exact date of his departure was not stated. [1] Since the Progressive Conservatives held a majority in the Assembly, the new party leader would automatically become the premier of Manitoba. [2]

The party's executive council decided the subsequent leadership convention would take place on October 30, 2021. [2] Pallister declined to involve himself or his family in the election [3] and stepped down as premier and party leader on September 1, ahead of the convention, to ensure there would not be allegations of him favouring anyone in the contest. [4] Deputy premier Kelvin Goertzen was designated in a unanimous decision by the rest of the Progressive Conservative caucus to serve as interim party leader and thus premier until shortly after a new party leader was elected. [5]

Procedure

In order to be eligible to contest the election, a candidate had to pay an entry fee of $25,000, provide a petition for leadership signed by 50 party members, and sell new party memberships to 1000 new or recurring members. The election was held on a one member, one vote basis, with solely mail-in ballots under a instant-runoff voting system. [2] [6]

Candidates

Shelly Glover

Shelly Glover had been the federal MP for Saint Boniface (2008–2015). In the government of Stephen Harper, she had been the minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages (2013–2015). Prior to entering politics, she was a member of the Winnipeg Police Service.

Candidacy announced: August 25, 2021 [7] [8]

Heather Stefanson

Heather Stefanson is the MLA for Tuxedo (2000–2024). She had been the Deputy premier (2016–January 5, 2021) to Premier Pallister, but resigned the position on announcing her candidacy for the leadership. She had also been the Minister of Justice and Attorney General (2016–2018), the Minister of Families (2018–2021), and the Minister of Health and Seniors Care (January 5, 2021 – August 18, 2021). Prior to entering electoral politics, she worked in the office of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, as an assistant to federal Agriculture Minister Charlie Mayer, and as an investment advisor for Wellington West Capital in Winnipeg from 1995 to 2000.

Candidacy announced: August 18, 2021 [9]

Endorsements

Failed to qualify

Ken Lee

Ken Lee was the former chief financial officer of the party. He stated that he had designed the party's one member, one vote system for leadership elections. He positioned himself to the right flank of the other candidates, as an opponent of COVID-19 vaccine requirements. [14] On September 17, 2021, the party announced that he had failed to qualify. [15]

In October 2021, the Manitoba Elections Commissioner opened an investigation into a prominent supporter of Lee, who offered to pay people's memberships if they supported the candidate and promised interest-free 100-year loans. The opposition New Democratic Party had filed a complaint after the offer appeared on social media. The NDP stated that donations to a party leadership election count as political donations, and only individuals can make donations, using their own money. [16] [17]

Candidacy announced: September 16, 2021 [14]

Endorsements

Shannon Martin

Shannon Martin was the MLA for McPhillips (2019–2023) and the former MLA for Morris (2014–2019). Prior to his election to the legislature, Martin was executive director of Reaching E-Quality Employment Services, a Winnipeg-based not-for-profit that assists persons with disabilities find employment. He was also provincial director of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. [18]

Candidacy announced: August 27, 2021 [19] [8] Martin failed to meet the party's entrance requirements. [14]

Declined

Outcome

After the nomination period closed, the only two qualifying candidates were women, meaning Manitoba would soon have its first female premier. [26]

The ballots were counted on October 30, 2021. Stefanson won a close race, taking 51 per cent of the vote: 8,405 votes of the votes cast were for Stefanson, 8,042 for Glover. Only 363 votes separated Stefanson from Glover. [27]

Aftermath

After the results were announced, Glover refused to concede, citing concerns of a close race and 1,200 missing mail-in ballots. [27] The day after the election, a group of about 60 protesters gathered at the Progressive Conservative Party headquarters to protest an "unfair" election. Some protesters were upset about how the ballots were handled and worried about if their ballot had been counted, while others believed Glover was the real winner of the election. [28]

On November 1, 2021, the Glover campaign sent a letter to Lieutenant Governor Janice Filmon, asking her to delay the swearing in of Stefanson as premier, claiming there were "substantial irregularities" in the result of the election. The Glover campaign stated they would seek an Order of the Court of Queen's Bench declaring that the results of the election invalid and that a new election should take place. [29] [30] The PC Party initially argued that the court did not have jurisdiction to review the situation, but on November 15, they agreed to grant the court jurisdiction over the case, due to "the nature of the allegations" and "the regrettable, divisive tone to the dispute". [31] On December 17, the court dismissed Glover's challenge. [32]

Related Research Articles

The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba is a centre-right political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is currently the opposition party in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, following a defeat in the 2023 provincial election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Pallister</span> 22nd Premier of Manitoba (2016-2021)

Brian William Pallister is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd premier of Manitoba from 2016 until 2021. He served as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba from 2012 to 2021. He had been a cabinet minister in the provincial government of Gary Filmon and a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 2000 to 2008.

The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba has had several contested races to determine its leadership. These have all occurred by voting at delegated conventions. The results are listed below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Selinger</span> Premier of Manitoba from 2009 to 2016

Gregory Francis Selinger is a former Canadian politician who served as the 21st premier of Manitoba from 2009 until 2016, leading an NDP government. From 1999 to 2009 he was the Minister of Finance in the government of his immediate predecessor, Gary Doer. Selinger was the member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for St. Boniface from 1999 until his resignation in early 2018. His party was defeated by Brian Pallister and the Progressive Conservatives in the 2016 Manitoba general election.

MaryAnn Mihychuk is a Canadian politician from Manitoba. She was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in 2015, representing the riding of Kildonan—St. Paul for the Liberal Party of Canada, and served as Minister of Employment, Workforce and Labour in the federal Cabinet until the January 10, 2017, cabinet shuffle by Justin Trudeau. She lost her seat in the House of Commons in the 2019 Canadian federal election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelvin Goertzen</span> Canadian politician (born 1969)

Kelvin Goertzen is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd premier of Manitoba from September to November, 2021. A member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba, he is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for Steinbach, first elected in the 2003 provincial election, and was re-elected in 2007, 2011, 2016, 2019 and most recently in 2023. Goertzen served as interim leader of the PC party, from September 1, 2021 to October 30, 2021. He was sworn as premier on September 1, 2021. Goertzen was succeeded as premier on the afternoon of November 2, 2021, by Heather Stefanson who won the PC leadership election on October 30. Goertzen, upon his swearing-in, selected Rochelle Squires as his deputy premier. Goertzen resumed his role as Deputy Premier of Manitoba on November 3, 2021. His final posts in the Stefanson Government were Government House Leader, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, and Minister responsible for Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI). He currently serves as the Deputy Leader of the PC Party alongside Kathleen Cook.

Klazina Judith Wasylycia-Leis is a Canadian politician. She was a Manitoba cabinet minister in the government of Howard Pawley from 1986 to 1988, and was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from September 22, 1997, to April 30, 2010. In 2010 and 2014 she was an unsuccessful candidate for Mayor of Winnipeg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Schuler</span> Canadian politician

Ronald Reinhold Schuler is a Canadian politician. He is currently a member of the Manitoba Legislature and a representative of the Progressive Conservative Party (PCs). He was first elected in the 1999 provincial election. and was re-elected in the 2003, 2007, 2011, 2016, 2019 and 2023 elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heather Stefanson</span> Former premier of Manitoba

Heather Dorothy Stefanson is a Canadian former politician who served as the 24th premier of Manitoba from 2021 to 2023; the first woman in the province's history to hold that role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Whyte</span> Provincial electoral district in Manitoba, Canada

Fort Whyte is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created in 1999, after the provincial electoral boundaries commission determined that southwestern Winnipeg had experienced enough population growth to deserve an extra seat. Fort Whyte was created from territory formerly belonging to the divisions of Tuxedo, Fort Garry and St. Norbert.

Ibrahim "Obby" Khan is a Canadian politician, entrepreneur and former professional Canadian football centre who played for nine seasons in the Canadian Football League with the Ottawa Renegades, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and Calgary Stampeders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shelly Glover</span> Canadian politician (born 1967)

Shelly A. Glover is a former member of the Winnipeg Police Service and former politician. Following the 2008 federal election, she became the first policewoman to become a Member of Parliament in Canadian history, representing the riding of Saint Boniface, Manitoba, which she represented until 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Beddome</span> Manitoba Green Politician

James Robert Beddome is a Canadian lawyer and politician who was the former leader of the Green Party of Manitoba from November 2014 to March 2023. He has run in several elections for the provincial party, and was also the Green Party of Canada candidate in Winnipeg South Centre for the 2019 federal election. He works as lawyer in Manitoba.

Scott Bradley Fielding is a former Canadian politician. A city councillor in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada from 2006 to 2014, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in the 2016 provincial election. On September 10, 2019, Scott was re-elected as the Member of Manitoba Legislative Assembly from Kirkfield Park. On June 6, 2022 he announced on Twitter that he resigned from Cabinet and will not be seeking re-election.

Wayne Ewasko is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in the 2011 election.

Rochelle Squires is a former Canadian politician who served as the Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for the riding of Riel from 2016 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Manitoba general election</span>

The 2019 Manitoba general election was held on September 10, 2019, to elect the 57 members to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Manitoba general election</span> Provincial election

The 2023 Manitoba general election was held on October 3, 2023, to elect 57 members to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. The incumbent Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba, led by Premier of Manitoba Heather Stefanson, had attempted to win a third term in government, having previously won the 2016 and 2019 elections under the leadership of Brian Pallister. The New Democratic Party of Manitoba, led by Wab Kinew, formed a majority government, defeating the two-term Progressive Conservative government. Following the election, Kinew became the first First Nations person to become premier of a Canadian province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Portage—Lisgar federal by-election</span> Federal by-election in Manitoba, Canada

A by-election was held in the federal riding of Portage—Lisgar in Manitoba, Canada on June 19, 2023, following the resignation of Conservative MP Candice Bergen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">44th Manitoba general election</span> Provincial election

The 44th Manitoba general election will be held on or before October 5, 2027 to elect 57 members to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.

References

  1. ↑ Petz, Sarah (August 10, 2021). "Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister stepping down before next election". CBC News . Archived from the original on August 10, 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Manitoba PCs to choose new leader - and next premier - on Oct. 30 - CBC News". CBC News. August 25, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Pallister vows to play no role in Manitoba PC leadership contest - CBC News". CBC News. August 23, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  4. ↑ Lambert, Steve (August 28, 2021). "Brian Pallister will step down as Manitoba premier on Wednesday". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . Archived from the original on August 31, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Kelvin Goertzen to become Manitoba's next premier". CTV News. August 31, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Rules and Procedures for the conduct of the Leadership Election Process" (PDF). Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba. August 23, 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 1, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Former MP Shelly Glover plans to enter PC leadership race". CBC News. August 25, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  8. 1 2 Aldrich, Josh (August 27, 2021). "Manitoba needs to be better for seniors, students says second Tory leadership candidate, third declares candidacy". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  9. ↑ Bergen, Rachel (August 18, 2021). "Heather Stefanson will run for leadership of Manitoba's Progressive Conservative Party". CBC News. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  10. ↑ Sanders, Carol (August 26, 2021). "MLA who quit Pallister's cabinet backs Stefanson's leadership bid, party rules". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Snell, James (August 18, 2021). "Heather Stefanson announces her candidacy for Tory leadership". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Keele, Jeff (August 24, 2021). "List of possible candidates to replace Manitoba's premier is thinning". CTV News. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 "Endorsements". Archived from the original on October 13, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Kives, Bartley (September 16, 2021). "Former PC official Ken Lee, who opposes vaccine requirements, enters race for premier". CBC News. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Rejected Manitoba Tory leadership candidate protests exclusion from race", CBC News September 18, 2021.
  16. ↑ Froese, Ian (October 7, 2021). "Elections watchdog investigating supporter's offer of no-interest loans for Manitoba PC Party memberships". CBC. Archived from the original on October 7, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Sale of 'wrongful' Manitoba PC Party memberships during leadership race investigated – Social media posts last month offered an interest-free 100-year loan to buy memberships for people who would support potential candidate Ken Lee", Steve Lambert, Canadian Press / National Post, October 7, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Progressive Conservatives sweep Manitoba byelections". Winnipeg Free Press , January 28, 2014.
  19. ↑ "MLA Shannon Martin declares intention to run for Manitoba PC leadership". GLobal News. August 27, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  20. ↑ Lambert, Steve (August 24, 2021). "Manitoba premier Brian Pallister not committing to stay on until PC leadership vote". CBC News. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Kives, Bartley (August 12, 2021). "Finance Minister Fielding, former MP Glover mull runs to replace Pallister as Tory leader, premier". CBC News. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  22. ↑ Froese, Ian (August 26, 2021). "Winnipeg city councillor won't seek PC leadership, blames party's timeline for undermining challengers". CBC News. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  23. 1 2 Rosen, Kayla (August 11, 2021). "Who could replace Pallister as leader of the PC Party?". iHeartRadio. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  24. ↑ Froese, Ian; Hoye, Bruce (August 31, 2021). "Kelvin Goertzen to take over as premier and interim leader of Manitoba PCs". CBC News. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  25. ↑ Kives, Bartley (August 24, 2021). "Rochelle Squires won't run for PC leader and pledges to do more as families minister". CBC News. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  26. ↑ "Manitoba to have first female premier, as two Tory leadership candidates are women". The Globe and Mail. September 16, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  27. 1 2 Froese, Ian (October 30, 2021). "Heather Stefanson chosen as Manitoba's 1st female premier by a slim margin". CBC News. Archived from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  28. ↑ "Shelly Glover supporters protest 'unfair' leadership race". CBC News. October 31, 2021. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  29. ↑ Kives, Bartley (November 1, 2021). "Shelly Glover to seek order declaring PC leadership election invalid". CBC News. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  30. ↑ Aldrich, Josh (November 1, 2021). "Glover challenging results of Tory leadership vote". Winnipeg Sun. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  31. ↑ Kives, Bartley (November 15, 2021). "Manitoba PCs agree to face Shelly Glover's leadership race challenge in court". CBC News . Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Judge dismisses Shelley Glover's application to have Manitoba PC Party leadership result thrown out". CBC News . December 17, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.