View From the Legislature

On election night last October, Progressive Conservative Party leader Heather Stefanson indicated that she would be stepping down as leader of the Party following a brief transition. That transition included ensuring that the PC Party had the opportunity to decide upon the way it wished to select its next leader.

This past Saturday at a special meeting of Manitoba PC Party delegates, Stefanson made it official indicating that Monday January 15th would be her last day as PC Party leader. However, she will stay on as the MLA for Tuxedo. I have had the opportunity to serve with Heather Stefanson for about two decades in both opposition and government. I have always appreciated the serious way in which she approached each of her responsibilities. Many of the roles that she held came with significant workloads and pressures that take a toll both individually and on family. And of course, she will be remembered as being the first woman to be Premier of Manitoba hopefully inspiring young women in our province to seek to achieve positions of political leadership.

With her resignation, the PC Party is now in the process of organizing a leadership contest to establish who will lead the Party into the next election. That process began on Saturday as Party members debated and ultimately voted upon rules for the leadership race. Key among them was the adoption of a weighted point system that will ensure that every member of the Party gets to vote for their choice of leader. Each riding will be allocated a number of points depending on how many votes are cast in that riding. The more members who vote in a riding, the greater number of points that riding will be allocated to select the leader. This system was favoured by members because it rewards ridings with larger membership bases but also ensure that every riding has a minimum number of points to ensure that leadership candidates need to campaign in all parts of the province.

Having held a number of leadership positions in our Party and in government, I know how important it is that leaders establish a strong understanding of the priorities, challenges and opportunities of all areas of the province. While every method of selecting a leader has its strengths and weaknesses, the new rules balance a number of important objectives.

With these rules established, a date for the leadership will be set shortly, likely for the fall of this year. In the meantime, MLAs of the PC Caucus will meet this week to select an interim leader for the Party and Caucus who will help to lead the Party for several months until a new leader is chosen.

While there is a significant amount of change happening within the PC Party and Caucus, it is also a tremendous time for renewal and rebuilding. There are many new MLAs that have been elected who bring fresh ideas and energy. Through the leadership there will be opportunity for Manitobans who wish to become members or get involved in the Party to be part of this rebuilding process.

Changes bring with them challenges but also opportunities. I look forward to being part of this process as Manitoba Progressive Conservatives fulfil their responsibilities as the Official Opposition and work toward gaining the trust of Manitobans to form a future government.