2021 Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba leadership election explained

Election Name:2021 Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba leadership election
Country:Manitoba
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba leadership elections#2012 Progressive Conservative leadership convention
Previous Year:2012
Next Election:Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba leadership elections
Next Year:Next
Election Date:October 30, 2021
Candidate2:Shelly Glover
Candidate1:Heather Stefanson
Leader
Before Election:Kelvin Goertzen (interim)
After Election:Heather Stefanson
Popular Vote1:8,405
Popular Vote2:8,042
Percentage1:51.1%
Percentage2:48.9%
Party:Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba
Year:2021
Date:October 30, 2021
Replaces:Brian Pallister
Numcands:2
Ballots:1
Entryfee:$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.

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.

The party's executive council decided the subsequent leadership convention would take place on October 30, 2021. Pallister declined to involve himself or his family in the election[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]

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.[5] [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–present). 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. On September 17, 2021, the party announced that he had failed to qualify.[14]

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.[15] [16]

Candidacy announced: September 16, 2021[17]

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.[17]

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.

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]

References

  1. Web site: Petz. Sarah. 2021-08-10. Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister stepping down before next election. live. 2021-08-10. CBC News. https://web.archive.org/web/20210810161841/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-premier-brian-pallister-announcement-1.6136047 . 2021-08-10 .
  2. Web site: 2021-08-23. Pallister vows to play no role in Manitoba PC leadership contest - CBC News. 2021-09-01. CBC News.
  3. Web site: Lambert. Steve. 2021-08-28. Brian Pallister will step down as Manitoba premier on Wednesday. live. https://archive.today/20210831073037/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/brian-pallister-manitoba-premier-resigns-1.6157735. 2021-08-31. 2021-08-30. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
  4. Web site: 2021-08-31. Kelvin Goertzen to become Manitoba's next premier. 2021-09-01. CTV News.
  5. Web site: Manitoba PCs to choose new leader - and next premier - on Oct. 30 - CBC News . CBC News . 2021-08-25 . 2021-09-01.
  6. Web site: Rules and Procedures for the conduct of the Leadership Election Process. August 23, 2021. Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba. September 1, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210901024451/https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/pcmanitoba/pages/2445/attachments/original/1630011973/Final_Rules_and_Procedures_for_Leadership_Election.pdf?1630011973. September 1, 2021.
  7. Web site: Former MP Shelly Glover plans to enter PC leadership race. CBC News. August 25, 2021. September 1, 2021.
  8. Web site: Josh. Aldrich. Manitoba needs to be better for seniors, students says second Tory leadership candidate, third declares candidacy. Winnipeg Sun. August 27, 2021. September 1, 2021.
  9. Web site: Rachel. Bergen. Heather Stefanson will run for leadership of Manitoba's Progressive Conservative Party. CBC News. August 18, 2021. September 1, 2021.
  10. Web site: Carol. Sanders. MLA who quit Pallister's cabinet backs Stefanson's leadership bid, party rules. August 26, 2021. Winnipeg Free Press. September 1, 2021.
  11. Web site: James. Snell. Heather Stefanson announces her candidacy for Tory leadership. August 18, 2021. Winnipeg Sun. September 1, 2021.
  12. Web site: Jeff. Keele. List of possible candidates to replace Manitoba's premier is thinning. August 24, 2021. CTV News. September 1, 2021.
  13. Web site: Endorsements. October 15, 2021. October 13, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211013220341/https://www.voteheather.ca/endorsements. dead.
  14. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/ken-lee-progressive-conservative-party-protest-leadership-race-1.6181480 "Rejected Manitoba Tory leadership candidate protests exclusion from race"
  15. Web site: Froese. Ian. 7 October 2021. Elections watchdog investigating supporter's offer of no-interest loans for Manitoba PC Party memberships. live. CBC. https://web.archive.org/web/20211007201830/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/elections-watchdog-zero-interest-loans-manitoba-ken-lee-1.6203296 . 2021-10-07 .
  16. https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/manitoba-elections-commissioner-investigating-concerns-around-tory-membership-sales "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"
  17. Web site: Bartley. Kives. Former PC official Ken Lee, who opposes vaccine requirements, enters race for premier. CBC News. September 16, 2021. September 16, 2021.
  18. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Progressive-Conservatives-sweep-Manitoba-byelections-242515581.html "Progressive Conservatives sweep Manitoba byelections"
  19. Web site: MLA Shannon Martin declares intention to run for Manitoba PC leadership. GLobal News. August 27, 2021. September 1, 2021.
  20. Web site: Steve. Lambert. Manitoba premier Brian Pallister not committing to stay on until PC leadership vote. August 24, 2021. CBC News. September 1, 2021.
  21. Web site: Bartley. Kives. Finance Minister Fielding, former MP Glover mull runs to replace Pallister as Tory leader, premier. August 12, 2021. CBC News. September 1, 2021.
  22. Web site: Ian. Froese. Winnipeg city councillor won't seek PC leadership, blames party's timeline for undermining challengers. August 26, 2021. CBC News. September 1, 2021.
  23. Web site: Kayla. Rosen. Who could replace Pallister as leader of the PC Party?. August 11, 2021. iHeartRadio. September 1, 2021.
  24. Web site: Ian. Froese. Bruce. Hoye. Kelvin Goertzen to take over as premier and interim leader of Manitoba PCs. August 31, 2021. CBC News. September 1, 2021.
  25. Web site: Bartley. Kives. Rochelle Squires won't run for PC leader and pledges to do more as families minister. August 24, 2021. CBC News. September 1, 2021.
  26. News: September 16, 2021. Manitoba to have first female premier, as two Tory leadership candidates are women. en-CA. The Globe and Mail. November 2, 2021.
  27. Web site: Froese. Ian. October 30, 2021. Heather Stefanson chosen as Manitoba's 1st female premier by a slim margin. live. November 1, 2021. CBC News. https://web.archive.org/web/20211030083616/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-female-premier-heather-stefanson-shelly-glover-1.6230152 . 2021-10-30 .
  28. Web site: October 31, 2021. Shelly Glover supporters protest 'unfair' leadership race. live. November 1, 2021. CBC News. https://web.archive.org/web/20211101004933/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/shelly-glover-manitoba-progressive-conservative-leadership-race-premier-protest-1.6232353 . 2021-11-01 .
  29. Web site: Kives. Bartley. November 1, 2021. Shelly Glover to seek order declaring PC leadership election invalid. live. November 1, 2021. CBC News. https://web.archive.org/web/20211101172719/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/shelly-glover-to-seek-order-declaring-pc-leadership-election-invalid-1.6232853 . 2021-11-01 .
  30. Web site: Aldrich. Josh. November 1, 2021. Glover challenging results of Tory leadership vote. live. November 1, 2021. Winnipeg Sun. https://web.archive.org/web/20211101203429/https://winnipegsun.com/news/news-news/glover-challenging-results-of-tory-leadership-vote . 2021-11-01 .
  31. News: Kives. Bartley. November 15, 2021. Manitoba PCs agree to face Shelly Glover's leadership race challenge in court. CBC News. November 15, 2021.
  32. News: December 17, 2021. Judge dismisses Shelley Glover's application to have Manitoba PC Party leadership result thrown out. CBC News. December 17, 2021.

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