Manitoba PC Party Elects New Leader, First Female Premier of Manitoba

Just two candidates met all the eligibility requirements set out by the Manitoba PC Party to put their name forward in the election, and with both of them women, much has been made during the campaign that either way, Manitoba’s next premier would be a woman. NACTV’s Christine Waddell attended the leadership conference to bring us news of the event, which has been closely followed by the community.

The conference was MC’d by George Orle, chair of the leadership election committee. He also gave a report from the committee about the process of the election and the decision not to make its progress more public. The campaign had been, and continues to be, the subject of criticism about its perceived disorganisation and delays, but Orle insisted that the process was rolled out and executed in an effective manner.

Kelvin Goertzen, 23rd Premier of Manitoba, took the stage to talk about his interim tenure in the office following Pallister stepping down in September. He spoke about the many premiers who came before him in the office and their accomplishments, and about the challenging year we have all faced.

The results of the vote were tallied and Tom Wiebe, president of the PC party of Manitoba, came to the stage to give the results and introduce the new leader of the Manitoba PC Party, Heather Stefanson. Stefanson beat out rival Shelley Glover by a narrow margin of under 400 votes.

Stefanson praised the diversity of attendees of the event and acknowledged the historicism of her election in a brief statement following the announcement. She returned to the podium three days later after being sworn in as the 24th Premier of Manitoba to speak about her vision moving forward in Manitoba, particularly with regard to advancing Reconciliation efforts in the province and the continuing the fight to protect Manitobans against COVID-19.

While Goertzen’s speech at the leadership conference talked about the accomplishments of the men who had held the office of Premier before him, Stefanson focused on the women who paved the way for her to become the first woman elected Premier of Manitoba.

“While I may be the first woman to hold this office,” said Stefanson, “I take this oath confident in the knowledge that I will not be the last.”