Contrasts Start to Take Shape in Leadership Race for Manitoba’s Opposition Tories

Manitoba PC legislature member Obby Khan speaks at a Ministerial Bear Pit Session during the Progressive Conservative Party's annual general meeting at the convention centre in Winnipeg on April 15, 2023. The Canadian Press/John Woods

The battle for the leadership of the Manitoba Progressive Conservatives is three months from being decided, and the two men vying for the role are laying out different paths to try to reignite the party voted out of office in the last election.

Obby Khan, a former pro football player, cabinet minister and business owner from Winnipeg, has pitched himself as the experienced candidate with a seat in the legislature who can build a “big tent” of urban and rural members. Khan’s Fort Whyte seat is one of two the Tories still hold in Winnipeg, where 32 of the 57 legislature seats are located.