Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 28, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba Donate Today www.movementcentre.ca/support TOP NEWS A3 MONDAY APRIL 28, 2025 ● ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM Fort Whyte MLA earns narrow victory over Daudrich in provincial Tory race Khan vows to build bridges after leadership win M ANITOBA Progressive Conserv- atives elected Obby Khan to lead the party Saturday night in a tight race that saw the MLA for Fort Whyte eke out a win over Wally Dau- drich with 50.4 per cent of available points. Daudrich, the Churchill lodge owner who was seen as a longshot challenger against the establishment candidate, received 49.6 per cent of the points awarded. “Wow,” Khan told the 320 PC sup- porters gathered at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Winnipeg, some of whom were on their feet cheering while others sat stonefaced. The PC website showed Daudrich received 53 more votes than Khan but under the party’s new system that awards points to each constituency based on the number of votes cast, Khan narrowly won. After the tense, close finish was an- nounced, Khan said he needed to catch his breath. “That was more exciting than run- ning out of the tunnel for a Grey Cup game,” the former Winnipeg Blue Bombers offensive lineman quipped. “I actually won this, for once!” Khan thanked his young son, Sufi, supporters, volunteers and Daudrich for putting his name forward. He said he would reach out to all party mem- bers to unite in defeating the NDP gov- ernment in the next election, expected in 2027. The PCs lost the October 2023 general election and hold 20 of the 57 seats in the Manitoba legislature. “It’s thrilling to look around this room tonight and see a different party coming together,” said Khan, who was first elected MLA in a March 2022 byelection called after former premier Brian Pallister vacated the seat. “To see new members, young mem- bers, old members — everyone coming together — it is truly a big tent party from all geographical areas in this province,” he said. “I understand we might not always agree — I’ve said this numerous times on the campaign trail — and that’s OK. “As long as we are open and honest and respectful, we can have those con- versations and we can move together forward as one Progressive Conserva- tive party.” Daudrich left without speaking to the party faithful or reporters after the re- sults were announced. Asked if Daudrich conceded defeat, campaign spokesman Mike Patton did not answer the question but said in an email that “100 per cent it was a fair and equitable process.” The last PC leadership race in Octo- ber 2021 saw then-Tuxedo MLA Hea- ther Stefanson defeat challenger Shelly Glover by 363 votes. Glover, a former Winnipeg police officer and MP did not initially concede defeat and later unsuccessfully challenged leadership election “irregularities” in court. Khan told reporters Saturday night that he spoke to Daudrich after the re- sults were announced. “Wally and I had a nice conversation in the hallway after they announced it,” Khan said. “I gave him a nice, big hug. We exchanged some pleasantries with one another,” he said. “I will definitely reach out to him and work on building that bridge within our party,” Khan said. “We are going to win government by addition, not subtrac- tion.” Daudrich has spoken out against re- productive rights and free prescription birth control. In the last provincial elec- tion, Khan supported “parental rights,” a term critics alleged was a thinly veiled code for a toxic anti-LGBTTQ+ movement. Khan has also mused about giving a percentage of the provincial sales tax to help fund municipalities. Daudrich’s campaign spokesman said Daudrich hasn’t decided if he will seek the PC nomination to run in Spruce Woods, after previously saying he would. That seat was vacated recent- ly after PC MLA Grant Jackson quit to run for the federal party in Bran- don-Souris. Khan didn’t directly answer if he would support Daudrich getting the PC nod to run in that byelection, which must be called by October. “Now that I’m leader, I have a lot of work to do. I have to look into all that stuff,” Khan said. “There’s a nomina- tion process. You have to meet those re- quirements. I believe that if people want to run in that seat, then they should be allowed to run in that seat, so as long as you meet those requirements.” Khan’s win is likely good for the party’s chances in a general election, said University of Manitoba political studies adjunct Prof. Christopher Ad- ams. “Looking at this, there was a sense that the party has two wings to it: the rural, more right of centre and the urban, more centrist wing,” Adams said Saturday night. “I think here we see the urban cen- trist side of the party came through. “I think for the party’s future, having Obby Khan as the leader is probably a good thing for the party because you have to win Winnipeg if you want to win government.” The NDP caucus jumped on the re- sults of the tight race, issuing a news release pointing to Tory division. “Obby Khan won the PC leadership by a razor’s edge, earning just 0.8 per cent more than his opponent Wally Dau- drich,” it said. “The result is less than Heather Stefanson’s margin of victory — it’s clear the Progressive Conserva- tive party is more divided than ever.” Khan replaces interim leader Wayne Ewasko, who had held the position since Stefanson stepped down in January 2024. carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca CAROL SANDERS STEVE LAMBERT / THE CANADIAN PRESS Obby Khan (left) shakes hands with Wally Daudrich after winning the leadership of the Manitoba Progressive Conservatives on Saturday. Rural Manitoba lodge operators holding their breath amid cross-border political, economic tensions American anglers wonder whether they are still welcome AIKENS Lake Wilderness Lodge has long lured American tourists with its unique fly-in fishing adventures. But recently, fewer are biting. “We had our best sales month in January and in March, ever, and we had a pretty good month in February too; things were looking really good,” co-owner Pit Turenne said, referring to bookings for the upcoming fishing season. “Since the tariffs came in April, it’s been pretty quiet.” While U.S. President Donald Trump’s headline-grabbing comments about Canada becoming the 51st state didn’t seem to deter American travellers, economic forces appear to be having a more profound impact. “Travel spending and those luxury expenses are the first things to get cut,” Turenne said, adding some Americans have been calling and emailing to see whether they’ll be welcome. “We’ve had a lot of calls from our guests that come up here apologizing and saying, ‘We still like you, do you still like us? Can we still come?’ Tongue-in- cheek stuff like that,” he said. In some cases, customers have booked, expressing a desire to get away from the “circus” at home for a few weeks this summer. “There’s also this sort of escapist tourism from some of these groups just hoping to get out of there,” he said. “It’s interesting. It’s not a normal booking cycle, I guess.” While fishing season is near, the province’s hunting outfitters are early in their off-season and haven’t felt the weight of the current political climate. Paul Conchatre, who owns Birdtail Waterfowl, a hunting lodge business, is answering a steady stream of calls. “We’re still getting a ton of inquiries, and it hasn’t changed from last year to this year; it’s kind of on par,” Conchatre said. Before the tariff talks and subse - quent implementation, Conchatre said the number of inquiries was above average, although it has slowed slightly since March. “But I’d say there’s a lot of interaction from guests, just feeling out the tem- perature, the environment,” he said. “A lot of it, I’m finding, is they’re not on board with what is happening and there is a lot of empathy for us and Canadian business. “They’re glad they’re still coming, but it’s more of a check in to see how we feel. Are we mad at them?” Those calls are entirely new territory for him. “I laugh,” he said, adding that the strife isn’t between regular Americans and Canadians, but rather the two gov- ernments. Angela Cassie, Travel Manitoba’s chief operating officer, said there isn’t much evidence that bookings are be- ing disproportionately affected, but the questions are similar to what others are getting: will we be welcome? “Our message… is, ‘Absolutely,’” Cas- sie said. Economic Development Winnipeg reported that U.S. auto trips to Canada dropped by 7.9 per cent in February compared to the same time in 2024. In Winnipeg, American visitors ac- count for 25 per cent of all tourism spending, officials told city council last week. Despite geopolitical unease, a recent Probe Research poll showed 86 per cent of Winnipeggers agree residents should continue to warmly welcome American travellers. That sentiment stretches beyond the city, Cassie added, pointing to the eco- nomic importance of fishing tourism. “From an economic perspective, fish- ing is a huge growth market for us, and a lot of our fishing comes from Minne- sota, North and South Dakota, Wiscon- sin and Iowa, and also as far as Texas and California,” she said. As Travel Manitoba continues its U.S. marketing efforts, it’s also pivoting to attract more Canadians who might be rethinking their traditional trips south. “We’re not keeping our eye off the ball to the south, we’re continuing to market there… and maintaining a real- ly high visibility there,” she said. “But also trying to see is there opportunity in Alberta, in Ontario, to attract more anglers looking for Canadian loca- tions.” scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca SCOTT BILLECK SUPPLIED Pit Turenne, co-owner of Aikens Lake Wilderness Lodge, says things have ‘been pretty quiet’ since the tariffs came in. ;