Defeated Manitoba Tory leadership candidate wants to win seat in byelection

Obby Khan, left, shakes hands with Wally Daudrich after winning the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba in Winnipeg, April 26, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Steve Lambert

WINNIPEG — Wally Daudrich, who was recently defeated in the race to lead Manitoba's Opposition Progressive Conservatives, says he remains a "loyal" member of the party and still plans on seeking the Tory nomination to run in a byelection.

The hotel owner and longtime party board member says he hopes to run uncontested in the Spruce Woods constituency.

"I've been vetted (by) the party. I have gone through all those hoops … and I believe I'm ready to run as a candidate," Daudrich said in an interview Wednesday.

"(Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan) just needs to give the thumbs-up and let me run basically as an uncontested candidate.”

Khan, a former cabinet minister, pro football player and business owner, was elected leader of the province's Progressive Conservatives on Saturday in a tight race with Daudrich that came down to several decimal points.

Numbers from the party's website show that Daudrich garnered 53 more votes than Khan, but under the party's recently adopted system that awards points to each constituency based on the number of votes cast, Khan got 50.4 per cent of the total points to Daudrich's 49.6 per cent.

Daudrich did not address the crowd after the results were determined. On Wednesday, he said he accepts the results and supports Khan as leader.

“I went into the race knowing the rules," Daudrich said, referencing the party's decision to adopt a point system that limits the influence of constituencies with large membership numbers.

"I went in understanding it and accepting it. That is the basis that (Khan) won and he’s the new leader. I put my support behind him.”

The Tories used a one-member, one-vote system in 2021 in which all votes were counted with equal weight.

The new system was designed to prevent candidates from potentially winning by flooding one or two constituencies with new membership sales.

Daudrich said he voted against the new rules but declined to elaborate on the concerns he had with them.

During the leadership race, Daudrich staked out more socially conservative ground, saying the party needs to return to more conservative positions.

He said some of his supporters feel the education system has become an “indoctrination system" and criticized the NDP government's decision to cover the cost of prescription birth control.

He stirred up controversy by joking that he would tackle homelessness by letting polar bears loose outside the legislature in Winnipeg.

When asked on Wednesday whether he had any regrets with the way he ran his campaign, Daudrich said he did everything that he wanted to do and is now focusing on uniting the conservative movement in the province.

This does not include starting a new party or joining fringe parties in Manitoba, said Daudrich. He is putting his focus on running in Spruce Woods and hopes to receive the support of Khan.

The riding was previously represented by Grant Jackson, who resigned and was elected a Conservative member of Parliament in Monday's federal election.

Daudrich said he has researched the riding and has spoken to many members in the area.

Khan did not comment directly on Daudrich's interest in running.

"I am encouraged when people are interested in running for our party but as leader, I have to stay neutral," he said in a statement.

The byelection has not yet been called.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2025.

Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press