Manitoba Tories decide not to proceed with online voting in leadership race

PC MLA Wayne Ewasko speaks during the announcement of a leadership race on June 27, 2024. (Glenn Pismenny/CTV News Winnipeg)

Manitoba Progressive Conservatives are kicking off their leadership race and have decided not to use online voting.

The party has announced that nomination forms will be available starting Friday for a leadership that will be decided on April 26 of next year -- a date that was revealed two months ago.

The Tories are looking to replace former premier Heather Stefanson, who announced her plan to step down after the Tories lost October's provincial election.

Interim leader Wayne Ewasko had left the door open to a leadership run, but now says he has decided not to enter the race due to family reasons.

The Tories recently changed their constitution to allow for online voting in addition to their traditional mail-in ballots.

But Brad Zander, head of the party's leadership committee, says online voting won't be adopted for this race, partly because of cost concerns.