Khan accuses NDP of failing to deliver

Manitoba’s opposition leader told a Brandon audience on Friday that voters “have to turn this province around” after the NDP failed to deliver on its promises.

Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan also urged supporters to donate to the party at a fundraising breakfast at The Eagles Nest Bar and Grill, where he also outlined the Tories’ plans.

“We believe in a vision that encompasses all Manitoba. I firmly believe that there is a way of running things fiscally responsible while being socially accountable and helping people while giving people a hand up,” Khan said to a crowd of about 60 people.

Khan said the party wants to get people out of drug addictions and psychosis and into recovery. It also wants to help get people “off the streets” and into recovery, along with helping people with mental health struggles, he said.

“We don’t want to give you two-cent savings on milk for one litre and pretend that that is the greatest thing in the history of Manitoba,” he said, referring to Premier Wab Kinew’s announcement last month that the province is freezing the price of some milk products for 2026.

Khan said the NDP government’s system is “fundamentally broken” when it comes to municipal funding and health care, where he highlighted long wait times at emergency rooms and the grey-listing of three hospitals by the Manitoba Nurses Union.

He said the NDP broke its promises to fix health care.

“Now I’m not going to stand up and promise you that we’re going to fix health care in one term. Can’t be done,” Khan said.

“But I am going to stand up here and promise you that we are going to work every single day to make Manitoba better, because we care — we care as a party, we care as a community.”

In an interview with the Sun after the event, Khan said Manitobans “are really coming around to seeing the broken promises by this NDP when it comes to health care, crime affordability … All of these things Manitobans are seeing and want answers for.”

Kinew wasn’t available for an interview Friday, but during a scrum with reporters in Winnipeg, he said he’s “focused on health care” and “lowering the cost of living.”

He also pointed to health-care cuts made by the previous PC government, which included the Cardiac Centre of Excellence at St. Boniface Hospital.

Kinew also responded to a question about Thursday’s report from Manitoba’s elections commissioner, which found that the PCs broke election laws by conducting a partisan event at the legislature in 2023.

“There’s too much corruption in the PC Party of Manitoba,” he said. “Bunch of them were fined for breaking the law during the election. Now you’re finding out that they were also in government, breaking the election rules, too.

“I think that the PCs have a long way to go, because it’s still the same old corruption, same old people around the table, and that’s not what Manitobans want.”

Khan told the Sun that the party is reviewing the commissioner’s ruling and that it will conduct itself “within the parameters of the decision.”

“I wasn’t the leader then. I wasn’t part of the campaign team. I was not aware of what took place, but definitely looking to reviewing the commissioner’s report and doing what is recommended in that report moving forward,” he said.

Also at the breakfast was Brandon Parent Council Collective’s spokesperson Rana Wilkinson, who asked Khan to step up and urge the governing NDP to start treating the lunch hour like an education hour, with all students receiving school supervision.

In response, Khan said the PCs would bring a petition forward to do that.

In his interview with the Sun, Khan said fixing health care would start with listening to front-line experts and workers, and addressing staff shortages specifically.

“We need to be very clear that not one government in one term is going to fix health care,” he reiterated. “I think we need to be open and honest with Manitobans and realize that this is a very, very big problem we have in the province. I’m not going to make empty promises like our current government has done.”

While the next election is scheduled for October 2027, Kinew last year hinted at calling an early election. He has since walked back that possibility.

Khan said the party is in a “great position” for that election.

A Probe Research poll conducted for the Winnipeg Free Press released in December found that 32 per cent of Manitobans would support the PCs, while 52 per cent would support the NDP.

That can change “in the matter of a blink of an eye,” Khan said, adding that Manitobans are starting to see the governing NDP “for really what it is.”

The PC party is focused on listening to Manitobans, he added.

Three of the party’s MLAs announced late last year that they wouldn’t run for another term. Khan said it’s great that there will be a rejuvenation within the party through its future candidates.

Turtle Mountain MLA Doyle Piwniuk was one of the incumbents who said they would be leaving politics at the end of this term.

Wally Daudrich, who narrowly lost to Khan in the 2025 party leadership election, said he is seeking the Tory nomination in the riding.

When asked if he supports Daudrich running for a nomination spot, Khan said he supports “an open and clear, transparent, democratic process as outlined within our party.”

“I think it’s an exciting time to bring the party together. I’ve talked about that from Day 1 — that it’s a time for our party to unite going forward,” Khan said.

Friday’s fundraiser was hosted by Brandon West MLA Wayne Balcaen.

» alambert@brandonsun.com