Westman MLA’s bid to push out PC leader dubbed a risky move

A political science expert in Brandon said Agassiz MLA Jodie Byram’s decision to put forward a confidence motion against the former leader of the Progressive Conservatives carries a lot of risk for her and the party.

Obby Khan resigned as leader of the PCs on Monday after Byram initiated a confidence vote against him last week.

The majority of the PC caucus voted they had confidence in Khan, but he resigned a few days later anyway, citing continued efforts to undermine him by a minority of MLAs.

Brandon University political science Prof. Kelly Saunders said while she doesn’t know what Byram’s motivations were for triggering the vote, such a move carries “a lot of risk.”

“It could either work for her in the sense that she did what many people felt within the party, perhaps that the chances of the PCs — never mind winning office — but being able to grow their vote, particularly in Winnipeg where they need to grow their vote under Obby Khan, was looking more and more unlikely,” Saunders said on Thursday.

“She probably thought, ‘We’re not going to win with him, and we need to take our chances on maybe finding a leader and getting that person in place quickly enough to be able to capitalize on that for the next election.”

However, she said, that kind of move “could blow up big” for the party, as it doesn’t provide a lot of time before the next election, which is slated for Oct. 5, 2027, though Premier Wab Kinew could call it earlier.

“I don’t know what went into her thinking, but it was a gamble for sure,” Saunders said about Byram.

Byram, who is in her first term after being elected with 64 per cent of the vote in the 2023 election, couldn’t be reached by phone on Tuesday or Thursday.

Agassiz includes the communities of Neepawa, Carberry, MacGregor and Gladstone.

Saunders said Byram will have to explain to her riding’s voters what her motivations were for pushing to oust the leader.

Those voters “have every reason to say, ‘Explain to us why you did what you did and what your reasoning was,’ and she’s going to have to be held to account for that,” Saunders said.

“Voters get to decide whether or not they believe her reasoning was a good one, or whether or not they felt that she plunged the party and the Opposition into troubled waters.”

In an interview with the Sun on Thursday, Khan said he publicly identified Byram and Selkirk MLA Richard Perchotte — who seconded Byram’s motion — as the MLAs who started the confidence review because voters have the right to know what their elected representatives are doing.

He said it’s important for voters to know who is part of a team and who “lacks the moral integrity of what it means to be on a team.”

Khan said he received the confidence of 13 of the 19 PC members who voted.

Khan (Fort Whyte) announced his resignation late on Monday. During his speech, he praised a small number of MLAs, including Greg Nesbitt (Riding Mountain), Rick Wowchuk (Swan River) and Colleen Robbins (Spruce Woods).

“You are some of the finest people I’ve met in my life. I’m honoured to have served with you. I call you trusted friends and mentors,” he said about them at the time.

Khan on Thursday said Nesbitt and Wowchuk are “outstanding people” and had supported him since he was elected. For Robbins, Khan said he got to go door-knocking and watch Robbins work hard to win her byelection in August 2025.

“I felt like it’s really important to point them out. And because their support for me and the values of the caucus have been unwavering since this really started last week,” he said.

Khan said he is overall “feeling pretty good” and “at peace” about his decision to step down as leader and sit as an independent.

He said he feels bad for a lot of the friends he has in the PC caucus, but said the MLAs should “be careful what you wish for.”

Interim party leader Konrad Narth (La Vérendrye) in an interview on Thursday said Khan’s decision came as a shock, but that he’s committed to “bringing the party together,” adding his caucus is “unified.”

“Right now I see a whole lot of optimism on who we are. We’ve got a plan for unleashing the potential of our province,” he said, highlighting a platform of improved health care, affordability and justice.

The reality, Narth said, is that the PCs face the country’s most popular premier in Kinew. But, he’s confident the party will gain its footing in the legislature moving into the next election.

Narth declined to comment about the confidence motion or what Byram may have said.

“The behind closed doors discussions I don’t think should be aired out in public. I think all that the public needs to see is that we’re a unified caucus,” Narth said.

Brandon West MLA Wayne Balcaen declined to say if he voted in confidence of Khan’s leadership or not last week, citing caucus rules.

Balcaen said Monday’s announcement by Khan caught him “by absolute surprise.”

“We have a very strong PC caucus that wants to move forward,” he said when asked about Khan’s departure and what it means for the party.

He has “absolute faith and confidence” in Narth, he said.

Balcaen said polling over the last year and a half has shown unfavourable results for the PCs, and that the party has to look at how it should move forward, adding he’s confident he will be re-elected in the next election.

Khan said his plan for now is to focus on his constituents in Fort Whyte, and that there have been conversations between him and fellow independent MLA Mark Wasyliw on potentially forming another party. Wasyliw was ousted from the NDP caucus in 2024.

“You need four members to have a party in the legislature, so maybe there’s conversation to be had on seeing if there’s opportunity there that best reflects our values and that of Manitobans,” he said.

Saunders said Khan’s announcement could not have been at a worse time for the PCs in relation to the next election, and that the party need to do more than just “find the magic leader.”

The party, she said, is split between a more progressive side and a more conservative side, and the gaps between them seem to be getting wider.

“They need to really think about where they’re going and what they stand for, and why Manitobans should vote for them. What is their plan? And they seem to be scrambling and can’t seem to get their feet underneath them,” Saunders said.

“I think the party is in much bigger trouble than just, ‘Do we like Obby or do we want a new leader?’ It’s a bit of an existential crisis they’re going through.”

The Sun also reached out to the region’s other PC MLAs on Tuesday and Thursday, but didn’t hear back from Robbins, Nesbitt, Wowchuk or Doyle Piwniuk (Turtle Mountain).

The Manitoba legislature now contains 34 NDP MLAs, 19 PC, one Liberal and three independents.

» alambert@brandonsun.com