Daudrich should earn nomination

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This article was published 02/05/2025 (365 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Wally Daudrich wants to be the MLA for the Spruce Woods constituency, which includes a portion of Brandon within its boundaries.

The Churchill hotelier, who finished a close second in the recently concluded Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party leadership contest, is demanding that newly elected party leader Obby Khan agree to give him the uncontested nomination to represent the party in the upcoming byelection to fill the vacant seat that was previously held by Tory Grant Jackson. The date for that byelection has not yet been set.

Jackson resigned his Spruce Woods provincial seat in order to run for election as the Conservative Party candidate in Brandon-Souris in Monday’s federal election. He won that contest with a substantial majority, and is now headed to Ottawa.

In an interview with The Canadian Press on Wednesday, Daudrich said that “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 … [Khan] just needs to give the thumbs-up and let me run basically as an uncontested candidate.”

As a PC Party member, Daudrich is entitled to seek the party’s nomination in Spruce Woods, but his demand to be unilaterally appointed to be the party’s candidate for the coming byelection is unreasonable and undemocratic and, even worse, reeks of a super-sized sense of entitlement.

That is because his request, if granted, would deprive other party members from also seeking the nomination, and would also prevent party members residing within the boundaries of the riding from deciding which contestant is the best choice to be the party’s byelection candidate.

Uncontested nominations have become a growing problem here in Westman. Jackson was appointed to be the Conservative Party’s candidate in Brandon-Souris despite many other party members wanting to seek that nomination via the normal contested nomination process.

The opening for Jackson was created by the resignation of former Brandon-Souris MP Larry Maguire, who Westman residents will recall was appointed as the Conservative Party candidate for the 2013 byelection after the controversial disqualification of two other challengers.

Another example is the nomination of Ghazanfar Ali Tarar, the Liberal Party’s candidate in Brandon-Souris for this week’s election. He was appointed to be that party’s candidate without the knowledge or consent of the local riding association, and that was despite a number of others also being interested in seeking that nomination.

This is not a minor issue. In many so-called “safe ridings” — both Spruce Woods and Brandon-Souris would easily fit in that category — the person who receives the Conservative or Progressive Conservative nomination is virtually guaranteed to be elected. Under those circumstances, a fair and open nomination contest represents the only genuine opportunity for local residents to play any role in deciding who their next representative will be in Winnipeg or Ottawa, as the case may be.

To arbitrarily deprive those residents of that opportunity would be unfair. Even worse, it would signal that the party feels compelled to short-circuit the normal process because it is not confident that its preferred candidate could actually win the nomination through a fair-and-square contest.

Given those twin realities, it is difficult to understand why Daudrich is unwilling to seek the PC Party’s nomination via the established party process. He has a high profile within the party and actually received more votes from Spruce Woods party members in the PC Party leadership contest than Khan earned. That suggests he already enjoys a significant level of support among those members.

That’s an important fact, but that was a contest between two candidates, neither of whom have a connection to Spruce Woods. There is a reasonable possibility that party members residing within Spruce Woods would rather choose a person with tangible links to the constituency as their candidate.

The only way to know the answer to that question is by conducting an open and fair nomination contest.

As the new PC Party leader, Khan will be required to make many difficult decisions as part of his mission to rebuild the party and make it a viable alternative to the current NDP government. Among those tough decisions is the question of what to do about the controversial Daudrich, who came so close to winning the party’s leadership, yet is such a polarizing force.

It is ultimately up to Khan and his party to decide if Daudrich receives the uncontested Spruce Woods nomination he seeks. In our view, however, he should be required to earn that privilege via the normal process. Local voices must be heard.