After serving as provincial health minister amid the coronavirus pandemic, establishment favorite Heather Stefanson narrowly beat out her opponent Shelly Glover to become Manitoba's first female premier. The party leadership race was triggered by premier Brian Pallister's decision to step down after he suffered a significant decline in popular support. Stefanson earned 8,405 votes beating Glover's total of 8,042, the Progressive Conservative party announced just before 5 p.m. Central Time. Stefanson, who received near unanimous endorsement from her party caucus ran up against a tougher than expected challenger in Shelly Glover, a former Winnipeg RCMP officer and Conservative MP. Glover ran a campaign critical of "economic lockdowns" and expressed skepticism about COVID testing requirements for certain professions in the province.
The leadership results also come with some degree of controversy. At least 1200 party members did not receive mail-in ballots in the lead up to the vote, prompting Glover to ask the party to delay the vote count.
The chair of the leadership election committee George Orle dismissed those concerns, noting that the party issued replacement ballots for 1000 members, and that despite complications that the leadership race was "far away from inept." Out of rougly 25000 eligible members, 17000 cast their ballot. Orle said the return rate was "something to be proud of, not something to be ashamed of."
Stefanson inherents a party that is trailing the provincial New Democrats in the polls, with looming questions about the direction she will take the party, and how she will rebuild trust with constituents that soured on her predecessor.
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