Tories ‘strayed’ from values, seek ‘way back’

As it prepares for a leadership race, Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative party is asking its members for guidance after it got walloped in the fall election and “strayed from its values.”

A six-page values survey asks members to choose the five most important traits for the next party leader to have from a long list, including accountable, competence, empathetic, engaged, ethical and integrity.

“Many of you have expressed that you did not feel the 2023 provincial election campaign aligned with your values or the values you believed aligned with the PC Party of Manitoba,” the survey said as the PCs prepare to elect a new leader April 26, 2025.

“While we may have strayed during the election, we are here now to find our way back and invite you to provide guidance to that process.”

One political analyst said that while confession may be good for the soul in religious terms, in politics it is risky.

“I do not recall an incident in which following a defeat a party sent out a membership survey based on the premise that during a campaign the party had lost its way in terms of its core values,” said Paul Thomas, University of Manitoba political studies professor emeritus.

The PCs’ 2023 election campaign included an adamant refusal to conduct a landfill search for the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran. Police believe the women were buried there after dying at the hands of a serial killer.

The party’s advertising included then-leader Heather Stefanson’s pledge to “stand firm” in opposing such a search, which critics called callous and exploitative. It outraged the women’s families and advocates for slain and missing Indigenous women and girls. After the election defeat, Stefanson apologized for any hurt caused by the ads and expressed regret for the combative tone of the campaign.

When the PC caucus chose Lac du Bonnet MLA Wayne Ewasko as interim leader in January, he admitted the party needed a “reset” and to “rebuild that trust” with members and Manitobans in general.

“I do not recall an incident in which following a defeat a party sent out a membership survey based on the premise that during a campaign the party had lost its way in terms of its core values.”–Paul Thomas

The PC caucus declined to comment on the values survey. In a statement Wednesday, the party said the survey is part of its renewal strategy that connects with grassroots members.

“We hope to gain valuable insight as to where they believe the party should be,” the party said. “We have an important part to play while in Opposition. We hope that this survey will allow us to hear the opinions of Manitobans so that we are ready to govern as soon as the opportunity is presented.”

The soul-searching values survey sent to PC members was obtained by the NDP; Premier Wab Kinew mocked the questionnaire while deflecting opposition questions in the house Tuesday.

“Two of the options for them to consider are competence and integrity,” Kinew told the house on Tuesday.

“On this side of the house, we would assume anyone putting their name forward for leader would be competent and have integrity,” the premier said. “Under the interim leader opposite, apparently it’s up for debate,” Kinew said in response to questions from Ewasko.

The interim leader had asked about Immigration Minister Malaya Marcelino allegedly threatening to delay draws that allow international students to stay in Canada if they protested outside the legislature.

Ewasko fired back, taking a shot at the premier’s integrity and his involvement with police when he was in his 20s.

“The PCs had to know that the contents of the survey would leak and that the NDP would ridicule its contents,” said Thomas.

Ewasko, however didn’t seem prepared for it, he said. “In the process, the focus on the immigration issue was diminished,” said the veteran observer and expert on Manitoba politics.

“Citizens do expect politicians to know the difference between right and wrong,” Thomas said. “They believe politicians and parties should not have to be reminded about their ethical obligations by agreeing to declarations in surveys. Their behaviour should reflect espoused values. The premier’s tactic of ridiculing the survey content took advantage of these expectations.”

Manitoba’s former top bureaucrat, who managed both of PC premier Brian Pallister’s successful election campaigns said a values “refresh” is always a good thing to consider when a party has lost power “and, in this case, lost its way.”

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“The election campaign demonstrated a clear disconnect between the leader and her campaign team and the membership on message, tone and issues,” David McLaughlin said Wednesday.

“This process could be one way of trying to bridge that divide,” he said after reviewing the party’s survey.

“Without a strong values foundation, a party will have trouble defining its relevance and purpose. They go together,” said McLaughlin, who is the president and CEO of the Institute on Governance in Ottawa.

The survey recognizes that rebuilding “is not just going to be a matter of finding the right leader” and handing over the leadership, McLaughlin said.

“Political parties are essentially volunteer organizations relying on donations of time and money from supporters to exist. They have to be more than just campaign vehicles every four years.”

He said the PC party needs to make public the results of its values survey if it wants to win back support and votes.

“You cannot call yourself accountable and transparent and keep this information locked up at (PC party headquarters).” The survey says the results will be shared with leadership candidates.

“They will have to share it with the party membership as a whole and the public at large if they truly are serious about rebuilding trust with voters,” McLaughlin said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter

After 20 years of reporting on the growing diversity of people calling Manitoba home, Carol moved to the legislature bureau in early 2020.

   Read full biography