Manitoba PC leadership candidate, Obby Khan, brought his vision for the party to Morden and Winkler this weekend.
Khan fielded a slew of questions as he met with constituents, party members and potential party members at a series of public engagements.
"From economic policies to education, to the party and what I'm going to do to fix that issue, to even some fun personal questions," he said. "But really focused on the vision for the party and how we're going to get back into power, into government."
Area business leaders also heard more about Khan's economic plan, Unleash Manitoba, which he says aims to remove red tape and hurdles, fostering an environment for business to grow.
"I fundamentally believe that government should not be in business. Government should not run like a business. I know other people might want to say that. I am committed to government should create the environment for businesses to flourish. That means meeting with businesses, listening to where their bottlenecks and obstacles are, and that's red tape, hurdles and some regulations they'd like to see addressed."
That also includes, according to Khan, taxes. He says business owners are paying a lot when it comes to things like the Carbon Tax and Payroll Tax.
"These are things that I'm listening to and is going to form our policy as we go forward."
As leader of Manitoba's Progressive Conservatives, Khan also says he would create a 'big tent' party where all those with PC values belong.
A Muslim, Khan used the weekend's meet-and-greets to address the difference in faith he may have to most typical PC party members. He believes this is actually something that unifies people, rather than divides them.
"What brings us really close together, more so than anything else, is actually our faith and our belief in Conservative values - faith, family, our love for community and service, our belief in less government involvement. These are not only Conservative values, PC values, but also values of our faith that we share with each other."
Kahn added, it is also encouraging to have garnered the support from the likes of Conservative senator Don Plett, PC MLA Kelvin Goertzen and former Conservative MP Lawrence Toet.
Local reaction
Trisha Warkentine attended the Morden gathering and spoke to PembinaValleyOnline about what she's looking for in a new leader of Manitoba's Progressive Conservatives.
"I really am looking for some really honest talk, which was happening here today. Obby certainly is very real and he's certainly got some real charisma," she said, adding transperency is important to her. "I want to see leadership that's strong and memership that is strong because the leader can only do so much, but the people have to be supportive."
Lifelong resident, Angela Wolfe, agreed that a new party leader should be transparent and honest.
"Fiscally responsible is super important," she added. "What Obby talks about is growing our way out of the debt, so not cutting programs, not taxing us more but to grow. It's a positive message."
Wolfe noted, she also appreciated that Khan outlined the actions he would take as leader of the PCs, rather than exclusively put down the other party.
Roshantha Suriyaratchchi, or Rosh, a new immigrant from Sri Lanka was eager to meet Khan and hear what he had to say.
"I think more than the policies, sometimes the character of the person, the leader, plays a big role and I feel whoever takes over, needs to be a person who unites the party [...] actually, the entire province. He needs to have the charisma and the character to win, not only the party who is backing him, even the people who are not backing him. The NDP seem to have very strong leadership and, whoever is going to be the PC party leader, will have to go against NDP leadership."
Menno Animala is a small business owner, and he echoed the sentiment that the PC party's next leader must have honesty and integrity, adding they must carry values - family values and morals - and can lead the province to a better economy.
"Obby has a very good idea of what's going on in our government. I think he'll be a great leader. I think his values and morals will contribute towards his leadership. He'll do a great job for all of Manitoba, for sure."
Martin Harder attended Khan's gathering in Winkler. He also took in a recent event held by Wally Daudrich, the other person vying for the PC leadership.
"All I can say is, both guys are passionate about the party. Both are concerned about where the party is at and to make sure it becomes financially responsible and accountable."
He feels Khan presented a broad picture for Manitoba.
"[...] where rural and urban need to come together under one tent and to realize that we have a lot of things in common."
Specifically, Harder pointed to health services.
"Medical services in rural Manitoba are obviously much different than they are in Winnipeg. How do you balance that? How do you make sure that we, as rural Manitobans, aren't on an imbalance with the services being provided in the City of Winnipeg."
Harder also likes Khan's approach to business.
"Business needs to thrive. I think as a Conservative tent, that's what we're used to and I like the story that I heard."
Meantime, Harder says Daudrich is quite passionate about Manitoba.
"Wally has, probably, a more limited view. He's very familiar with northern Manitoba, very familiar with mining. Obviously, he's done very well in business. He's also attracting a significant portion of Manitobans."
And on that note, Harder believes the leadership race isn't a done deal for either candidate.
Overall, he feels both Khan and Daudrich have values to contribute to Manitoba.
"It's going to be an interesting race and, I would dare say, listen to both of them."
Members will elect a new leader April 26th.
You can listen to Khan's full speech to the crowd this past weekend, below.
With files from Robyn Wiebe
