Churchill hotelier, ecotourism operator plans to run for Manitoba PC leadership

A Churchill hotel owner and ecotourism operator is preparing to run for the leadership of Manitoba's Progressive Conservative Party.

Wally Daudrich, who owns Lazy Bear Lodge and Expeditions in the Hudson Bay coastal community, is one of three prospective leadership candidates now listed on the Manitoba PC website. 

Daudrich launched a campaign website this week and has started to solicit support.

"I believe that we must return to our roots as the party of limited government and sensible spending; The party that understands that the role of government in a free and democratic society is to serve the people, not rule over them," Daudrich said in a message on his campaign website.

The PCs must also "be the party that honours parents and family and respects the common-sense values they choose to live by," and one that "encourages independence, celebrates hard work, and inspires personal success," his statement said.

"Because it is only through personal success that wealth is created, communities thrive, and our province flourishes."

Daudrich has run twice for federal office as a Conservative candidate, finishing third in 2008 and second in 2011 in what was then known as the Churchill riding. The NDP's Niki Ashton won both races. 

The hotelier is also listed in provincial corporate records as one of the directors of the Klein Group, which assumed ownership of the Winnipeg Sun earlier this year.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for Daudrich deferred comment until the candidate formally launches his campaign.

Daudrich joins Fort Whyte PC MLA Obby Khan and tax consultant Trevor Sprague as prospective candidates in the race, which will see a new leader for the Official Opposition party elected next spring.

None of the prospective leadership hopefuls have completed their applications or have been accepted by the party as a candidate, PC leadership selection committee chair Brad Zander said.

The party will process their applications after an Oct. 15 deadline submission passes, he said. After that, each prospective candidate will undergo a criminal background check, a social media audit and an interview with the selection committee, Zander said.

Screening process will look for 'good judgment'

The party will consider the candidate's history of involvement with Manitoba Progressive Conservatives, their leadership experience and their record of communicating their ideas, he said.

Zander said the latter concern is not about the specifics of the views in question, but rather how they've been conveyed.

"Are you doing it in a way that demonstrates good judgment? Or are you getting into Twitter fights with teenagers at two in the morning?" he asked.

Zander said if any candidate does not make it through the screening process, the selection committee will provide reasons for that decision in writing.

"As far as the committee is concerned, they're free to release that if they want to," he said, adding the party wants its vetting process to be transparent.

The Manitoba PCs endured heavy criticism for the way they handled a leadership race in 2021, when the party was in power. That race saw second-place contestant Shelly Glover go to court to challenge Heather Stefanson's slim victory.

Stefanson became premier days after that race. Her PC government was defeated last October by Wab Kinew's NDP.

She announced in January that she would step down as party leader, and later stepped down as the MLA for Tuxedo.

The party will declare its leadership candidates later this month and plans to invite all vetted candidates to speak to party members at an event slated for Oct. 30, Zander said.

The PCs will elect their next leader on April 26. Until then, Lac du Bonnet MLA Wayne Ewasko will continue serving as interim PC leader.