17 organizations call for review of Wally Daudrich's Manitoba PC leadership candidacy
Request comes in wake of shared post stating 'Muslim Obby Khan' must be stopped from becoming party leader
A conglomerate of provincial organizations, most of which have ties to Islamic groups, are calling on the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party's election committee to review the candidacy of one of its leadership hopefuls, in light of what they say is discriminatory rhetoric.
The 17 groups issued a joint statement Thursday, asking PC leadership candidate Wally Daudrich to issue a clear and sincere apology to Tory MLA Obby Khan, Daudrich's only rival in the leadership race, and to the Manitoba Muslim community over a social media post shared by Daudrich's campaign.
The statement also calls on Daudrich to commit to meaningful action against Islamophobia, in order to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Earlier this month, Daudrich's campaign shared a Facebook post that ended with the statement "We must stop Muslim Obby Khan from becoming Conservative leader."
Daudrich's campaign deleted the post a few days after it was shared, as soon as the campaign was made aware of the tag at the end, a spokesperson previously said.
"That reference was not noticed by my staff, and when it was brought to their attention, they acted appropriately by removing the post," Daudrich, who owns a Churchill hotel and ecotourism company and is a longtime PC board member, said in a statement to party members on Jan. 17.
He also said he had "pledged from the outset" his campaign would not be "about personal attacks or casting any sorts of negative aspersions against anyone," and promised to "always promote and defend core conservative principles of freedom of religion, freedom of thought and equality before the law."
But while Daudrich issued a statement to the party, the organizations say he has "neither met the lowest bar of apologizing to MLA Khan … nor has he apologized to Manitoba Muslim communities."
Khan himself has said he was "hurt and disappointed" by the shared post and asked Daudrich to "disavow the content" in it.
Daudrich, in an interview with CBC Radio last week, said "there's nothing to apologize for," saying the incident had been "turned … into political theatre."
Daudrich campaign spokesperson Mike Patton said in a text message Thursday evening that "we have dealt with this matter and have nothing more to add."
The organizations behind the Thursday statement also say that Daudrich has not met with Pembina Valley Islamic Society members, despite Daudrich claiming he has done so.
The Pembina Valley Islamic Society, which is among the 17 groups asking for Daudrich's candidacy to be reviewed, "has expressed that it is disheartened by the Islamophobic statement he shared," the statement from the groups said.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims has reached out to Daudrich "multiple times" to facilitate meetings between him and Manitoba Muslim organizations since the post became public, but he has not responded personally, said Sadaf Ahmed, a Manitoba advocacy officer for the council.
"It's easy enough to apologize. One really has to ask why it's difficult for a candidate seeking leadership at the provincial level to refuse to apologize," Ahmed said.
"It's unbecoming. It's not befitting someone in that position."
Ahmed wouldn't say if the national council would like to see the leadership election committee revoke Daudrich's candidacy. The organization is asking the committee to conduct a "robust review" in light of his actions — or inactions.
The national council believes all PC leadership candidates "must adhere to both party principles and our shared principles alike," the organization said Thursday on X.
Sharing the Facebook post "betrayed not only the principles of the PC party … but also our shared values as Manitobans," the organization said.
Brad Zander, head of the Manitoba PC Party's leadership election committee, said in a statement to CBC the committee "welcomes Mr. Daudrich's [Jan. 17] statement," and "specifically his commitment to promoting and defending the principles of freedom of religion, freedom of thought and equality before the law, as was requested by the [committee]."
The national council isn't convinced, but discriminatory rhetoric has become normalized in today's political culture, including toward Muslims, said Ahmed.
"We need to change this part of our political culture," she said.
"There's a direct link between hostile rhetoric toward particular communities and the manifestation of harassment and violence."
The PC leadership election is set for April 25 to replace Heather Stefanson, who stepped down from the role last January.
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