BY KIM LANGEN
With a burst of energy and enthusiasm, the new leader for the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba made a pit stop in town earlier this week.
Obby Khan, leader of Manitoba’s official opposition, met up with a number of members of the public at the Blarney Stone Restaurant on Tuesday morning, and over coffee he talked with passion about his ideas, plans, and hopes for the province’s future.
“I come from very humble beginnings,” he said. “When I was a kid, I couldn’t afford football cleats. I was able to get a second-hand pair from a friend, and I went on to spend nearly 10 years with the Canadian Football League. I want to give people these kind of chances; I want Manitoba to be the province it could be.”
Khan said there were a number of steps needed to “make Manitoba better,” and these included questions about affordability; how to grow the economy; how to create an environment that was conducive for businesses; and for government to listen to people.
Khan, along with his assistant, was on an eight-stop tour of small towns that day – despite the forecast of a massive snow system moving in later that evening – and expressed how much he cared about the future of the province.
“There are a lot of beautiful prairie skies ahead of us,” he said. “It is important to listen to you guys. I don’t have all the answers. Tell us what you need, and we want to get it done.”
Khan was born in Ottawa, and earned his BSc from Simon Fraser University in B.C. He played nine years with the CFL, with seven of them as offensive lineman for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
He is also a restaurateur in Winnipeg, and sits on multiple boards and charities.
In 2022, he was elected as MLA for Fort Whyte, and served as the Minister of Sport, Culture and Heritage.
He was elected as the new leader of the PC Party of Manitoba last April.
Khan asked everyone at the meeting to introduce themselves, and that included Ed Grenier, a farmer from Notre Dame, who is currently running to become the Conservative candidate for the Turtle Mountain constituency, following the announcement that MLA Doyle Piwniuk will not seek another term in the next provincial election.
Grenier, who worked originally as campaign manager for Piwniuk, and was accompanied at the meeting by a number of family members and friends, opened the Tuesday morning event, and introduced Khan.
“I love politics,” said Grenier. “My intention is to run for the seat. I want to make sure voices from Turtle Mountain are heard.”
Khan wants to focus on resource-based development, including the port of Churchill, potash, gold mining, business-based improvements, and taxation changes.
“Give me two years, and I could make it happen,” he said. “We need solutions; we need municipalities to work together. We need to create incentives to grow the economy.”
Questions from the floor included concerns about health care, about agriculture, crime, and about the massive costs facing municipalities for infrastructure projects, such as lagoons. Water management and responsibility, including Pelican Lake and Rock Lake, were also questioned.
A new daycare project for Killarney was discussed, and the topic of using local contractors to reduce the heavy price of $773 per square foot was opened up.
Ways to help young entrepreneurs to start up and to buy businesses from retiring owners was discussed, as was the question of taxation levels on farmland, as a result of increasing assessments.
One member of the public also suggested to Khan that the Conservative Party would do well not turning too far to the right.
Khan also mentioned that he would like to see more recovery centres created for substance addicted persons, rather than consumption sites. He would also like to promote more apprenticeships for young people, as the province was currently seeing a major shortage of apprentices, at around the 3,000 mark.
“I could have lived anywhere in Canada, and I chose Manitoba because I love this province,” he said. “And I am fighting to make it the province I love. I am a very strong Progressive Conservative, but I am not a far right guy. And I would not choose one ideology over another.”
OBBY KHAN IN KILLARNEY – Elected leader of the opposition PC party, Obby Khan (left), paid a surprise visit to Killarney on Tuesday morning. Mayor for the Municipality of Killarney-Turtle Mountain, Janice Smith (right), was part of the group who met with Khan at the Blarney Stone Restaurant for an informal town hall meeting. Khan’s vision is to build and develop the province, utilizing its huge resources, incredible beauty, and its capable people.
CHATTING WITH THE GUESTS – Obby Khan met one-to-one with visitors following his meeting at the Blarney Stone Restaurant on Tuesday. Khan hopes to defeat the NDP and capture the premier’s seat in the next provincial election, expected in 2027.
PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE POP-IN – From left: Ed Grenier, from Notre Dame, who is seeking the role of MLA candidate for the PC party in the Turtle Mountain constituency in in the next provincial election. Obby Khan, the PC’s new Leader of the Official Opposition, (right) hopes to become the next premier of Manitoba.
JAY STRUTH/KILLARNEY GUIDE PHOTOS