Heather Stefanson chosen as Manitobas 1st female premier

Heather Stefanson will be the first woman to lead the province of Manitoba as premier.

Progressive Conservative members selected Stefanson, the favourite of the party establishment, as the next leader of the party through a mail-in ballot. She will, by extension, become Manitoba's 24th premier.

"I am truly honoured and humbled to stand here with all of you, making history in Manitoba," Stefanson said after taking the stage with her family at the Victoria Inn in west Winnipeg.

"A strong PC party is vital for a strong Manitoba and together, I know we will come out of this race more united than ever, with a focus on earning a third consecutive majority government in 2023," she said to applause.

Only 363 votes separated the two candidates in the race.

Stefanson won 8,405 votes of the votes cast â€" 51 per cent â€" beating the 8,042 votes earned by her opponent, Shelly Glover, the party announced just before 5 p.m. CT.

"We never, ever, for one day, took this for granted," Stefanson told reporters shortly after the announcement.

The leadership race was triggered after former premier Brian Pallister, whose popularity was sinking in his final months in power, announced in August that he planned to step down.

Cabinet minister Kelvin Goertzen took over the job in the interim.

The new premier-designate will be sworn in at a later date.

Stefanson has promised a more conciliatory approach to leadership than Pallister, her sometimes brash predecessor. 

Glover, her only opponent in the leadership race, ran as an outsider, promising to shake up the status quo. 

The final days of the leadership campaign were marred by concerns over missing ballots. At least 1,200 people did not receive their mail-in ballots days before the vote, prompting Glover to ask the party to delay the vote count.

More to come

Read previous story below.

Manitobans are about to find out who will be their first female premier, as Progressive Conservatives are set to reveal their choice between the favourite of the establishment and the outsider promising to shake up the status quo.

But the historic occasion â€" the selection of Heather Stefanson or Shelly Glover to Manitoba's highest office â€" has been marred by party members complaining of missing ballots. At least 1,200 people did not receive their mail-in ballots days before the vote, prompting Glover to ask the party to delay the vote count.

Leadership election committee chair George Orle brushed aside those concerns on Saturday.

Speaking just after 4 p.m. CT at the Victoria Inn in Winnipeg, where the winner of the race is expected to be announced shortly, he said the party issued replacement ballots for 1,000 people.

Despite the complications, he said the race was "far away from inept." 

The party said 17,000 members voted in the leadership race, out of a possible 25,000. The return rate is "something to be proud of, not something to be ashamed of," Orle said.

The announcement of the winner in the race will be live-streamed in this story and CBC Gem.

MLA Heather Stefanson and former Conservative MP Shelly Glover were the two candidates vying to become the next leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba and, in turn, the province's 24th premier. (John Woods/Canadian Press, Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press) Pallister's resignation set off race

It is rare in Manitoba's history for political party members to select their next leader and, by extension, the premier at the same time. The race was triggered after former premier Brian Pallister, whose popularity was sinking, resigned two months before the Tories would select his successor. Cabinet minister Kelvin Goertzen took over the job in the interim.

The winner between Stefanson and Glover will be sworn in as premier at a later date.

Stefanson, a longtime MLA in the posh Winnipeg constituency of Tuxedo, has been the overwhelming choice of Tory opinion-leaders, with nearly every member of the party caucus â€" who aren't required to remain neutral â€" backing her. She's also curried the favour of Conservative MPs, government staffers, party elites and business leaders.

"I think Heather Stefanson is definitely the odds-on choice," said Thomas, a professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba.

But she carries baggage from being a stalwart supporter of Pallister's government, which became unpopular in his waning months in office. She has promised a more conciliatory leadership approach, but her words may fall short, Thomas said.

"People who were fed up and frustrated with Pallister, angry even toward him … may say, 'She should have spoken up,'" Thomas said.

Political opponents have wasted no time tying Stefanson to what they perceive are the party's past mistakes. Stefanson was health minister during the pandemic's disastrous third wave when Manitoba had to send patients out of province.

Glover, a former Conservative MP and Winnipeg police officer, has been the underdog candidate from the beginning, but Thomas says she's cherished her outsider status. She's argued the party has lost touch with Manitobans, and must change its approach or Manitobans will change the government. 

"She's a feisty person. She's a fighter. Her politics is learned on the street," said Thomas, describing the leadership bid of the former cabinet minister in Stephen Harper's government as a "counterweight to all the pressure to anoint Heather Stefanson."

Glover, though, had to cast a broad net of support to reel in supporters beyond the party establishment. She's been accused of courting opponents of pandemic restrictions. She's criticized mandatory vaccination or testing for some frontline workers, and slammed so-called "economic lockdowns" that hurt businesses.

"She had to be coy about her own views and avoid denouncing people who had more extreme views within the party," Thomas said.

"She just couldn't surrender any ground because she was entering the race behind." 

The six-week leadership campaign was long on generalities from the candidates and short on policy discussion. Only one debate was held.

Glover has relished her role as the outsider in the PC leadership race. (Ian Froese/CBC) School reform bill killed

When Stefanson announced her candidacy, she promised to scrap the controversial school reform plan, but Goertzen, the temporary premier, withdrew that piece of legislation first.

She's also vowed to expand the provincial nominee program to attract more immigrants, support small businesses and create additional nursing positions. 

Meanwhile, Glover has pledged to reassess the need for COVID-19 testing requirements for some jobs. She's promised to increase funding for personal care homes and establish a seniors advocate office, partially inspired by her choice to work as an uncertified health-care aide during the pandemic.

No matter who wins, Thomas said the Tories, who won back-to-back elections, have a challenging road to climb to win over Manitobans. The PCs appear to have made gains, according to a recent Probe Research poll after Pallister's retirement, but the poll suggests they still trail the NDP in support.

"When bonds of trust are broken, they're exceedingly difficult to repair," Thomas said.

The winning candidate will have to repair relationships with the province, all while demonstrating their separation from Pallister's legacy, he said. 

Tories celebrate their 2019 election win under the leadership of Brian Pallister. (John Woods/The Canadian Press)

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