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![\"Alex](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4281624_web1_Wally-Daudrich2.jpg\")
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Alex Lambert \/ The Brandon Sun Files<\/p>\n
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Wally Daudrich narrowly lost the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba\u2019s leadership race last year and now he will not be permitted to seek the party\u2019s nomination in the riding of Turtle Mountain.<\/p>\n
The next provincial election must be held by Oct. 5, 2027.<\/p>\n
Daudrich could not be reached for comment Wednesday. The party, led by Obby Khan, said it would not be commenting further, but offered a vague explanation for the decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cCandidate nominations are conducted in accordance with the party\u2019s constitution, rules and candidate review processes,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
Turtle Mountain is held by PC incumbent Doyle Piwniuk, who is not seeking re-election. It has been considered a \u201csafe\u201d Tory seat, but that may no longer be the case after the party\u2019s rejection of Daudrich, University of Manitoba political studies Prof. Christopher Adams said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019ll be repercussions within the party on this,\u201d Adams said. \u201cI guess they see him as a possible loose cannon and he\u2019s a man who speaks his mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
During last year\u2019s leadership race, Daudrich infamously quipped that he\u2019d solve Winnipeg\u2019s homelessness crisis by letting polar bears loose in the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a homeless crisis here in Winnipeg,\u201d Daudrich told supporters in a video posted on social media. \u201cI always say where I come from in Churchill, we don\u2019t have any homeless people. Anybody take a guess why? When there are serious repercussions for a bad lifestyle, people smarten up very quickly. So my plan is to import 10 polar bears and let them go in front of the (Manitoba legislature).\u201d<\/p>\n
Daudrich then received more ballots than Khan in the election, but came up short in his bid for the top job because of a point system the party used to weigh support in different constituencies.<\/p>\n
The relationship between Khan and Daudrich may be strained as a result of the leadership contest, Adams said. There\u2019s also rural-urban divide to consider, he said.<\/p>\n
Khan, who represents Fort Whyte in Winnipeg, is vying for vote-rich urban and suburban seats, while the right-of-centre conservative populist Daudrich is appealing to rural Manitobans, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs the option to keep him inside, within the caucus, and have to deal with that for the coming years, or is it more risky to have him outside the party and deal with the repercussions from that?\u201d Adams said.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously they\u2019ve done some sort of calculation and thought it\u2019s better to keep him out, rather than in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
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PC party stalwart Dorothy Dobbie was taken aback by the announcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the first I have heard about this, and I truly do not believe it,\u201d she said in an email.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I understand it, Wally has doubled the number of P.C. members in the riding through his hard work and commitment \u2013 he was poised to win. I think there must be some mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n
As of Wednesday, Mark Custance, a rural councillor in the Municipality of Two Borders, was the only candidate seeking the PC nomination in Turtle Mountain.<\/p>\n
carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
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Carol Sanders Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
Legislature reporter
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