The former Member of Parliament for St. Boniface says she’s part of a group that wants to form a new conservative political party in Manitoba.
Shelly Glover, a former Winnipeg police officer who served as a Conservative MP from 2008 to 2015, most recently threw her hat into the political ring in 2021, when she ran for leadership of the provincial Progressive Conservatives — narrowly losing to eventual premier Heather Stefanson.
Despite her run for the PCs’ top job, Glover told 680 CJOB’s Connecting Winnipeg that she and her group are now done with that party.
“We believe very strongly that the PC party has lost their way,” she said.
“Fiscal irresponsibility, lack of foundational philosophies related to grassroots members having a voice, health care decisions in the past, families first principles… landfill search insensitivity.”
The PCs — who are currently undergoing a leadership race to select a replacement for Stefanson — have been the subject of criticism in recent weeks after the discovery of murder victim Morgan Harris’ remains in a local landfill. The PC campaign in the last provincial election included a refusal to search the site for the bodies of convicted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki’s victims.
Although no concrete plans for a new party have been formally announced, Glover said she doesn’t think her former party can come back from a series of blunders in recent years.
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“We’re political people. We like to make sure our voices are heard, and we believe every person who votes needs to have a party that they believe in and is accountable to the members and that’s what we’d like to see.”
“There are many of us who believe we need a party — and that the PC party has abandoned us and have abandoned some of the philosophies we believe in… we need to start working towards a party we can support.”
The PCs, meanwhile, announced Monday that just under 11,000 people became party members in time to vote for a new leader next month — up from the 2,200 members when the race began last year.
Two candidates — MLA and former pro football player Obby Khan, and hotelier and party board member Wally Daudrich — are up for the leadership gig.
