Manitoba Tories enlist veteran Alberta strategist to help election campaign efforts | CBC News
Listen to this article
Estimated 3 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.
The Manitoba Progressive Conservatives have hired Alberta strategist Stephen Carter to guide their next election campaign.
Carter led what was called the “purple wave” mayoral campaign of Naheed Nenshi in 2010 in Calgary, which harnessed social media, appealed to a broad cross-section of voters and led Nenshi to an unexpected win.
Carter also helped guide the rise of Alison Redford, who became leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservatives and premier despite having almost no caucus support.
He later served as chief of staff to Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek.
Carter describes himself as “an old-school PC” whose interest in politics started with former federal PC leaders Joe Clark and Jean Charest. He said he was saddened to see Progressive Conservative parties disappear in some jurisdictions.
“But PCs like those we see in Manitoba are still strong and can be the defining light for what conservatism looks like in the future,” Carter said in an interview Friday.
Peter Smith, president of the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party, said Carter is politically agnostic with a proven record.
“He’s had some success on the left and he’s had more success on the right,” Smith said.
“We’re not looking to move the party one way or the other. We’re looking to meet the voter and we’re looking to see how the voters want to be governed,” he said.
“I think we maybe forgot about the voter a little bit in the last election and I think that Stephen can help us get back to where we should be.”
The Progressive Conservatives held government from 2016 to 2023, when the NDP swept to power. The Tories lost 13 seats and became the Official Opposition.
The PC campaign was widely criticized for ads that promoted the government’s earlier decision not to search a landfill for the remains of two slain First Nations women. The ads cited health and safety concerns for searchers.
Smith ‘not concerned’ about party debt
PC Leader Heather Stefanson later resigned, and the party has been working to rebuild under Obby Khan, who was elected leader in April.
Opinion polls suggest NDP support remains very strong, and the Tories have been falling behind financially.
Party filings with Elections Manitoba show the NDP garnered more than $1.8 million in contributions and fundraising in 2024 — roughly triple the Progressive Conservatives’ amount. The Tories ran a surplus last year but are still working to pay off debt from the last campaign.
“We’ve been raising money. We’ve managed our expenses well, so I’m not concerned,” Smith said.
The party has also put its headquarters up for sale — a house near the legislature listed for $800,000.
The next election is slated for Oct. 5, 2027, but Premier Wab Kinew has floated the possibility of calling a vote earlier.
