Former CFL offensive lineman Obby Khan is now the new leader of Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative Party and will lead the official opposition in the Legislature.
The Winnipeg MLA edged Brandon rancher Wally Daudrich with 50.4 % of the party’s mail-in ballots, a result announced Saturday after weeks of counting.
Khan replaces Heather Stefanson, who resigned last year following the provincial election loss.
Khan entered politics in 2022 by winning a Fort Whyte by-election over another ex-football star Willard Reaves and retained the southwest Winnipeg seat in the last election.
During the leadership race, he promised to modernize the party and reach voters in growing urban and suburban ridings while keeping a tight focus on fiscal restraint.
Born in Ottawa, Khan played university football at Simon Fraser University before the Renegades selected him second overall in the 2004 CFL draft.
After the Renegades folded in 2006, he spent six seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, briefly retiring in 2012 before finishing his 129-game career with the Calgary Stampeders.
The New Democrats under Premier Wab Kinew hold a 34-seat majority, leaving the PCs in rebuilding mode with only a 22 seat caucus.
Khan said his first task is uniting the party and showing Manitobans “a positive, pragmatic conservative alternative” ahead of the next provincial election.
