Liberals gear up for leadership race; sole MLA not interested
The hunt for a new Manitoba Liberal leader is set to begin this summer after the party's lone MLA confirmed Friday she doesn't want the job.
'After much consideration I have made the decision to not pursue the leadership,' Cindy Lamoureux, the member for Tyndall Park, said in a news release.
Lamoureux has been interim leader since leader Dougald Lamont lost his St. Boniface seat in the 2023 election to NDP candidate Robert Loiselle.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
'After much consideration I have made the decision to not pursue the leadership,' Cindy Lamoureux, the member for Tyndall Park, said in a news release.
'I will continue to focus my attention on serving the constituents of Tyndall Park and will remain on as the interim leader until a new leader has been elected by the party membership,' Lamoureux said.
A leadership committee and convention team are being set up and the nomination period is expected to open early this summer, said party president Terry Hayward.
'That's my hope so that any potential candidates can get out there and start talking to people that they would like to support them in the campaign for leadership,' Hayward said.
'They will be reaching out as much as possible to liberals and potential liberals who would support them in the upcoming leadership campaign,' he said.
It's been a long time since the Liberals were a force in Manitoba; under Sharon Carstairs'e leadership, the Grits won 20 seats and became official Opposition in 1988.
'We've had some rough times,' Hayward said Friday.
'We still are a viable party — a bit reduced, I would admit that,' he said.
The party lost two of its three seats in 2023.
'I'm hoping that a leadership campaign will bring a few more people to the realization that there is a needed third voice here in Manitoba,' Hayward said. 'We've heard a lot of criticism from people saying that the current NDP party is presenting Progressive Conservative party ideas and policies.'
He praised Lamoureux for providing 'excellent service' as the lone Grit in the legislature.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
Lamoureux has been interim leader since leader Dougald Lamont lost his St. Boniface seat in the 2023 election.
'She's been doing a great job bringing key things to the floor' said Hayward.
'There are more Cindys out there, more liberals like her out there, that we will work to get into the legislature and eventually get back to party status that we had,' he said. 'I think we've got a viable option for people.'
The next election is expected in October 2027. Hayward said he expects a new leader should have at least 18 months in the role before Manitobans go to the polls.
The committee in charge of the process will be unbiased in the search for a new leader, its president said.
'They will not be supporting any one candidate that might come forward — and that goes as well for our board of directors that are involved in this thing.'
carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
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Carol SandersLegislature reporter
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.
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