Obby Khan has resigned as leader of Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives and left the party’s caucus to sit as an Independent MLA, saying a small group of his own MLAs refused to accept a confidence vote he won just days earlier. The caucus picked La Vérendrye MLA Konrad Narth as interim leader on Tuesday morning, Sept. 29, as the legislature opened its fall sitting.
Khan announced the decision at a news conference Monday evening. He said caucus voted 13 to six on Friday for him to stay on, with one member absent, but that over the weekend he learned some MLAs planned to meet again in secret. “A small group of MLAs have decided that those results are still not enough,” Khan said, according to CBC News. “I cannot be part of a caucus with a small minority membership that lacks moral integrity that will not abide by our rules, our principles, our code.”
According to the Globe and Mail, Khan named five MLAs he said worked against him: Jodie Byram, Richard Perchotte, Kathleen Cook, Carrie Hiebert and Lauren Stone. He also said the Monday meeting was held at Narth’s home. The detail that stands out in the party’s own record is that Cook was among the 10 caucus members who endorsed Khan when he ran for the leadership in 2025, according to CBC coverage of that race.
Narth, a former municipal councillor from Zhoda first elected to the legislature in 2023, rejected the idea that the party is split. “PCs are optimistic. We’re united, and we’re moving forward for all Manitobans,” he told reporters, according to the Globe. He said he does not plan to seek the permanent job, but would lead the party into the Oct. 5, 2027 provincial election if a new leader is not in place by then.
The numbers explain why the fight matters. Khan won the leadership on April 26, 2025 with 50.4 per cent of the weighted points, edging businessman Wally Daudrich by roughly 35 points out of more than 4,300. A win that narrow left little margin for error inside a caucus that was already divided in its endorsements. After 17 months, Narth becomes the party’s third leader, interim or permanent, since Heather Stefanson’s government lost to Wab Kinew’s NDP in October 2023, following interim leader Wayne Ewasko and Khan.
Khan’s departure also shrinks the Official Opposition. The PCs now hold 19 seats to the NDP’s 34, with one Liberal and three Independents, including Khan, according to Global News.
There is a representation story here too. Khan, a former Winnipeg Blue Bombers offensive lineman and restaurant owner, became the first Muslim MLA in Manitoba’s history when he won a Fort Whyte byelection in March 2022, and the first in the province to swear his oath on the Qur’an, according to CBC News. His rise to lead the Opposition was a milestone for Muslim Manitobans and for a party still recovering from its 2023 campaign, which drew national criticism for ads opposing a search of a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of murdered First Nations women. Whoever replaces him will inherit the job of rebuilding trust with the diverse, suburban Winnipeg voters the party needs to win back.
Christopher Adams, an adjunct professor of political science at the University of Manitoba, told Global News he was “not surprised on reflection” by the resignation, calling it “a very sad day for the PC party and it’s a sad day for Obby Khan.” Adams said the party needs to appeal to suburban Winnipeg voters and pointed to Winnipeg city councillor Janice Lukes and federal Conservative MP James Bezan as possible leadership candidates. Neither has said they are running.
For voters, the practical question is timing. With about a year left before the fixed election date, the PCs must set rules for a leadership race, sign up members and choose a leader while trying to hold Kinew’s government to account in the legislature. Narth said his priorities will be rising costs, crime, health care and affordability. How quickly the party can settle its internal fight will shape whether that message reaches voters at all.
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Via CBC News, with additional reporting from The Globe and Mail and Global News.
