By Canadian Press

Court to hear cross-examination of challenge to Manitoba Tory leadership vote

Nov 29, 2021 | 1:01 AM

WINNIPEG — Accounts of those challenging the vote that saw Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson become leader of the Progressive Conservatives are expected to be questioned in court this week. 

Shelly Glover, who lost last month to Stefanson by a small margin, has alleged there were irregularities when ballots were counted and wants a judge to order a new vote.

Glover, her scrutineer and two other supporters have filed affidavits to support her claim.

The Progressive Conservative party has also filed documents saying the election was fair.

A cross-examination of the affidavits is scheduled for today and Tuesday in Court of Queen’s Bench.

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Glover’s case is then scheduled to be argued before a judge on Dec. 10.

Glover, a former member of Parliament, came up short with 49 per cent of the ballots in the Oct. 30 vote. When the results were announced, the ballots totalled 16,546, with Stefanson winning 51 per cent.

Glover alleges her team was given a spread sheet in the morning with a smaller tally of total votes. One of the people acting as a vote scrutineer for Glover’s team, in an affidavit, says he saw unsecured ballot boxes being moved out of the room where votes were counted.

Progressive Conservative Party president Tom Wiebe says in his affidavit the spreadsheet that was given to the campaign teams in the morning was not a final count.

In another affidavit, a partner at a chartered professional accounting firm that helped conduct the vote says ballot boxes were removed after the counting was complete. The ballots were then taken to a vehicle, guarded by a security firm, and taken back to a secure room in the accounting firm’s offices, the affidavit states.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 29, 2021. 

The Canadian Press