Kevin Klein jumps to provincial politics as Tory candidate in Winnipeg byelection

Kevin Klein has unofficially secured the Progressive Conservative nomination for the upcoming byelection in the provincial riding of Kirkfield Park in west Winnipeg.

The former city councillor,fresh off an unsuccessful bid to become Winnipeg'smayor, is now focusing his attention on another level of government.

"There were others that were interested" in the Kirkfield seat, but Klein was the only PC candidate to filepapers by the Nov. 3 deadline,Premier Heather Stefansonsaid.

A nomination meeting in which Klein is expected to be formally acclaimedas the Tory candidate will take place Nov. 14.

The formerpublisher of the Winnipeg Sun newspaper and one-term city councillor for theCharleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood wardran to become mayor of Winnipeg in the Oct.26 municipal election.

Klein finished third, more than 24,000 votes behind winner Scott Gillingham.

Days later, Kleinannounced he would seek the Kirkfield Park nomination. The riding became vacant in June whenScott Fielding decided tostepdown from politics and leave government.

A date for the byelection has yet to be set by the governing PCs, althoughprovincial law requires it to be held by Dec. 13.

Stefansonis not ready yet to announce the election date.

"The deadline is coming up and it will be between now and that deadline," she said.

Whenit does happen, Klein will be up against corrections officerLogan Oxenham(NDP),CancerCare research nurse Rhonda Nichol (Liberal)andsemi-retired IT professionalDennis Bayomi (Green).

Kirkfield Park is north of the Assiniboine River in westWinnipeg, extending just beyondthe Perimeter Highway. It is bordered on the south by the river, on the north by Portage Avenue and a portion of Ness Avenue, and on the east by Mount Royal Road for the most part.

Although the seat belonged to the NDPfrom 2007-16, it has otherwise been Progressive Conservative since its inception. It was created by redistribution in 1979 but began itsformalexistence intheprovincial election of 1981.

The next Manitoba general election is scheduled for Oct.3, 2023, but Stefanson could call it early.

Her predecessor, Brian Pallister, called the last election in 2019, a year ahead of its scheduled date. The PCs were riding high in opinion polls at the time and won a second consecutive majority mandate.

Stefanson faces different circumstances. Opinion polls over the last two years have consistently suggested the Tories have seen their support drop sharply while the Opposition New Democrats have surged.