Glover defends claim of voting irregularities in Manitoba Tory leadership challenge
Shelly Glover says she believes a spreadsheet her campaign team received before Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson was named winner of the Progressive Conservative leadership vote is correct.
Glover, who lost to Stefanson by a narrow margin on Oct. 30, alleges there were irregularities when ballots were counted and she wants a judge to order a new vote.
Glover says she doesn't believe the total count by Progressive Conservative Party election officials, which found she received 49 per cent of the vote.
"It's unfathomable for me to think of how we got to that number," Glover said Tuesday during a cross-examination of her affidavit in Court of Queen's Bench.
When the final results were announced, the ballots totalled 16,546, with Stefanson winning 51 per cent. The win also made Stefanson premier, replacing Brian Pallister, who resigned in September
Progressive Conservative Party leadership has said that the leadership election was fair.
Party president Tom Wiebe told court Monday that campaign leaders were aware the spreadsheet was never intended to be the final tally.
Wiebe, during cross-examination of his affidavit, defended the count and said "that spreadsheet was strictly to tell them who had voted."
Glover's team was given the spreadsheet early in the morning and she told court it included the names of 16,045 people who voted.
Glover, a former member of Parliament, said she did not observe votes being counted. But since the election, she said, she has recounted the total and believes the spreadsheet contains the right number.
"I believe it's correct."
Much of Tuesday's cross-examination focused on members of Glover's campaign team and how they analyzed the spreadsheet, other documents and emails to conclude that voting irregularities had taken place.
Harley Schachter, the lawyer for the Progressive Conservative Party, posed to Glover's team that there were errors in the spreadsheet so it was clearly not meant to be used as a reflection of the total vote.
He added that the reading of numbers by Glover's campaign also doesn't add up.
The challenge is next scheduled for arguments before a judge on Dec. 10.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 30, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP motion regarding Palestinian statehood passes after major Liberal alterations
A motion from the federal New Democrats initially calling on Canada to recognize the 'State of Palestine' passed amid widespread acrimony on Monday, after the Liberals drastically altered its wording to see the government simply work towards that aim as part of a two-state solution.
'He didn't want to die': Family of Calgary man killed in standoff speaks out
Family of a Calgary man killed after a 30-hour standoff with police last week are speaking out, sharing details of the tense and heart-wrenching experience.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Ohio mom who left toddler alone 10 days when she went on vacation pleads guilty to aggravated murder
An Ohio mother whose 16-month-old daughter died after being left home alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer while she went on vacation was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Retired teacher pleads guilty to paying for sex with 15-year-old in Collingwood, Ont.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
5 charged in Calgary kidnappings that targeted women
Calgary police have charged five men in a pair of kidnappings last year that targeted innocent victims.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Canadian commander of volunteer fighter group dies in Ukraine
A Canadian-born commander of the so-called Norman Brigade, a volunteer fighting group in Ukraine, has died.