We are now a few weeks into the leadership campaign and Wally Daudrich is showing his mettle.

This man is indefatigable.

Despite a punishing schedule that requires his attending events throughout the province, Wally never says “No,” and he is always warm and interested in the people he meets.

This does not surprise me.

It is what I would expect from a person who, as he puts it, “I used some things that nobody valued or wanted and turned it into a successful business.” Do you know the story of how he built the famous Lazy Bear Lodge in Churchill from the remains of a burned-out forest up North?

Wally and a friend drove as far as they could go on the limited Churchill roads, then took snowmobiles the rest of the way into the boreal forest, pulling out logs six at a time and loading them onto the truck, load after load, day after tireless day. Using this unwanted timber that could easily have fueled a future forest fire, he built his lodge, its furniture and a business. It is a much longer story, but you get the picture.

Wally’s courage and determination, along with his love for his family, his intelligence, integrity, and his vision, are why I have pledged my support for Wally Daudrich as leader and future premier of Manitoba.

Now, Wally has another vision, one that sees Manitoba as once again a proud leader of the Canadian economy where everyone benefits, where our indigenous partners can make productive contribution, and where our kids don’t leave because they feel there is no future here.

“We need to encourage investment,” he says. “We have to focus on development. We need to grow the economy so we can have the kind of society that can care for its sick and doesn’t tolerate homelessness because we have the means to address it.”

Yet, he is no armchair dreamer. Wally Daudrich is a practical person of action. He knows that you must have a goal, then start the journey toward that goal by bringing the best minds to bear on the issues and the best hands to make things work. He knows the value of a dollar. Wally respects you as his friends and neighbours, not as a future master but as a partner in making a better province.

If you are thinking, “That is all fine and good, but how is a rough and ready northerner going to fit into politics,” think again. Wally has been a regional director for the party for years. He has run against the Niki Ashton-machine twice. He understands politics, although he would be the first to admit that he is not a politician. And he can fit in anywhere as someone who has rubbed shoulders with billionaires and royalty at his lodge.

I have barely scratched the surface of this man’s credentials. Pilot (air and water) mechanic, builder, and financier, but most of all devoted husband to Dawn and father to five children who are pretty much grown up, but who know that any one of them can come home to a hearty welcome from Dad.

I wholeheartedly endorse Wally Daudrich. I hope you will renew your membership and vote for him as our next leader.