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On the campaign trail with 'Team Filmon'

From Tory blue to NDP orange and back again, with scarcely a red Liberal in sight – that's been the alternating pattern in Manitoba elections since the 1950s. Manitobans seem to prefer stability in their governments but punish a government when it overstays its welcome. Both parties have gotten the boot for stoking the public's ire: the NDP for boosting auto insurance rates in 1988 and the Tories in 1999 for a vote-rigging scheme. From Hudson Bay to the Red River, CBC Archives goes to the polls.

The phrase "Progressive Conservative" isn't taboo in Manitoba, but you wouldn't know that to look at Premier Gary Filmon's campaign bus. The federal party was virtually destroyed in the 1993 election, and Filmon's campaign managers are still leery of the associations voters might have with the party name. So the focus is on the leader and his record - and, as this CBC Radio report describes, that means the Tories have become "Team Filmon."
• When the election call came, the Globe and Mail also noted Filmon's campaign strategy. "For the third time since 1988, the Tory campaign emphasizes Mr. Filmon over the Progressive Conservative party. The PC logo is non-existent on Mr. Filmon's campaign bus and is microscopic on party signs and literature."
• The Liberals had a new leader for this election: Paul Edwards, a young lawyer.

• Before the election, a poll conducted for the CBC put the Tories in first at 37 per cent support, followed by the Liberals at 35 per cent and Gary Doer's NDP at 21 per cent.
• The same poll found that the top concern for Manitobans was cuts to health care.
• All three parties promised many of the same things: a freeze on taxes, a balanced budget, high standards for health care and education and job creation.

• Filmon ended up winning a majority with 31 seats – his third victory as leader. The NDP took 23 seats and the Liberals won three. Liberal leader Paul Edwards failed to win his own seat.
• "This is known as a three-peat," said Filmon on election night. "It's even more rare in politics than it is in sports. I feel very, very humble right now at the trust the people of Manitoba have placed in our team."

• Before election day, observers predicted that if NDP Gary Doer failed to win, it would be his last. It was his third election as party leader, and he had held the position for seven years.
• On election night, Doer said it was up to his party whether he stayed on as leader or stepped down. Later that year his name was tossed around as a potential contender for the leadership of the federal party. But he stayed on in Manitoba to fight another election.
Medium: Radio
Program: The World At Six
Broadcast Date: April 11, 1995
Guest(s): David Newman, Taras Sokolyk
Reporter: John Boivin
Duration: 3:15

Last updated: January 18, 2012

Page consulted on August 22, 2012

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