McNeil urges Nova Scotia Tories to vote Liberal
Last Updated: Monday, June 8, 2009 | 2:29 PM ET
CBC News
The Nova Scotia Liberal Party used the last day of the provincial election campaign to try to convince Tories to vote for them to hold back an NDP victory tide.
Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil appealed to Conservatives Monday to vote for his party if they don’t want to vote NDP. He made the plea during a campaign stop in Dartmouth East, where Halifax Regional Municipality councillor Andrew Younger is trying to unseat NDP candidate Joan Massey.
And McNeil had some help from a former Tory candidate, Allan Billard, who ran unsuccessfully in 1999.
McNeil said his party is best positioned to prevent an NDP government.
"Well, there's going to be a change tomorrow, there's no question," McNeil said. "Everyone knows that. We're reaching out to Conservative voters, encouraging them to come out to us so they can affect that change.
"If you look at our platform, we're talking about our cut to small business tax, our micro-credit lending. It fits very comfortable with them. You know, I often say in my own riding, if Conservatives didn't vote for me, I wouldn't get elected."
NDP Leader Darrell Dexter is urging those who want change to vote for his team.
At a campaign stop at a seniors’ home, Dexter's pitch was a simple one.
"If what they want is sincere, genuine change, then the way that they can get that is by supporting people like Russell MacDonald {Cape Breton North} and the other NDP candidates on Cape Breton Island," he said.
The Liberals are worried that if too many Tories don't bother to vote, then New Democrat candidates will get a free ride into the legislature.
"I don't want the Conservative vote to stay home. There's no question that they're losing support across Nova Scotia and I'm encouraging those voters to come out and participate in the change. And we're the vehicle of positive change for them," McNeil said.
McNeil's appeal is not unusual. In 2003, then-premier John Hamm made a similar appeal to Liberals, when he urged them to give his party a majority so that he could get some real work done at Province House.
McNeil began his campaign to sway Tory voters on Sunday when he campaigned with Diana Whalen in Halifax Clayton Park in her bid to keep her seat.
When the election was called, the NDP held 13 out of 17 electoral districts within Halifax Regional Municipality. Both the Progressive Conservative and Liberal parties each hold two ridings within metro Halifax.
Last week, a poll commissioned by the CBC put the NDP ahead with 44 per cent of decided voters. The Liberals were in second place with 28 per cent of decided voters, and the Tories were at 26 per cent. About two per cent of those surveyed supported the Green party.
