Doer basks in second majority
WebPosted Jun 3 2003

Gary Doer stood before cheering supporters Tuesday night, flashed his famous grin and, after 33 days of campaigning, finally allowed himself to bask in the victory predicted for weeks.

"We went higher tonight, didn't we?" he said. "Thank you, thank you, thank you Manitoba. We appreciate it."

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Winnipeg results

Tuesday, Doer delivered 35 NDP MLAs to the legislature, a record number for the party and three more ridings than he won in 1999. NDP leader Howard Pawley won 34 seats in 1981, making Doer's win the largest for any party since the 1959 Tories took 36.

Doer was always quick to downplay pre-election polls that predicted the NDP could win more than 37 seats, an unprecedented number (unless you count the 40 seats won by the Liberals in 1915).

To win that many, the NDP would have needed to take seats from die-hard Progressive Conservative strongholds in southern Manitoba, the so-called "yellow dog" territory where a canine running under the Tory banner is fabled to win.

Western Manitoba results

"If you start with 32 seats at the start of a campaign and if you are asked if you'd take 35 at the end of it, I think most people running for a second term would say 'yes,'" Doer said.

While the rural south ridings stayed PC blue, the NDP did manage to steal four seats from the Tories. New MLAs from Seine River, Gimli, St. Norbert and Fort Garry will now be sitting on the government side.

• Tories lose four seats •

The loss of four MLAs, including 13-year veteran Marcel Laurendeau, leaves Stuart Murray's Progressive Conservatives with 20 seats, the lowest number they've had in 50 years.

Murray put a brave face on the disappointing loss, vowing to stay on as leader and to keep a close eye on the governing Doer.

"Manitobans understood the Progressive Conservative party has a vision for the province of Manitoba," Murray, who kept his Kirkfield Park seat, said. "We took it to the people of Manitoba over 33 days and they said 'we want a strong Progressive Conservative representation in the legislature.'"

Eastern Manitoba results

But Murray clearly didn't resonate with voters and some pre-election gaffes – including hiring one of the key players in the 1995 vote-rigging scandal to provide strategy advice – didn't help.

As well, one Tory win was a squeaker and will be subject to an automatic recount – Leeann Rowat defeated NDP candidate Harvey Paterson by 13 votes in Minnedosa after long-time PC MLA Harold Gilleshammer retired.

• Grits double standing •

Liberal leader Jon Gerrard had to be pleased with a campaign that doubled the Grit presence in the house to two seats. Kevin Lamoureux won back his Inkster seat, which he lost to NDP cabinet minister Becky Barrett in 1999. She didn't run again this time, and it was the only seat the NDP lost.

"This campaign, we pulled together," Gerrard, who won his River Heights seat by more than in 1999, said. "We will be a force to be reckoned with in this province."

Northern Manitoba results

For now, the main political force in the province is Doer, whose victory speech pointed to his party's priorities – education, training, health care, keeping Manitobans in Manitoba. All were pillars of his first election win almost four years ago.

While the opposition parties tried to target those promises during the election, especially health care, the voters seemed all right with the government at hand.

However, voter turnout was just more than half of eligible voters, a drop of 13 percentage points from the last election and a 50-year low.