Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 22, 1968, Winnipeg, Manitoba 18 Winnipeg free press saturday june 22, 1968 tory hold on Rural Manitoba slipping by Gordon Sinclair the end of the political Era of Diefenbaker conservative domination of Manitoba s Rural areas could come with dramatic suddenness Here tuesday. When the 1968 election Campaign began in april it was taken for granted that the liberals might pick up at least one of the prov Ince s five Urban Ridings but that the farm vote would remain faithful the tories swept in on John Diefenbaker s coattails in 1957 and 58. But that was two months ago before Manitoba Farmers accustomed Fol lowing John began follow Pierre possibly fill the void left when the chief refused Budge from his maritime Saskatchewan constituency. It was t until the past week that desperate tories managed coax the old Warrior out of his Prince Albert Retreat. Or. Diefenbaker came Manitoba bolster besieged conservative candidates in the farm constituency of Marquette and the mixed Urban Rural Riding of Selkirk. The crowds of 1958 turned out again but there was a suspicion they were there mainly join in a last Hurrah for the Man who had Given the Western far Mer a feeling of belonging for 10 years. The same night june 19, when or. Diefenbaker was addressing a rally of people in an East Kildonan country club t. C. Tommy Douglas was making his final pitch for Manitoba s new democratic party candidates in the. Winnipeg auditorium. He Drew of the faithful and observers agreed it was a Good rally even if it did t match the socialist s better meetings of the past. Or. Stanfield has made his final appearance in Winnipeg. Prime minister Trudeau will make a non political visit sunday Lead the red River exhibition Parade through Winnipeg streets. Now that the major rallies Are All Over Obser vers Here Are sitting trying figure out just what has happened during the past two months. Most of them agree they have underestimated the Appeal of or. Trudeau the voter who has grown weary of the old style politician. Most of them also agree that or. Trudeau spells votes for the liberals. The Only question they have left answer is How Many if Trudeau mania is As potent As it seems and if it can be translated into votes it almost seems Safe say there in t a. Safe tory seat left in Manitoba. Manitoba lost one of its 14 seats in the recent constituency redistribution. At Dis solution of the House of. Commons conservatives held 10 of the 14, the nip three and the liberals the safest Ridings in Manitoba on the eve of the election appear be two Winnipeg seats North and North Centre held at Dis solution by nip veterans Stanley Knowles and David Orlikov. Next them come two. Former conservative seats Brandon Souris and held in the last parliament by former Northern affairs minister Walter Dinsdale and George Muir respectively. Although Brandon Souris is expected remain in the tory column even conservatives agree that or. Dins Dale is in trouble and that Liberal James r. Bates will at least Cut Down his 1965 majority. But the Veteran conservative will have be in very deep trouble indeed see that majority votes disappear entirely. The situation in Lisgaris somewhat similar with Liberal Donald Livingstone giving or. Muir an unexpectedly Strong Battle. Manitoba s ,.o til e r nine Ridings offer tussles of varying degrees of intensity. In the former conserva Tive strongholds of Winnipeg South and South Centre the tories Are fighting for their political lives. Businessman James Richardson is slightly favored add Winnipeg South the Liberal Camp. But his opponent l. R. Bud Sherman a member of the last parliament has by Means Given up. The biggest upset of All could be in South Centre which was regarded As a sure thing for the conservatives when former Mani Toba Premier Duff Roblin announced he would contest the Riding. But now he is Given better than a 50-50 Chance of holding on against Liberal e. B. Osier. Both Churchill and Selkirk constituencies Are considered dogfights with the nip conservative and lib eral candidates All claiming Victory is in sight. Dauphin May be the third safest tory seat but a conservative Victory there although Likely certainly in t conceded by the liberals. A former member of the Manitoba legislature lib eral Rod Clement is Given a slight Edge in the farm Riding of Marquette while Provencher and Portage could the candidates of either major party. That leaves St. Boniface the Lone Liberal seat on the Prairies after the 1965 vote. The Riding is still there but its former my veterans affairs minister Roger Veillet in t. Or. Veillet lost his bid for renomination mayor Joseph Quay of St. Boniface. It could be that by switching candidates the liberals also will have managed switch the seat the nip columns. There is a Large socialist bloc of votes in the Riding and although mayor Guay is thought have a slim Edge his defeat is a possibility. Or As one Liberal wit put it the Only doubtful lib eral seat in Manitoba is St. British Columbia Saskatchewan conservatives still Strong Liberal gains definite trend noted in Atlantic provinces Likely at coast following hard Campaign by Sheila Urquhart Halifax special it s All Over but the voting. And in the unnatural Calm after the great Campaign party workers and watchers Are trying guess who the electorate will carry Power. It looks like the tories will win 17 of the 32 maritime seats with the liberals winning 11. Four seats Are up for grabs. Here s what May happen tuesday Riding by Riding in the Atlantic provinces in Newfoundland tory candidate Frank Moores will Likely trim his Liberal opponent James r. Tucker in Bonavista Trinity Concep Tion. Liberal Don Jamieson looks like a shoo in in Burin Burgeo while Federal mini Ster without portfolio Charles Granger has a Chance against tory John Lundrigan in Gander Twillingate. Commons Deputy speaker Herman Batten appears be Home Safe in Humber St. George s St. Barbe. In St. John s East tory James Mcgrath is expected defeat Liberal incumbent j. P. O Keefe but in St. John s West Liberal Richard Cashin appears have a slight Edge Over his tory opponent Walter Carter. Also looking Strong is Liberal Andrew Chatwood in grand Falls White b a y Labrador where it is re ported the Odds Are against tory Ambrose peddle who has been fighting a vigorous Campaign. In Prince Edward Island tory Heath Mcquarrie appears be Home Safe again in the Hillsborough Riding Over former Public relations executive and Liberal candidate Jack Mcandrew. Liberal John Mullally could put Down tory incumbent Melvin Mcquaid in Cardigan but in egmont sitting tory Rev. David Macdonald is Likely win a second term from Liberal lawyer Melville Campbell brother of Island Premier Alex Campbell. It could be close in Mal Peque for former Federal fisheries minister Angus Maclean but he is considered generally have the Edge Over Liberal Don Ald Wood. In new Brunswick s Moncton Riding Liberal mar Garet Rideout will probably step into parliament Courtesy of Independent tory r. F. Robinson. Robin son will Likely keep official tory candidate Charles Thomas vote total Down by several thousand. Despite a Strong Liberal Challenge from University of new Brunswick Law school Dean William Ryan Veteran tory my Tom Bell looks like the Winner in St. John Lancaster. In the Riding in Carleton Charlotte former new Brunswick Premier Hugh John Flemming is considered a shoo in for the tories. And sitting tory Gordon Fairweather is expected be returned with trouble in Fundy Royal. Another probable tory Winner is Chester Macrae who seems be leading Liberal challenger Paul Burden in York Sunbury. Looking like Liberal Vic tors Are j. E. Dube in rest Gouche Eymard Cor bin in Madawaska Victoria Guy Grossman in West Morland Kent Percy Smith i Northumberland Miramichi and Herb Breau in Gloucester. In Nova Scotia s an Napolis Valley Riding sitting tory j. Patrick Nowlan appears be leading the Way for the Stanfield team. Other tories with the winning look Are Russell Macewan in Central Nova Robert Muir in Cape Breton the Sydney a Donald Mclnnis in Cape Breton East Richmond Lloyd Crouse in South Shore Robert Mccleave in Halifax East Hants Robert Coates in Cumberland Colchester North and of course Robert Stanfield in Halifax. In the three Nova Scotia Ridings where real Battle grounds have shaped up tory physics professor Louis Comeau seems have a slight Edge Over Liberal or. John Stewart Ira South Western Nova it s anybody s guess in Dart Mouth Halifax East where tory incumbent Mike for Restall and Liberal Candi Date Arnold Patterson Are fighting hard campaigns and in Cape Breton High lands Canso Allan Mac Eachern maybe running for his political life against or. Hugh Afflis. By Terry Hammond Vancouver special significant Liberal gains in . Loomed As a distinct possibility this week in the Wake of prime minister Trudeau s triumphant ral lies in Vancouver the Fraser Valley and Victoria. Until sunday night when the prime minister Drew. A crowd of in Vancouver s Chinatown and monday when he peed out a Grassy Knoll in Victoria s Beacon Hill Quebec most voters unconcerned about special by Stan Mcdowell Montreal staff prime minister Trudeau came out on top both in head counts and in debating Points on the two nations special status Issue in the past seven Days of campaigning the final full week of the Campaign. Last saturday in Quebec City he packed in five times As Many people As Robert Stanfield was draw on wednesday at his main rally in the provi facial capital. And the. Wide news cover age Given or. Stanfield s demand that the prime minister repudiate Liberal advertisements charging him with supporting a two nations special status pol icy posed a major threat the credibility of those Quebec conservative Candi dates who have been campaigning n these twin themes. But there May be a Little less than meets die Eye these two Liberal advantages. Attendance at Campaign rallies has in the past been a conspicuously bad Indica Tor of the coming vote. In 1965, when he failed miser ably at the polls in Quebec John Diefenbaker outdraw Lester Pearson at meetings in both Quebec and Mon Treal. And the weakening of what had been the conservatives apparently Friendly posture toward two nations and special status could have negligible effects at the polls. A minority is intensely interested in the Constitution. But the Man in the Street and especially the Man on the country Road appears totally unconcerned with it in any Case the most important effect of the conservative constitutional stance at the outset of the Campaign was draw in a contingent of Strong nationalists As candidates and key workers. It is too late now. For the benefits of this recruiting be lost. The Issue of criminal code amendments on Homo sexuality and abortion and of divorce Law Reform has been of much More apparent help the conserva Tives than the constitutional question has. The most celebrated boast of the Campaign was made by an old Union National Man in Matane we beat Lesage with the autobus Well beat Trudeau with the the Long bus rides imposed on children by the establishment of regional schools was one of the most severe complaints against the former Lesage government in Rural areas of Quebec the Impact of this Issue is expected be Felt mainly in the Rural areas but it May be of greater help the Rolliement Des credit stes than the conservatives. Many conserva Tives Are working this vein in Rural areas but Aren t generally going As deeply into it or unequivocally opposing the proposed Cla Anges As the credit stes. Conservatives however can reasonably Hope for modest gains in the prov Ince. In some Ridings they have very Strong candidates against Liberal lightweights. In others local Liberal organizations Are ineffective or divided. At least two ministers Jean Marchand in Langelier and Jean Luc Pepin have hard fights on their hands. Or. Marchand particularly is Hurt by unemployment in the Quebec City area especially As a result of the close of the George t. Davie shipyards in Lauzon. But the Odds though narrow favor the re elec Tion of both ministers. Or. Marchand s hard fight in 1965 was against the Credi tastes not the conserva Tives and there May be enough die hard credit Ste supporters left hold the conservative vote Down. On paper the Odds also favor Eric Kierans who is running against Quebec new democratic party Leader Robert cliche in Duvernay. But or. Cliche has great popularity and French Mother Tongue going for him and in this Case the statistical Odds could be overruled. Duvernay remains the nip s Best Hope win their first Quebec seat. Their gain Between 1963 and 1965 was biggest in Mont real notre Dame de Grace but or. Trudeau s popular Ity is insurance for Liberal Warren Allmand in this largely English speaking constituency. The credit stes Are Virtu ally certain of holding their hard Core of four Northwestern Quebec seats and Are favored hold at least two More. But there Are a dozen Ridings in which they have potential strength and gains Are possible if they rather than the conservatives can rally the discontented. The Appeal of or. Tru Deau in Urban areas seems More than enough offset misgivings he arouses in some Rural Ridings and compensate for division in some Liberal Riding organizations. At least 55 seats look Safe for the liberals with a Strong possibility of reach ing 60. Conservatives can expect Small gains but As the Campaign neared its end their original target of 20 looked Over optimistic. Park the hard noses in the party Hierarchy feared the loss of one seat or hoped at Best hold the 1965 line of seven seats. Today the fears of a loss Are. Gone and Only the most pessimistic Are talking about holding the line. With at least reasonable justification based on Public reaction or. Trudeau the More realistic liberals say they Are confident of three More seats and a few say four. Mark up a net gain of three they actually have win four additional seats because one Liberal Strong hold was lost redistribution. Where and from who will the gains be made voting figures from 1965 indicate that the liberals could eliminate All three the province s social credit incumbents Bert Lehoe in Prince George peace River acting National Leader Alex Patterson in Fraser Valley East and Howard Johnston in Okanagan Kootenay. Liberals Are expected take the Brand new Riding of coast Chi Cotin by a narrow margin and they could depose conservative David Pugh i n Okanagan Boun Dary. If any of these sour for them they have an outside Chance in Burnaby Rich mond where new Democrat Robert Prittie is running hard return Ottawa. If they won in All of these they would have 11 seats for a net gain of four social credit would be off the Board the conservatives would be reduced two and the nip would gain one for a total of 10. What astonished most political observers who attended the fantastic tru Deau rallies in ., was the crowds Carefree acceptance of things they did t want hear. Within minutes after or. Trudeau told a Burnaby shopping Centre crowd of that he did t consider the lower Mainland s hous ing crisis a top priority problem they gave him a deafening cheer. In Victoria where there has been an acute slump in shipyard business the crowd actually cheered his Blunt statement placard wavers that shipyard workers on the West coast had simply priced themselves off the Market and that he did t believe in subsidies. That did said one Veteran Liberal strategist. He has t offered them one Damn thing except a Chance vote for him and they re eating it a few minutes later a frankly puzzled tory worker said he s somehow twisted the Good old Campaign Promise into a sign of moral by Mel Hinds Regina special committee room fever hit Campaign workers of All Saskatchewan political parties during the last week but when All the partisan enthusiasm is Dis counted the More realistic predictions have changed Little since the Start of the Campaign. All three major parties Are claiming there has been an upsurge of support for their party during the last week or 10 Days. Campaign chairmen can All explain with a certain amount of plausibility Why their Man is going win. The most honest opinion being expressed is by those who admit they simply not know How the election is going and state nothing would Surprise them. There is general agree ment on at least one Point it s the hardest election predict in Many years. If there really is any consensus at All it is this two seats for the liberals one or two for the nip and the rest for the conserva Tives. Thirteen seats Are at stake compared with 17 last time All of which were won by the conservatives. The liberals have not won a Federal seat in Saskatchewan since 1962 and even then they could Only Man age one. The drought has been even longer for the nip who took one in 1961 when they were still known As the Kcf. That Lone Kcf member by the Way was Hazen argue who has since defected the liberals and become a senator. In the next election or. Argue was the Lone Liberal pick up a seat but he lost it m 1963. That same constituency of Assiniboia won by or. Argue first for the nip and then for the liberals is the one in which the liberals think they have the Best Chance this time. They also have High Hopes for Saskatoon Humboldt where Law Dean Otto Lang is trying beat conserva Tive Lewis Brand. There Are some reports that or. Lang May have peaked too Early and was slipping As the Campaign nears its end. The liberals also had two or three others on their possible list including the two Regina Ridings and Meadow Lake but they Are not Overly optimistic. The conservatives main Tain they can hold All 13 seats but concede there Are three Ridings that Are Caus ing concern Assiniboia Regina Lake Centre and Saskatoon Humboldt. Saskatoon Biggar is the Best Hope for the nip most of their workers claim but they also think they May pick up three or four More. Those include Regina East where they think they have a Hope of beating former conservative agriculture minister Alvin Hamilton partly because this time the liberals Are stronger possibly allowing the nip come up the Middle. They believe the same could hold True in Regina Lake Centre where the conservative incumbent is Ken More. Moose jaw is another possibility they claim. There has been some dark horses speculation about some of the constituencies. Both the liberals and nip were claiming they could take Yorkton Melville and the liberals said they were beginning receive encouraging reports from Meadow Lake. The main Issue in Saskatchewan is still wheat. As nip Leader Tommy Doug Las said during what appeared be a fairly productive two Day swing through Saskatchewan this week wheat is still on that Issue the conservatives Are ahead. The Farmers believe that Alvin Hamilton and the conserva Tives have proven they Are the Best wheat salesmen. amount of figures or arguing from the other parties has been successful in convincing the Farmers other Alberta Issue of National Unity sparked heated debate by Phil Hanson Calgary special although Calgary South Liberal candidate Pat Mahoney had been saying since the Start of his Campaign in Early May that or. Stanfield advocated a two nations policy one really paid Tod much Atten Tion until newspaper advertisements appeared last saturday. Then his remarks became a National Issue and Are still being debated when conservatives and liberals meet at forums. The ads which ran in both Calgary daily news papers included a dialogue by or. Mahoney the 39 year old president of the Calgary stampedes football club which said in part the Hon. Robert Stanfield says two nations Spe Cial status. does Monsieur Marcel Faribault of the conservative party. does the Union National party of Quebec. Special status two advertising on a similar theme had also been done by Nick Taylor 40, fighting Veteran conservative Doug Las Harkness in Calgary Centre. Both men were Quick say we re standing after or. Stanfield charged the liberals with being deliberately and telling local conservatives joined in the condemnation started by their Leader. Or. Mahoney reiterated his stand when prime min ister Trudeau came Cal Gary tuesday and said he would t repudiate the re Marks because there was nothing but at a political forum a few hours after or. Tru Deau announced in Toronto that he had in fact repudiated the ads or. Mahoney backed Down and joined the repudiation. He said he was satisfied the advertising Campaign had smoked the conservatives when or. Stanfield says he believes in one nation i pm s Charm May be Factor in Ontario by r. H. Munro Toronto special barring feverish Trudeau mania the progressive conservatives can count on 21 seats in Ontario and the new democratic party on nine. The liberals have a base of 33. There Are close races in 24 other constituencies and in 23 of these the Liberal candidates could win in some cases handily if the Public interest in prime minister Trudeau. Translates into support at the ballot Box. The one close race Riding in which or. Tru Deau s drawing Power will Likely not effect the outcome is Oshawa Whitby where the fight is Between the pc candidate and the new Democrat. Of the other 23, in eight seats the Battle is Between a Liberal and conservative in 11 Between a Liberal and new Democrat in three there is a three Way fight and in one High Park there is a four Way fight. If or. Trudeau s Charm can tip the delicately balanced Scales in All 23 of these Ridings the liberals could come out of Ontario after next tuesday s elec Tion with 56 of the 88 seats which would be five More than they held in the last parliament when there were 85 Ontario seats. This would give the conservatives 21 and the new democrats nine not counting Oshawa Whitby. These figures also exclude the Riding of Stormont Dundas where speaker Lucien Lamoureux is sure be elected As an inde pendent. If there is a real swell of Trudeau mania it May push another three of the 21 seats in which the conservatives Are Strong Grenville Carleton Ottawa West and Leeds into the Liberal fold which would give them a landslide 59 seats. Roughly both geographically and on a basis of spheres of party influence the province can be divided into seven Broad areas Toronto and District 25 Niagara Peninsula i including Hamilton Southwest Windsor area Southeast Ottawa Valley and the North in Toronto and District bounded by and including 0 s h Awa Whitby Ontario York Simcoe and Peel South the liberals Are out front in nine seats Daven port Eglinton Etobicoke Parkdale Rosedale s p a Dina Trinity York East and York Scarboro and the new democrats in four Broadview Greenwood Scarboro West and York there is a Liberal pc race in six of them Don Valley Ontario Peel South St. Paul a York North and York a Liberal nip race in three Lake Shore York Centre and York and a three Way race in Scarboro East. In the Niagara Peninsula including Hamilton the liberals Are ahead in seven of the 10 seats Brant Halton Wentworth Hamil ton East Lincoln Niagara Falls St. Catharines and the nip in two Hamilton Mountain and and the tories in Hamilton West. In the Southwest the Rural area in which the tories hold Sway there Are 21 seats and the conserva Tives can almost certainly count on 12 of them Grey Simcoe Huron Kent Essex Lambton Kent London West Middlesex Oxford Parry sound Muskoka Perth Simcoe North Wellington and Wellington the liberals Lead in three Bruce Kitchener and and the new democrats will Likely hold Waterloo. In the Windsor area fortress of senator Paul Martin the liberals Are Way out front in Windsor West and Essex but face a fight with the new democrats i n Windsor Walker Ville. In an area which could be broadly described As the Southeast the conservatives again Are most influential and should have prob lems holding Lennox Addington Hastings Prince Edward Hastings and Vic Toria Haliburton. The tories Lead in Leeds but Trudea mania might upset them. The liberals can count on Kingston and the islands Peterboro and Northumberland Durham. In the Ottawa Vader the liberals should hold five s eats Glengarry Prescott Ottawa Carleton Ottawa Centre Ottawa East and Renfrew and might pick up Grenville Carleton and Ottawa West although in both the conservatives have the Edge. The Riding of Lanark and Renfrew appears bound for the pc fold. There Are close Battles being waged in half of the 12 seats in the North. The liberals and conservatives Are ussling for Sault Ste. Marie All three parties for the new Riding of Thunder Bay and the liberals and new democrats Are fighting Down the wire in fort William Sudbury Cochrane and Timmins. The liberals should have trouble holding Kenora Rainy River port Arthur Nipissing and Algoma and the new democrats Lead in Timis Kaming and Nickel Belt. Believe him but i Don t know what is going on in the upshot of the whole episode is that voters on both sides the Fence Are still confused about who stands for what on National Unity and when it comes voting tuesday the Contro Versy will Likely have Little effect. Southern Alberta received its four hour Jab of tru Dea mania monday night and tuesday. The prime minister was greeted at Calgary International air port monday by upwards of people. Unfortunately for the organizers the Coffee party rally next morning was at a time when most people were working and Only turned out. It was lunchtime when the party reached Medicine hat for a Park picnic and hatters took in the event. The Trudeau visit gave Southern Alberta liberals a late Campaign boost notice Able the next Day when dozens of new volunteers approached Riding head quarters. As the Campaign draws a close liberals Are being Given a Chance of winning a fifth seat in Alberta. Or. Taylor an Independent Oil executive could narrowly beat or. Harkness in Cal Gary Centre creating one of the biggest upsets in the election. Or. Harkness has been in the House of commons since 1945 and has been regarded by tories and liberals As being virtually unbeatable especially by someone unknown the Public. The two Are fighting in a Riding created in the last redistribution. Or. Harkness previously held the Calgary North seat which is now being fought for by Eldon Wolliams whose Bow River Riding disappeared in the shuffle. Other Likely Liberal Vic tors Are Medicine hat h. A. Bud Calgary South or. Atha Basca Mike Edmonton Strathcona or. He j ;