Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 29, 2004, Winnipeg, Manitoba Canadian press photo during the Campaign Martin declared that if Western alienation had not been eased by the end of his term he would not feel As though he succeeded. War on Western alienation May be sent to Burner minority government will Challenge Martins ability to keep Promise by Lorraine Turshansky e Edmonton ? prime minister Paul Martin has staked his legacy As prime minister on a Promise to quench the flames of Western alienation but As Leader of a minority government he will Likely have bigger fires to put out. The Liberal Campaign began full of Hope for a breakthrough in the West the Only Region of the country that had steadily elected fewer and fewer grits since they took Power in 1993. The breakthrough did to happen yesterday despite Martins efforts to show he was a different kind of Liberal Leader one who really cared about the Region. He had met with Alberta ranchers rav aged by the mad cow crisis visited fire scourged British Columbia and chatted up premiers at the Grey cup in Regina. No matter what else i do As prime minister if Western alienation is the same As it is at the end of my term As it is now i will not believe i have succeeded Martin declared at one Point. It remains to be seen whether Martins in Saskatchewan but he was the Only Liberal elected in his province. Lib con nip by ind gun 14 67 10 0 1 0 results Early this morning in Manitoba Treasury Board minis Ter Reg Alcock was one of four Liberal winners. But Rey Pagtakhan the minis Ter responsible for Western economic diversification lost his seat to new Democrat my Judy was lycia leis. Glen Murray the former Winnipeg mayor hand picked by Martin lost his bid for another Winnipeg seat. Bugbear for Alberta for example include gun registry miss pending the Kyoto Accord health care Reform under representation in the Senate and the Canadian wheat boards monopoly Over Prairie wheat and Barley sales. But in Saskatchewan next door they re More bothered by what they see As unfair equalization payments and a Lack of fed eral help for beleaguered Farmers. ? Canadian press Liberal win bodes Well for single tier Medicine Ottawa ? for defenders of single tier medicare yesterdays election results represent the Best of All possible out comes. For advocates of pay As you go Medicine its a bitter Pill to Swallow. After years of watching the principles of Universal medicare get stretched and arguably broken by provincial govern ments the new democrats Are in a Posi surprises continued from Page b1 lost in the Liberal euphoria was the fact that the liberals remained stuck at about 40 per cent of support nation ally while the Alliance for All of or. Days blunders increased its support to 26 per cent at the expense of the old progressive conservative party. That was important. Since 1993, the split on the right Between the pcs and the Reform Alliance parties had made it easy for liberals to win big Majori ties with minority support. But the trend signalled on the right in 2000 continued and resulted almost exactly three years later with the two parties joining last december to form the new conservative party which clearly demonstrated yesterday that a single conservative alternative can compete with liberals at least outside of Quebec. That is the historic trend that was put in place yesterday. Conservatives however must be concerned that with everything going their Way with a Promise to Cut mid dle class income taxes by 25 per cent they were unable to attract majority support a sign that canadians Are deeply mistrustful of the conserva Tive Agenda particularly on social and perhaps on constitutional issues. The worry that the conservatives might use the notwithstanding clause to place parliament above the Tion to do More than fume about it. I think canadians know what they now that they re needed to give the want said Mike Mcbane of the Cana liberals control of the House of com Dian health coalition. Mons they re in a position to hold prime they obviously did to Trust Stephen minister Paul Martin to his declaration Harper but they did to Trust the liberals about upholding the rules ? even if it with a majority. Means staring Down Alberta Premier they knew they needed someone in Ralph Klein who wants to expand the there to keep the liberals honest. I think role of for profit Medicine. This is the Best possible courts on social issues probably Cost by the $1 billion rdc Boondoggle them dearly. And the $1 billion of Cost overruns on in the 2000 election the liberals not Long gun registry red Ink that liberals Only lost sight of the converging forces insisted must continue to be spilt. On the right they began to lose touch the harder or. Martin pushed the with canadians. Deeper or. Chr Tien dug in his heels the liberals by then had become so All made Public by sources in both secure in Power that they Camps eager to paint the forgot that they lived in a other Side Black and All for Glass House. Like people in Gotful that it was a National reality shows who eventual audience watching and by forget that they Are being judging. Watched by millions and or. Chr Tien was finally behave badly sometimes forced in August 2002 to very badly in front of the it was a announce he would retire in cameras liberals started 18 months rather than face fighting in Public oblivious Gamble or. A humiliating leadership apparently to the Impact review that he was bound to this might be having on the Martin lose despite a winning audience. Record. Did to lose the Victory balloons and so began almost two released that night in years of Drift with Occa yesterday november had not reached signal lurches to action As the floor before talk began but he did to in Canadas decision to of the need for or. Chr Tien stand Down in the Iraq War to retire to make Way for win either. And or. Chretien a legacy or. Martin his rival for the decision to have taxpayers leadership in 1990, a Man bankroll party activities. Who had amassed a Fortune last december four Days Worth about $50 million As after the right United into owner of Canadian the conservative party or. Steamship lines while or. Chr Tien resigned and Paul Chr Tien the Little Guy Martin swept into govern from Shawinigan had loyally toiled ment naming a new Cabinet with 23 for decades in the Liberal trenches. New old faces a new focus on repair the struggle for supremacy had the ing damaged relations with the United effect of discrediting Liberal a com states a Promise to change the Way Plis ments and emphasizing Liberal things work in Ottawa and a Promise at the outset of the Campaign Martin promised to fix health care but his promises became More specific As his prospects became More Uncertain. Martin accused Klein of preparing to unravel the Canada health act with help from his silent partner the conserva Tive Leader. ? Canadian press new helicopters that 11 years earlier or. Chr Tien had cancelled on his first Day. Liberals bounced up in the polls to 48 per cent while the conservatives slipped slightly to 21 per cent. But while a new government and a new Era appeared to have dawned for Many canadians it was simply a reshuffling of the old government that had in fact created the Way things work in Ottawa had damaged relations with Washington and had failed to equip the armed forces that it sent into harms Way. The Bloom too quickly started to come off or. Martin. He finally had achieved ultimate Power but seemed unable to articulate what he meant to do with it other than usher in an age of trans formative it was observed that he suffered from a Mal adroitness for thinking on his feet and an official in his old finance department confessed or. Martin changes his mind More than anybody at his level than i be Ever seen in my in february a speech from the throne promised that a Martin govern ment would save health care As surely As Martin funding cuts had under mined it. Within Days auditor general Sheila Fraser announced that she would probe How it was that the government had reported or. Martins former steamship company had received prominent winners and losers winners r. John Efford minister of natural resources re elected in Avalon. Geoff Regan minister of fisheries and oceans re elected in Halifax West. Scott Brison former conservative my now Liberal re elected in Kings Hants. Claudette Bradshaw minister of labour re elected in Moncton Riverview Dieppe. Alexa Mcdonough former nip Leader re elected in Halifax. Peter Mackay conservative re elected in Central Nova. Lawrence Macaulay Liberal re elected in Cardigan. Loyola Hearn conservative re elected St. Johns South. Joseph Volpe minister of human resources re elected in Eglinton Lawrence. Ralph Goodale Liberal minister of finance re elected in was Ana sask. Stephen Harper conservative Leader re elected in Calgary Southwest. Gilles Dueppe bloc sub Cois Leader re elected in Laurier Sainte Marie. John Mccallum Liberal minister of veterans affairs re elected in Markham Unionville. Prime minister Paul Martin re elected in Lasalle Emard. Ken Dryden Liberal elected in York Centre. Irwin Cotler Justice minister re elected in mount Royal for the liberals. House of commons speaker Peter Milliken re elected in Riding of Kingston and the islands. Reg Alcock Treasury Board presi Dent re elected in Riding of Winnipeg South. Judy Sgro citizenship minister re elected in Toronto area Riding of York West. Denis Coderre privy Council presi Dent re elected in Quebec a Bourassa Riding. Bill Graham foreign affairs minister re elected in Toronto Centre. Jacques Saada government House Leader re elected in Brossard la Prairie. Nip Leader Jack Layton wins Toronto Danforth. Lucienne Robillard Industry minis Ter re elected in Westmount Ville Marie. Ujjala Dosanjh former nip Premier of British Columbia elected As Liberal in Vancouver South. Tony Valeri transport minister re elected in Hamilton East Stoney Creek. Losers Stan Keyes Revenue minister Defeated in Hamilton Centre. Helene Scherrer heritage minister Defeated by bloc sub Cois in Louis Hebert Riding. Grant Devine former tory Saskatchewan Premier Defeated As Independent in Saskatchewan Riding of Souris Moose Mountain. Nip candidate Olivia Chow Defeated in Trinity Spadina Riding losing to Liberal Tony Ianno. Rey Pagtakhan minister for Western economic diversification Defeated in re distributed Riding of Winnipeg North by Dps Judy was lycia leis. Bob speller agriculture minister loses to conservative Diane Finley in Haldimand Norfolk in Southern Ontario. David Pratt defence minister is Defeated by conservative Pierre Poi Lievre in Nepean Carleton Riding. Former Winnipeg mayor Glen Murray loses to conservative Steven Fletcher in Charleswood St. James Riding. ? can West news service number was $161 million. Or. Martin could not clearly explain Why he had not spoken up when the original mis take was made a year earlier. A few Days later is Fraser released her Bombshell the frankly scan Dalous a scam report that showed that in addition to throwing away $250 million the program had undermined the integrity of the mounties and Crown corporations headed by govern ment cronies. Almost As an after thought she also revealed the liberals had spent $100 million to Purchase new executive jets the need for which was nonexistent overnight Liberal support fell 13 Points to 35 per cent from 48 per cent. The bloc quebecois and liberals traded places in Quebec ? the bloc moving to the cat Birds seat the liberals to the dog House. Or. Martin who Many were starting to Call a dithered launched All Man Ner of measures to get to the Bottom of the scandal and for a time it seemed to help but then he shut Down a parliamentary inquiry before the answers he a promised could be found. On May 23, against advice from que and Ontario liberals he called the election gambling that against All Odds Liberal support would increase Over the course of the Campaign As canadians started to take a hard look at Stephen Harper the new Leader of the new conservative party. It was a Gamble he did to lose yester determination remains As Strong now that he will Likely have to work with the nip ? who elected no members from either Alberta or Saskatchewan yester Day ? to govern the country. Faron Ellis who teaches political Sci ence at Lethbridge Community College suggested Martins image on the Prairies was damaged by his Campaign attacks on Alberta Premier Ralph Klein Over medicare Reform and warnings that a conservative government under Stephen Harper would Lead the country Down the same dark path. Even those in Alberta who Are not always supportive of the Premier find these regional attacks with Alberta As bogeyman offensive to the Core said Ellis. If its perceived As though the conservatives were kept from winning Power by ontarian rejecting them because they re led by an albertan there is a tremendous potential for a backlash and a Sharp increase in what we loosely Call Western for his part Klein was gracious in congratulating Martin on his Victory. I look Forward to working with him and his government As we endeavour to build a better Canada for All of its Citi Zens the Alberta Premier said in a pre pared statement. I am confident that we will work co operatively together on issues of Mutual importance to All the liberals Best results by far in the West were in b.c., where they elected at least eight members. Both Liberal incumbents in Alberta ? Deputy prime minister Anne Mclellan and my David Kilgour ? were locked in tight races against conservative opponents in their Edmonton Ridings. Finance minister Ralph Goodale had no trouble hanging onto his was Ana seat ;