WINNIPEG, Manitoba, April 19 (Reuters) – Manitoba’s New Democratic Party, Canada’s longest-serving provincial government, lost its almost 17-year grip on power after being defeated by the right-leaning Progressive Conservatives, CBC TV projected on Tuesday.
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The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba says Greg Selinger’s “campaign of fear” hit a new low Saturday when he said a new PC government would cut cancer care drugs for vulnerable patients and seniors. Despite his time in politics, observers have said that Mr. Pallister can be an awkward speaker.
Premier-designate Pallister has committed the Tories to lowering the PST by one percentage point – undoing Mr. Selinger’s increase – and indexing tax brackets to inflation.
Numerous veterans of the NDP victories of 2011 and 2007 left after the caucus revolt because they supported one of Selinger’s opponents.
The Liberal drop has been sharp – previous Mainstreet polls over the last few months had the party at or above 15 per cent, nipping at the heels of the NDP. One is removed after the NDP complained she had worked as an enumerator earlier in the year; another is rejected because the candidate’s paperwork was not handed in before the deadline and three others are rejected because they didn’t fill out their forms correctly.
Selinger’s decision to stay on was a mistake, said Gaudreau.
If a leader doesn’t earn love in a victorious election, she or he must work to gain or maintain respect in government. That middling score amounts to a love-in compared with people’s impressions of Selinger (25-62 approval/disapproval) and Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari (20-58), who opened the election hoping to surge but ran a Producers-esque disaster of a campaign with peculiar statements, dicey ideas, poor organization and a dismal TV debate performance.
During the campaign, Pallister hammered on the broken promise of the tax hike, which took the levy to eight per cent from seven per cent.
Much of that new support comes at the loss of the Liberals.
The PCs are gunning to return to power after more than 16 years in opposition.
April 11: The Tories stand by candidate Dr. Naseer Warraich after it is revealed he is facing restrictions from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba. Selinger calls Pallister homophobic for voting against a law in 2013 that requires schools to allow gay-straight alliances set up by students.
Polls had shown the Tories with a comfortable lead throughout the five-week campaign.
“240 days is a lot of days to not be in your province”.
Pallister first won Fort Whyte in a 2012 byelection after taking over as Tory leader. “Mr. Pallister’s working vacations took place outside of legislative assembly sessions”. He has not said how soon he would balance Manitoba’s budget.
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At the time, Pallister told the media that he was at a family wedding in Alberta and made no mention of the fact he was in Costa Rica.
