Manitoba general election, 1990


Manitoba general election, 1990 - Definition

The election of September 11, 1990 in Manitoba, Canada was won by the Progressive Conservatives, who took 30 out of 57 seats. The New Democratic Party finished second with 20, while the Liberals fell from 21 to 7.

Contents

1 Background

6 Riding-by-riding results

Background

The 1990 election took place against the backdrop of the failed Meech Lake constitutional accord, which sought to clarify Quebec's position within Canada. The accord, which was signed in 1988, required passage by the federal government and the ten provincial governments before June 23, 1990 to become law. Although Manitoba Premier Howard Pawley had approved the accord in 1987, his government did not bring it before the legislature before their surprise defeat in 1988.

Pawley's replacement, PC leader Gary Filmon, was less inclined to support the deal, and requested that certain aspects be re-negotiated before his government would grant approval. After some reluctance, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney allowed re-negotiations with all provincial Premiers, and convinced Filmon to introduce the accord to the Manitoba legislature shortly before the scheduled deadline. Liberal leader Sharon Carstairs and NDP leader Gary Doer were also willing to support the revised deal.

Some members of Doer's caucus still opposed the accord, however. When it was put before the legislature, NDP MLA Elijah Harper refused to grant unanimous leave for emergency debate, on the grounds that the deal did not recognize the position of aboriginals in Canada's constitutional framework. Harper, the first Treaty Indian to serve in the Manitoba legislature, was strongly supported by aboriginal leaders such as Phil Fontaine and Ovide Mercredi, and continued his protest in the legislature during the following weeks. With assistance from former parliamentary clerk Gord Mackintosh, Harper was able to delay the legislative process until the accord simply could not be passed on time. Harper became a national celebrity, and polls showed that most English Canadians supported his stand.

Ironically, Gary Filmon's Tories may have benefitted from Harper's actions. Filmon was a long-time opponent of the accord, and was a fairly tepid supporter even after the renegotiated compromise was reached. Subsequently, Filmon used the accord's failure to highlight differences between himself and Mulroney, who was becoming increasingly unpopular as Prime Minister.

The Issues

Filmon's Progressive Conservatives made the fewest promises of any major party. Their platform called for an end to abuse of the elderly in retirement homes, environmental initiatives, and low-cost economic development. They proposed to cut the size of the Winnipeg City Council, and vowed not to raise taxes.

The Liberals focused on economic issues, promising a major investment in job training, research and development, and business support. They also proposed to cut the Winnipeg Council, create government grants for tourism and adult education, and restore Tory cuts to health and other programs.

The NDP platform focused on workers' concerns, the environment, preventative health programs and housing. They supported an increase in the minimum wage, affirmative actions programs, and laws which would make it expensive to shut down plants in Manitoba. The also promised not to raise taxes, and opposed the safe of Manfor Ltd.

The small Progressive Party opposed affirmative actions and "distinct status" claims within Canada.

The campaign

Polls indicated that the NDP were the most trusted party on economic issues, followed by the Tories. The NDP were still damaged from their poor performance in the 1988 campaign, however, and began the election in third place. The struggle for government appeared to be between the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives.

The Liberals ran a weak campaign, however, and were overtaken by the NDP following a strong performance from Gary Doer in the leaders' debate. Doer increased the NDP's standings in the last weeks of the campaign, and succeeded in linking Filmon with Mulroney's government on a number of issues. The NDP's return to official opposition status was regarded as a major development after their near-collapse in 1988.

The Results

The Tories continued their dominance in Manitoba's rural south, winning every seat in the region. They also won 13 of 31 seats in Winnipeg and a few ridings to the city's immediate north, enough to provide the party with a majority government.

The NDP won 11 seats in Winnipeg, and swept the province's north. They also won four seats in the mid-northern region, and retained Brandon East, their lone southern riding outside of Winnipeg.

All seven seats won by the Liberals were in Winnipeg, mostly in the centre and northwest of the city.

Provincial results

Party Standings
Party	Leader	Pre-election seats	Results
Party	Leader	Pre-election seats	Seats	% of votes cast
Progressive Conservative	Gary Filmon	24	30	%
New Democratic	Gary Doer	12	20	%
Liberal	Sharon Carstairs	21	7	%
Progressive	Sidney Green	0	0	%
Libertarian	Clancy Smith	0	0	%
Confederation of Regions	Irene Armishaw(?)	0	0	%
Communist	Frank Goldspink(?)	0	0	%
Western Independence	Fred Cameron	0	0	%
Independent	n/a	0	0	%
Total			57	100.0%