Gary Doer

The labor-supported New Democratic Party took back the leadership of Manitoba in the Sept. 21 provincial elections to give the NDP power in all the western Canadian provinces except Alberta.

In the election that pitted the issues of tax cuts against social concerns, the NDP won 31 seats and 45 percent of the vote to deliver the top office to Gary Doer, the NDP leader in Manitoba. The Conservative Progressives won 25 seats, and the Liberals took only one seat.

Doer had gone up against Tory Premier Gary Filmon, 56, in three previous elections and lost. The Tories had been in power in Manitoba since 1988.

GCIU Vice Pres. James J. Cowan said the NDP victory in Manitoba demonstrated what unions and allied groups can achieve when they work together. "We held fast to our support for the NDP, and, contrary to what happened in Ontario, we pulled seats from the Liberals to win the prize," he said.

Doer, 51, is a former leader of the Manitoba Government Employees' Union, who under the previous NDP government served as minister responsible for urban affairs and crown investments. He has been opposition leader since the 1990 provincial election.

Filmon campaigned on a pledge for a massive tax cut – $500 million a year in personal income taxes – while also promising $500 million more for health care and education.

Doer hit back by "promising only what we know we can deliver." He stressed "core commitments" for education and health care with an "end to hallway medicine" – a reference to the lack of beds in the province's hospitals.

Doer said the NDP victory is good news for all interests – both labor and management – in Manitoba. "The real signal we're trying to send is today's NDP means business and labor can win together by working together."