ee Castlégar News Caseni de Incumbents battling incumbents Canadian Press OTTAWA — As much as MPs love battling each other in the Commons, they don't like the fight spilling on to their home turf. But, because of redistribution, the Nov. 21 federal election will see MP- versus-MP races in at least three ridings And since each of the high-stakes competitions includes a Cortservative MP, they'll be real tests for the government Perhaps the most interesting mat chup is in Toronto St. Paul's, where Aideen Nicholson, a veteran Liberal MP, is challenging .Employment Minister Barbara McDougall. The other two are in Saskatche- wan, where Jack Scowen and Don Ravis, first-time Tory. backbenchers, face Vic Altouse and Stan Hovdebo, seasoned New Democratic MPs. Such battles are tough because neither candidate has the clear ad vantage usually provided by incum bency KNOWN QUANTITIES Both have well-known names. Both can point to parliamentary experi ence on their resumes. And voters can judge them on past performance, not promises for the future. Even so, there may bé more such matches. A few MPs are still serambling for ridings after the new map for this election swept away existing bound aries, eliminating some ridings and creating others The redistribution carved up Nicholson's riding of Trinity, an ethnic stronghold the quiet but hard working politician has represented for 14 years. Nicholson, a former social worker and her party's junior finance critic, decided to run in MecDougall’s af fluent central Toronto riding. She knows it'll be a tough fight McDougall, a financial analyst who ousted Liberal Employment Minister John Roberts in 1984, is one of the government's rising stars But the tree-lined riding has between the Liberals and in the past, and Nicholson said ‘ome this time depends on the government's popularity FIRST TOGO ‘If people are angry with the gov ernment, cabinet ministers are often the first to go,” she said. “On the other hand, if people like what the Mulroney government is doing, of course she'll be returned.” Althouse, the NDP's agriculture critic, is equally frank about his ttle with Scowen. e soft-spoken MP said he is the underdog in the vast Tural riding of Mackenzie held by the Tories for more than 30 years. And he said he won't be heartbroken if he loses. The Humboldt-Lake Centre riding he has represented for eight years disappeared under the new electoral map, with a chunk of it — including his farm — ending up in Scowen's Tory riding It's largely a question of pre senting your program versus their program,” said Althouse. “His credibility versus mine is what it comes down to in the end. Scowen predicts a fight but says he is confident of victory The local candidate has got to bring his points across as to what he has done for the constituency, more so than the national issues,” he said Hovdebo, up against the Conser vatives’ Ravis in the new ridin of Saskatoon-Humboldt, agrees. “There are many people out there who vote for the incumbent because he has done something for them or he has been fair in dealing with them or he has had the eye of the public a little more,” said Hovdebo, NDP MP. for Prince Albert since 1979 But Ravis, MP for Saskatoon East, said he has an advantage because he has been able to deliver more for constituents than an opposition mem ber “I think the incumbency factor weighs heavily here because I have had an opportunity to demonstrate to people that I'm interested in serving them, that I'm available and acces sible and so on.” Flite (he prude Arctic Cat Snowmobiles $300 Cat Cash, Men's underwear including Jockey, Stanfield, Playboy, Watson, Yves Martin, Impulse, Serge Saint Yves and H.R. 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He knows that if he loses this one he won't get another chance. For that matter, he probably won't want one, It has been an extremely rough four years. Even now he must fight with one hand tied behind his back, as the party struggles with a debt of about $5 million. But if Turner, 59, pulls it off, it will be one of the greatest political comebacks in Canada this century. Only four years ago some commentators — and even some Liberals — were predicting Mulroney's Conservatives would govern for a decade. One Turner adviser wondered aloud whether the Liberal party would follow its British cousins into decline and extinction. Turner, having been prime minister for all, of 79 days following his 1984 coronation as Pierre Trudeau's successor, would go into the history books as the prime minister with the second shortest term in history — shorter even than Joe Clark. It wasn't supposed to turn out that way. The handsome silver-haired lawyer, married to Geills with four children, returned to politics as the dashing knight who would slay the Tory dragon. JOHN TURNER . rebuilt party However, in the snap election he called two weeks later, it quickly became clear that, after eight years in self-imposed exile as a corporate lawyer on Toronto's Bay Street, Turner was wildly out of touch. “He was more than rusty,” former Trudeau aide Tom Axworthy said later. “You're talking about the Titanic sinking here.” MULRONEY: DYNASTY OR COLLAPSE? By WARREN CARAGATA Press OTTAWA — Brian Mulroney, the first French-speaking Quebecer to lead the Progressive Conservative party, seeks re-election as prime minister under circumstances few would have thought possible four years ago. In 1984, he won one of the greatest electoral victories in Canadian politics. Seeking re-election in 1988, he has fallen from such grace and questions prevail about whether his first term will merely be another interregnum in Liberal rule. Born March 20, 1939, in the isolated resource town of Baie-Comeau, possessed of a warm smile and dancing Irish eyes, the son of an electrician in a company town became a wealthy corporate lawyer and a member of the Canadian corporate elite. An anglo, he made himself at home in Quebec society. A Quebecer, be became Conservative leader. A Quebec Tory, he became prime minister. Mulroney graduated from St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia and Laval University in Quebec City, where he met his future wife Mila. WINS LEADERSHIP He sold himself to the party at the 1983 leadership convention — his second try — as someone who could finally establish Conservatives in Quebec. “The Progressive Conservative party and Quebec,” he said during the 1984 election campaign,” “have an appointment with history on Sept. 4.” The appointment was kept. It was an achievement paralleled in this century by only one other Conservative — John Diefenbaker —and comparisons are both flattering and invidious. Both won the largest victories Canada had- known. Both won a large majority of Quebec seats without a provincial Conservative party. Diefen- baker's government collapsed in its first term; Mulroney’s 1984 victory may be the beginning of a dynasty or a similar self-destruction. By 1986, polls suggested Tories had the support of little more than 20 per cent of the electorate and were running in third place behind the Liberals and New Democrats. A three-way race had developed by mid-1988, minor consolation in view of the losses. One Mulroney problem was gift of the gab, what his friends called a touch of the Irish blarney — as when he called government jets “sacred instruments of travel.” And after he led the Tories out of the wilderness, it seemed an open question where he intended to go. During the leadership run, he criticized John Crosbie's support for free trade. During the election, he said nothing about it. After the election, his government opened and consummated free trade negotiatons with thé United States. He declared universal social benefits a “sacred trust” during the campaign, where he portrayed the Conservatives as the new party of the centre after winning the leadership with the support of the party's right wing. A few months later, his government indicated universal social programs would be reviewed. Faced with stern opposition, Mulroney changed course and the sacred trust became a sacred trust once again. With that about-face, and another one on removing inflation indexing on some old-age pensions, Mulroney left many feeling he had squandered the opportunity to carve a distinct niche. The polls began to reflect public indifference, then dislike. BRIAN MULRONEY . . “gift of the gab Had Mulroney remained in private life, one of his more endearing traits would have been loyalty As a public man, he was loyal to a fault. Mulroney expressed his sense of fidelity by saying, “Ya dance with the lady what brung ya.” But as scandal followed scandal, there were times when it appeared that Mulroney would keep dancing even though the lady was shown to be of dubious character. In all, eight cabinet ministers resigned. Many friends Mulroney brought to Ottawa proved politically impotent — his 1988 office staff bore little resemblance to the 1984 model — and raised questions about his judgment. POLLS JUDGE Polls indicate he and Liberal Leader John Turner don't possess the personal public credibili that many believe is necessary for a party chief. There were, however, elements of vision — things Mulroney and the Tories can take to the people in the campaign: One was Canada's bilingual character and the need for protection of Quebec culture; the other, the need for close ties with the United States. The result was two crowning first-term achievements: agree- ment to get Quebec into the Constitution and the free trade deal with the United States. And few can doubt that, while Mulroney was at the helm, the economy took on a rosier hue. Going along with sustained growth in the United States, the Canadian economy hasn't been much of a trouble spot for Mulroney in his first term. Double-digit unemployment declined to roughly nine per cent, more than one million jobs were created, inflation remained stable at about four per cent, the dollar didn't diminish against its American counterpart, and Canada's trade surplus remained high. The deficit was nibbled at — although it still hovers around $30 billion. COLLECTS MORE One-third of what Ottawa collects goes to service the gigantic national debt. And Ottawa is collecting a lot more these days. Although tax reform has trimmed some of the taxman's grab, the federal government has generally increased the tax burden on Canadians since 1984. Under Mulroney, Ottawa hasn't growled as much at Washington. The national energy policy and the foreign investment review agency were abolished or substantially altered. Mulroney even sang duets with U.S. President Ronald Reagan at their annual summits. The British-born son of an English journalist and a Canadian miner's daughter, Turner was educated at the University of British Columbia, Oxford and the Sorbonne. He was practising law in Montreal when he was recruited by Prime Minister Lester Pearson to run for Parliament in 1962. Pearson made him minister without portfolio in 1965, then: the first consumer and corporate affairs minister in 1968, the same year he ran third in the leadership race that elected Trudeau as Pearson's successor. Trudeau's promoted him to the justice portfolio, where he earned a reputation as a reformer by piloting the Official Languages Act through the Commons and creating the National Law Reform Commission. Trudeau promoted him again — to finance minister — in 1972. But it was the beginning of the end. While employment grew by 940,000 over Turner's three years as finance minister, government spending skyrocketed 80 per cent, the deficit jumped five-fold to $5.4 billion ands inflation jumped to 10.9 per cent as world oil prices went into orbit. Wage and price controls were on the horizon and Turner tried to negotiate voluntary restraints in the summer of 1975. QUITS SUDDENLY Turner quit suddenly Sept. 10, 1975, claiming years later that he hadn't been getting enough support from Trudeau on his negotiations with business and labor. Trudeau and other ministers denied it. In 1976, after resigning his Commons seat as well, Turner moved to Toronto and returned to law, where his popularity grew while Trudeau's fortunes waned. Some Conservatives spoke of recruiting him for their leadership. aces salvation or doom Even Mulroney called him “the Liberal dream in motion.” And Trudeau aides said they plotted strategy with one eye on Joe Clark, then Tory leader, and two ears on Turner. But the heir-apparent since 1968 turned into a time bomb of 1984. This election will show whether he is yesterday's man or tomorrow prime minister. He: patted women's bottoms, he indulged in a pre-election blizzard of patronage. appointments, he fumbled and he goofed. He looked bad on television. If the voters in his chosen riding of Vancouver Quadra hadn't pitied him his career would have ended on election day. TAKES HEAT Turner dug in and rebuilt. He travelled tens of thousands of kilometres across the country, ministering to Liberal wounds, opening the party to the grassroots, taking the heat. Helped by a seemingly endless stream of govern- ment scandals, the party gradually climbed out of its coffin and went back to work, eventually regaining the lead in the polls. Where once there hadn't been a single Liberal premier in the country, now there are four — in Ontari Quebec, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island — and the party has come out of nowhere in Manitoba to become the official Opposition. Turner also shucked much of his small-c conserva- tive playform and moved left, where many Liberals wanted him to be. There would be no more talk about cutting the deficit by $15 billion over seven years. In the last three years, he has fought tenaciously to keep his leadership while struggling to hold the party together on issues ranging from free trade with the United States to the Meech Lake accord on the Constitution. Broadbent adopts pragmatic approac By WARREN CARAGATA Press OTTAWA — This will be Ed Broadbent's fourth election campaign as New Democratic Party leader — not bad for a man who once preferred Bach to the rigors of political leadership. Broadbent, 52, still listens to classical music in his Parliament Hill office. But after 20 years in politics, he no longer pretends to dislike the role of leader. Although Canadians have long considered Broad- bent the man they would most like to see as prime minister — he is first among party leaders in credibility surveys — he hasn't come close to the riverside mansion at 24 Sussex Drive. For a few heady months in 1987, Broadbent and his party topped the polls. And when political observers and opponents said that was just a fluke, the NDP swept three byelections in diverse parts of the country. LOSES PLACE The party eventually lost its top place, but entered the election campaign amid the tightest three-way race in memory. Broadbent became leader in 1975, the first of a new generation of New Democrats who had not cut their teeth on Depression politics to lead Canada’s party of the left. He is an with working representing the auto town of Oshawa east of Toronto since 1968. His dad worked at General Motors and his brother still does. He obtained a master's degree in philosophy and a doctorate in political science from the University of Toronto and did postgraduate work at the London School of Economics — all on scholarships. But his common touch — beer is his favorite drink and he loves cigars — suggests he hasn't completely left Oshawa behind. CHANGES IMAGE In the old days, the NDP and its predecessor, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, prided itself on being the conscience of Parliament. It was a movement more than a political party. Broadbent has changed that. He has more pragmatic approach, born of an intellectual curiosity and a working-class heritage that stresses what is possible. Case in point: When several members of his caucus heckled U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the Commons in 1987, Broadbent upbraided them. He undoubtedly agreed with the sentiment but it was bad manners and, in particular, bad politics. Broadbent, who has an officer's commission in the Canadian Forces, has also worked incessantly and unsuccessfully to change a party policy calling for withdrawal from NATO. Broadbent realizes that for the NDP to take power, it must win support in Quebec. In recent years, polls have suggested startling NDP gains in Quebec — although those predictions have slid lately. Aided by his second wife, Lucille, a former French teacher, Broadbent has worked hard to learn the language, often spending summer vacations in the province. Out of a sense of justice or good politics, or both, his desire to break through in Quebec led him to support the Meech Lake accord, which recognizes Quebec as a distinct society. While many New Democrats believed the agree ment gave too much power to the provinces, the party showed little of the ision during the debate that turned the Liberals inside out. Broadbent consulted widely before committing the party, but once the decision was made, he would brook no opposition. The years since Brian Mulroney became prime minister in 1984 have been good years for Broadbent. But it hasn’t always been that way. €D BROADBENT . . . Bach of politics? With three years’ experience as an MP, he had the audacity to contest the party leadership in 1971 after Tommy Douglas retired. He believed his penchant for conciliation — to this day he dislikes confrontation — would allow him to bring the left and right wings of the party together. Instead of bridging the gap, he fell into it, finishing a disappointing fourth. WINS LEADERSHIP When David Lewis lost his seat and resigned as leader in 1974, Broadbent tried again. Triumph didn’t come easily; convention victory took four ballots. Still, he worked at the job. He may profess to dislike the theatrics of politics, but he nevertheless discarded his corduroy suits, had his teeth fixed, cut his hair and worked on a speaking style that at the time was more suited to the lectern than the podium. Broadbent fell from grace after the 1980 election when his support of Pierre Trudeau in the Constitution wars caused deep party division. He weathered that storm only to see support for the NDP plummet to near 10 per cent in the run-up to the 1984 election. Although there were no open calls for his resignation, there was grumbling that he had been around too long. Faced with electoral oblivion, the party concentra ted its resources on the seats it held. And against the Tory landslide, it succeeded in losing only one. LINK WITH LABOR Broadbent is a nationalist who believes the party must strengthen its ties with labor to become successful. Going into this campaign, he has a good relationship with Shirley Carr, the Canadian Labor Congress chief, while CLC vice-president Bob White is also an NDP executive. When he's not working, Broadbent likes riding motorcycles and having a good time. He has a few close friends and spends as much time as he can with his wife. Their children are both grown. He has a quick temper moderated by a quirky sense of humor. He became a socialist, he once said, because his mother dropped him on his head. And he is not above making jokes about people that many in the party would consider near saints. He has quoted singer Lena Horne as saying she still liked performing but had a hard time getting up for the second act. When that happens to a politician, Broadbent said, it is time to do other things.