Ralph Goodale will have company from Saskatchewan in the opposition benches in Ottawa, after he and one other Liberal were elected in the province on Jan. 23.
As the last poll in the northern riding of Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River came in, Gary Merasty edged incumbent Conservative candidate Jeremy Harrison by 106 votes. The Conservatives took the other 12 ridings.
That news, coming after Goodale had already met with reporters at his Regina headquarters, might have offered some comfort to the former cabinet minister, who will now serve in opposition for the second time in his political career.
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Goodale won more than half the popular vote in his Wascana constituency, according to unofficial early vote counts, taking 20,666 votes to Conservative candidate Brad Farquhar’s 11,990 and New Democrat Helen Yum’s 5,880. The Green Party candidate, Nigel Taylor, picked up 1,378 votes.
Goodale’s success was tempered by Liberal losses in other parts of Canada and the election of a Conservative minority government.
He said this campaign was the toughest he had ever experienced because of the “tone and the tactics and the personal abuse, the insinuation that percolated through the campaign.”
During the campaign the RCMP said it was investigating allegations that someone from the finance department, which Goodale headed, leaked information about tax changes to income trusts ahead of an announcement.
Goodale said election day was a difficult and challenging end to the campaign.
“Now the role of the Liberal party is to serve Canadians in the official opposition,” he told supporters, campaign workers and reporters. “This is an honourable role, not one that we wanted but one that is essential to a properly functioning democracy. And we will work hard to acquit ourselves well and with distinction, to hold the new government to account and to advance creative new ideas as an alternative to that government, always faithful to Liberal values and ideals and proud that we leave behind us the best fiscal record of any country in the G-7 group of world leading economies and the best fiscal performance of any Canadian government since 1867.”
Goodale said the new Parliament will be difficult because of the campaign’s tone. He said he hoped all MPs would rise above the rancour to deliver the quality of government that Canadians want.
He predicted the Liberals would learn lessons from this loss and come back stronger than ever.
He also pledged to represent the rights, interests and aspirations of Saskatchewan in Ottawa.
“I will be speaking on every issue that I think has a particular bearing on this province,” he said.
