It was Wayne Easter’s closest call since 1997 after the Liberals had cut social programs near and dear to the hearts of rural Prince Edward Island voters.
But the Liberal agriculture critic won his Malpeque riding for the sixth time Oct. 14, taking more than 44 percent of the vote and a 900 vote victory. In 2006, the margin of victory was 3,000 votes and more than 50 percent of the vote.
The tightened race was a reflection of the faltering Liberal campaign across the country Oct. 14 that saw a number of rural MPs either go down to defeat or come close.
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Next door to Easter in Egmont riding, a seat vacated by 20-year rural Liberal MP Joe McGuire, Conservatives won their first seat on the Island after two decades of Liberal dominance.
In Winnipeg’s Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia riding, former Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Bob Friesen was trounced by incumbent Conservative Steven Fletcher. Friesen won just half of the vote the Liberals won in 2006.
In Saskatchewan, former National Farmers Union president Nettie Wiebe came close to winning the first NDP seat in the province since 2000 but fell short to the Conservatives by 200 votes in the Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar riding.
In New Brunswick, former House of Commons agriculture committee chair Charles Hubbard lost decisively to the Conservatives after holding the Miramichi seat for 15 years.
In Ontario, former Liberal rural caucus chair Ken Boshcoff from Thunder Bay- Rainy River lost decisively to New Democrat John Rafferty.
In the Brant riding south of Toronto, Liberal agriculture committee member Lloyd St. Amand lost by almost 5,000 votes to the Conservatives.
And in the Huron-Bruce riding northwest of Toronto, the last rural Ontario agricultural Liberal seat won in 2006 by former MP Paul Steckle, Liberal Greg McClinchey lost by almost 6,000 votes to Conservative Benn Lobb.
On the Conservative side, there were no defeats for prominent agricultural MPs.
In Saskatchewan’s Battlefords-Lloydminster riding, agriculture minister Gerry Ritz dropped close to 1,000 votes and his NDP opponent increased by 2,000 votes but the Conservative still won with 60 percent of the vote.
Ritz had been largely invisible during the campaign after controversial comments during a fatal outbreak of listeria became public and put the national Conservative campaign on the defensive about its food safety record.
In the West Quebec riding of Pontiac, Liberal and former Quebec Farmers Association president Cindy Duncan-McMillan made it a race but still lost to transport minister Lawrence Cannon by more than 3,000 votes.
For the NDP, both agriculture critic Alex Atamanenko from the B.C. Interior and Canadian Wheat Board critic Pat Martin from Winnipeg Centre handily won re-election.
