CORNWALL, P.E.I. – Veteran Prince Edward Island farm leader, politician and agricultural spokesperson Wayne Easter is convinced the Conservatives are putting a special effort into bringing him down.
He said his Malpeque riding in west-central P.E.I. has been flooded with negative messages from outside Conservative MPs and several ministers have turned up to support his electoral opponent Mary Crane.
“There is no question the Harperites have targeted me because they very much dislike me over the fact that I stood up to them on the wheat board and other issues,” he said Sept. 7 on a day when torrential rains were pounding his agricultural riding, adding to the woes of farmers who had not yet finished harvest.
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“But I’m in very good shape according to my inner poll numbers. I’m not worried by any means.”
Gerry Stewart, campaign manager for Crane, said Easter should be worried after five consecutive victories and a poor agricultural record when in government.
“I am certain we can win here and in other ridings on the Island as well,” Stewart said. “There has been a lot said by Mr. Easter about the wheat board and other issues that I don’t think have much to do with the voters of Malpeque.”
Easter scoffs at the charge, noting he is the party’s national agricultural spokesperson.
“Of course I speak about national issues but my farmers know I have a reputation for standing up for them whether it is within my own party or against the government,” he said. “A Conservative MP from this riding would not be allowed to stand up to Harper.”
Conservative organizers and candidates say they have high hopes that the party can break the monopoly on P.E.I.’s four seats that the Liberals have held since 1988.
Easter’s riding and next-door Egmont, where incumbent Joe McGuire has stepped down, are seen as their best hopes.
Ed MacDonald, a history professor at the University of Prince Edward Island, said the 20-year, five election dominance by the Liberals is a result of incumbents respected by their voters, difficulty in selling the former Reform Party anti-government brand in Atlantic Canada and a powerful Liberal party machine.
But with the Conservative party now wooing eastern voters and having been in power nationally, this is the best chance the party has had in years, he said.
“I think we will see more swing voters this time,” he said. “If the Conservatives don’t shoot themselves in the foot during the campaign, I think they will make a breakthrough this time.”
In Halifax, pollster Don Mills, president of Corporate Research Associates Inc. that recently completed a major survey of Atlantic Canadian thinking, said the best chance the Conservatives have is the Egmont riding because there is no incumbent.
“Incumbency tends to be a very powerful advantage there,” he said. “But with the longtime MP retiring, it is a chance for people to consider their options and to wonder if a change is worth thinking of.”
MacDonald said the unpopularity of the Liberal carbon tax proposal will be another incentive for people to consider their options.
