ARBORG, Man. – It’s a dog-eat-dog campaign in Manitoba’s Interlake riding.
As New Democrat incumbent Clif Evans talks to Shirley Oleson on her doorstep, her dog Princess lets out an ominous growl. Evans recalls that during the 1990 provincial campaign, the dog pinned him up against his car. “Must have thought I was a Conservative,” Evans joked.
Meanwhile, Conservative candidate Ed Trachuk knew he was taking a risk when he pulled into a farmyard with an NDP sign. A dog that appeared to have recently walked through the barn greeted Trachuk, planting two fragrant paws on his Tory-blue jacket.
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And lawyer and grain farmer Duncan Geisler said he doesn’t have canine crises. “Dogs don’t bite Liberals,” he said.
Traditionally NDP
The Interlake, stretching between Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg, has been an NDP stronghold for more than 25 years. It’s a diverse riding where livestock and grain farms, commercial fishing and tourism are growth industries.
But in recent provincial campaigns, other parties have made inroads. Last time, Trachuk fell only 400 votes short of winning the riding, and strategists say he might win this time around.
Trachuk’s ammunition is, ironically, a federal issue. The gun control bill is a hot topic in the riding, and he hands out anti-gun control buttons with his campaign brochures.
Last week, there was a candidate’s meeting on this issue in Ashern. Trachuk said everyone he talks to is against the bill. But he hadn’t yet talked to Numi Fridfinnson.
“Maybe I’m the first one who even bothered saying anything to you,” said Fridfinnson after a lengthy doorstep debate with Trachuk on the issue. Fridfinnson added that registering his two rifles “wouldn’t be the end of the world.”
One thing most people in the area agree on is the historically woeful state of the roads. Trachuk blamed Evans. Evans blamed the Conservatives, currently in power, for playing politics with road repair. And Geisler, whose party has not formed the government in recent history, said both parties are to blame.
“They’ve had 25 years to do it and they haven’t done it yet,” Geisler said.
Trachuk said in general, people in the riding have wondered where Evans has been for the past 41Ú2 years.
“Everywhere you go, people are saying what has he done in the area? It’s hard for an MLA who’s not on the government side to get anything done,” he said. With PC leader Gary Filmon leading the polls, Trachuk said he hopes Interlake will go Conservative too.
Measuring success
Evans said his opponents don’t know what it’s like to be an MLA, and that success can’t always be measured in terms of government dollars. Rather, he said he’s most proud of helping more than 1,000 people cut through red tape.
“I’ve been a worker … the person they call about their problems. And people never know, because you can’t talk about it a lot, it’s confidential,” Evans said.
He said he is frustrated by local cynicism about politicians. His voice quivering, Evans described the personal sacrifices he made in efforts to be accessible to his constituents.
When he was elected, his son was about five feet tall. For the first two years of office, the legislature was in session for 18 months, meaning he spent most of his time in Winnipeg.
Then, there were the hours of personal time spent on the phone with constituents and people in power, lobbying for anything from getting a doctor’s appointment to making sure hydro service wasn’t cut off.
Now, his son is about five foot nine. “I haven’t seen him grow up,” Evans said quietly.
“In the last year, I’ve tried to make up. So if you haven’t seen me as much as you wanted to, just think about the fact that I’d like to spend some time with my kids.”
