EDMONTON – Canadian voters sent a message to the Liberal party that they have one more chance to do better, said Anne McLellan, Alberta’s star candidate who hung on to her seat in the provincial capital.
“I think they’re saying they were not happy with some of the things that happened, particularly sponsorship, and they want us to do better, but they want us to be the ones to do better,” said McLellan while greeting party volunteers in her Edmonton Centre riding.
As in previous election campaigns, McLellan didn’t take her win for granted until the final ballots were counted.
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In the end, she beat her closest rival, Conservative Laurie Hawn, a former Canadian Armed Forces fighter pilot, by about 500 votes.
McLellan’s profile as deputy prime minister didn’t make for an easy win. In 1993, she won the election by a dozen votes after a recount. In 1997, she won by 1,410 votes and in 2000 by 733 votes.
“If we were honest, I think voters wanted to send a message they generally liked the direction of the country, they generally like the way the Liberal party has taken the country over the past 10 years, they liked Paul Martin as our leader, but they wanted to send a message that we have to work hard and we have to do better,” said McLellan.
An emotional Hawn conceded defeat four hours after the polls closed.
“We had a great run,” said the Conservative candidate. “In the end it looks like I got shot down.”
David Kilgour, the other Alberta Liberal MP in this election, was also re-elected in a close race against Conservative Tim Uppal.
McLellan said the election of other Liberals in Western Canada was important.
“It tells us there is more than one voice for the west.”
Now working within a minority government, she said she expects prime minister Paul Martin to align with opposition parties as the issues require.
McLellan says the June 15 leadership debate marked the turning point for her party, especially in Ontario.
As well, Alberta premier Ralph Klein’s plans to announce major changes to health care after the federal election added to Liberal momentum.
“My guess is that it really woke up a lot of people in some parts of the country in terms of how important their publicly funded health care is,” said McLellan.
