Background
The 1990 election took place against the backdrop of the failed Meech Lake constitutional accord, which sought to clarify Quebec's position within Canada. The accord, which was signed in 1988, required passage by the federal government and the ten provincial governments before June 23, 1990 to become law. Although Manitoba Premier Howard Pawley had approved the accord in 1987, his government did not bring it before the legislature before their surprise defeat in 1988.
Meech Lake is located within Gatineau Park in the Municipality of Chelsea, Quebec, Canada. The lake was named after Reverend Asa Meech, an early settler in this area.
Quebec is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is bordered to the west by the province of Ontario and the bodies of water James Bay and Hudson Bay; to the north by Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay; to the east by the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador; and to the south by the province of New Brunswick and the U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. It also shares maritime borders with Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. Quebec is Canada's largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division; only the territory of Nunavut is larger. It is historically and politically considered to be part of Central Canada.
Howard Russell Pawley, was a Canadian politician and professor who was the 18th Premier of Manitoba from 1981 to 1988.
Pawley's replacement, PC leader Gary Filmon, was less inclined to support the deal, and requested that certain aspects be re-negotiated before his government would grant approval. After some reluctance, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney allowed re-negotiations with all provincial Premiers, and convinced Filmon to introduce the accord to the Manitoba legislature shortly before the scheduled deadline. Liberal leader Sharon Carstairs and NDP leader Gary Doer were also willing to support the revised deal.
Gary Albert Filmon is Canadian politician from Manitoba. He was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba from 1983 to 2000, and served as the 19th Premier of Manitoba from 1988 to 1999.
Martin Brian Mulroney is a Canadian politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993. His tenure as prime minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and the Goods and Services Tax, and the rejection of constitutional reforms such as the Meech Lake Accord and the Charlottetown Accord. Prior to his political career, he was a prominent lawyer and businessman in Montreal.
Sharon Carstairs is a Canadian politician and former Senator.
Some members of Doer's caucus still opposed the accord, however. When it was put before the legislature, NDP MLA Elijah Harper refused to grant unanimous leave for emergency debate, on the grounds that the deal did not recognize the position of aboriginals in Canada's constitutional framework. Harper, the first Treaty Indian to serve in the Manitoba legislature, was strongly supported by aboriginal leaders such as Phil Fontaine and Ovide Mercredi, and continued his protest in the legislature during the following weeks. With assistance from former parliamentary clerk Gord Mackintosh, Harper was able to delay the legislative process until the accord simply could not be passed on time. Harper became a national celebrity, and polls showed that most English-speaking Canadians supported his stand.
Elijah Harper was a Canadian politician and Chief of his Red Sucker Lake community. He was a key player in the rejection of the Meech Lake Accord, an attempt at Canadian constitutional reform.
Larry Phillip "Phil" Fontaine, is an Aboriginal Canadian leader. He completed his third and final term as National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations in 2009.
Ovide William Mercredi is a Canadian politician. He is Cree and a former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. He was elected president of the Manitoba New Democratic Party in 2015.
Ironically, Gary Filmon's Tories may have benefitted from Harper's actions. Filmon was a long-time opponent of the accord, and was a fairly tepid supporter even after the renegotiated compromise was reached. Subsequently, Filmon used the accord's failure to highlight differences between himself and Mulroney, who was becoming increasingly unpopular as Prime Minister.
Issues
Filmon's Progressive Conservatives made the fewest promises of any major party. Their platform called for an end to abuse of the elderly in retirement homes, environmental initiatives, and low-cost economic development. They proposed to cut the size of the Winnipeg City Council, and vowed not to raise taxes.
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. Centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, it is near the longitudinal centre of North America, approximately 110 kilometres (70 mi) north of the Canada–United States border.
The Liberals focused on economic issues, promising a major investment in job training, research and development, and business support. They also proposed to cut the Winnipeg Council, create government grants for tourism and adult education, and restore Tory cuts to health and other programs.
The NDP platform focused on workers' concerns, the environment, preventative health programs and housing. They supported an increase in the minimum wage, affirmative actions programs, and laws which would make it expensive to shut down plants in Manitoba. They also promised not to raise taxes, and opposed the safe of Manfor Ltd., a Crown corporation owned by the Province of Manitoba.
The small Progressive Party opposed affirmative action and the proposal to recognize in the Canadian constitution the Province of Quebec as a "distinct society" within Canada.
The campaign
A poll published in the Winnipeg Free Press indicated that the NDP were the most trusted party on economic issues, followed by the Tories. The NDP were still damaged from their poor showing in the 1988 election, however, and began the campaign in third place. The struggle for government initially appeared to be between the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives.
The Liberals ran a weak campaign, however, and were overtaken by the NDP after a strong performance from Gary Doer in the leaders' debate. Doer further increased the NDP's standing in the last weeks of the campaign by highlighting the connections between Filmon and the Mulroney government on a number of issues. The NDP's return to official opposition status was regarded as a major development after their near-collapse in 1988.
Results
The Tories continued their dominance in Manitoba's rural south, winning every seat in the region. They also won 13 of 31 seats in Winnipeg and a few ridings to the city's immediate north, enough to provide the party with a majority government.
The NDP won 11 seats in Winnipeg, and swept the province's north. They also won four seats in the mid-northern region, and retained Brandon East, their lone southern riding outside of Winnipeg.
All seven seats won by the Liberals were in Winnipeg, mostly in the centre and northwest of the city.
1 "Before" refers to standings in the Legislature at dissolution, and not to the results of the previous election. These numbers therefore reflect changes in party standings as a result of by-elections and members crossing the floor.
Gary Albert Doer, is a Canadian former politician and diplomat from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He served as Canada's Ambassador to the United States from October 19, 2009 to March 3, 2016. Doer previously served as the 20th Premier of Manitoba from 1999 to 2009, leading a New Democratic Party government.
The Meech Lake Accord was a series of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and all 10 Canadian provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the government of Quebec to symbolically endorse the 1982 constitutional amendments by providing for some decentralization of the Canadian federation.
The New Democratic Party of Manitoba is a social-democratic political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is the provincial wing of the federal New Democratic Party of Canada, and is a successor to the Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. It is currently the opposition party in Manitoba.
The Manitoba Liberal Party is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late nineteenth-century, following the province's creation in 1870.
Paul Edwards is a Manitoba politician and lawyer. He served as leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party between 1993 and 1996.
Stuart Murray was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba and leader of the opposition in the Manitoba legislature from 2000 to 2006. In late summer of 2009, Murray was named the inaugural Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was fired in October 2014 after his controversial inauguration of the museum, including having only 5 of 11 galleries open for viewing.
Rosann Wowchuk is a former Manitoba politician, and was a cabinet minister in the New Democratic Party governments of Premiers Gary Doer and Greg Selinger.
Mervin C. Tweed, MP is a retired politician in Manitoba, Canada. He represented Brandon—Souris in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to August 31, 2013. Prior to that he was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1995 to 2004, representing the constituency of Turtle Mountain. He is currently the president of Omnitrax, the American rail company responsible for the Churchill rail line. Despite under contract for maintenance of the line, the company is attempting to sue the Canadian government, to not fulfill its obligations.
Peter James Maloway is a Canadian politician, who has served as a member of both the House of Commons of Canada and the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.
Larry Maguire is a politician and activist farmer in Manitoba, Canada. Formerly a Progressive Conservative MLA in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a by-election on November 25, 2013. He is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada and sits on the House Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities and the House Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security.
The Manitoba general election of April 26, 1988 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It resulted in a minority government. The Progressive Conservative Party won 25 seats, against 20 for the Liberal Party and 12 for the New Democratic Party.
Denis Rocan is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1986 to 2007, and served as speaker of the assembly from 1988 to 1995. Rocan was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party, but became an independent in 2007.
James Collus McCrae is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1986 to 1999, in the Progressive Conservative Party caucus. From 1988 to 1999, McCrae was a cabinet minister in the government of Premier Gary Filmon.
Gerald Ducharme is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1986 to 1995, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Progressive Conservative Premier Gary Filmon from 1988 to 1995.
Victor Harold Schroeder is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1979 to 1988, and a senior cabinet minister in the New Democratic Party government of Howard Pawley from 1981 to 1988.
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Hugh Daniel McFadyen is a lawyer and politician in Manitoba, Canada. From 2006 to 2012, he was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba, and Leader of the Opposition in the Manitoba legislature. Following his party's loss in the 2011 election he announced that he would resign as leader as soon as a new leader is appointed. McFadyen officially resigned on July 30, 2012.
