The people have spoken. And they seemed more than just a little grumpy. In the provincial election we’ve just been through, a summer-time yawner for much of the campaign, voters decided they didn’t feel comfortable giving the platforms of any of the three major political parties their stamp of approval. And so, we’ll be watching in the coming months as the three parties try (we hope), to govern by consensus, rather than the more usual governance by majority fiat.
Who knows? It might be an improvement. That is, if they really turn a serious ear to the message that’s been sent them. That – politicians actually listening to what the people are telling them – would be interesting to watch.
One thing that stands out – in this as in provincial elections of the recent past – is that rural and urban Nova Scotia seem to speak with different voices. The New Democrats, having struck a chord with urban voters in the past two elections, solidified their grip on the greater Halifax area, when eleven of their fifteen elected MLAs were returned from metro ridings. But, with a few exceptions – Hants East, Pictou West, and a couple ridings in the Sydney area – the NDP failed to persuade rural Nova Scotians to vote for them. Though many people in some rural parts of the province seem more open than ever to the Party’s message, the NDP still has a lot of work cut out for it in rural and small-town Nova Scotia if it ever hopes to form a government.
Apart from the election of Party Leader Danny Graham in south-end Halifax and a few gains in the Annapolis Valley, the Liberals didn’t have a lot to cheer about. The Tories, minus three former Cabinet ministers, are faced with the double prospect of mending fences with their legislative colleagues and listening to the people who voted both for and against them if we’re to avoid yet another election in the next few months.
Speaking of listening, or of not listening, the political history of one former major player in the Tory government might provide some lessons for those seeking to govern us. Digby-Annapolis MLA Gordon Balser was first elected in the1998 election that returned a Liberal minority, beating out his Grit rival by fewer than 250 votes (2,465 to 2,232). In the fall of that year, the province held a gala ceremony honouring individuals and organization working successfully in the field of community economic development. The Coastal Communities Network (CCN), was nominated for one of the awards, and CCN had a display at the affair. That’s when I first met Gordon Balser, as he approached our table and we began chatting. He was aware of CCN’s work, as well as of the activities of some CCN members in his own riding. I didn’t see him again for the best part of a year.
Before my next meeting with Gordon Balser came the election of July 1999, and the people of Digby-Annapolis must have liked what they saw in their rookie back-bencher. The second time round, Gordon trounced his Liberal rival by more than 2,200 votes (3,780 to 1,550). At campaign headquarters that night, he mentioned some advice given to him by long-tim Tory MLA John Leefe: “Remember the people who sent you.” He added later: “I believe you win your election by trying to represent the people.”
My second meeting with Gordon came a couple of weeks after that election. It was a Friday evening, and CCN was holding its Annual General Meeting in Tatamagouche. The Conservative caucus had held its first meeting in Halifax that very day, and the newly-minted Premier, Dr. John Hamm, had named his Cabinet. Gordon had been given six portfolios, including Economic Development, Transportation and Public Works, and the Nova Scotia Petroleum Directorate. I was keeping an eye on the registration desk, and out of the dark came a figure. After what must have been a long day, Gordon Balser, now no longer a back-bencher at all, had driven through the night from Halifax to Tatamagouche to touch base with CCN members. I don’t think I was the only one who was impressed, and hopeful that we might finally have a government willing to listen to the issues of concern to rural and small-town Nova Scotians, and then to act upon those concerns.
But we didn’t see Gordon at CCN gatherings after that. Given the huge burden of work put upon him by Dr. Hamm, we could hardly have expected him to become a “regular.” And, on top of his onerous Cabinet duties, he surely had constituency matters to see to.
Having taken almost 58 percent of the vote in 1999 – and with the non-Tory vote being split at 24 percent for the Liberals and 17 for the NDP – observers might have been forgiven for thinking Gordon’s re-election this time around would be a shoo-in. But any such observers were in for a rude awakening on election night, when Liberal Junior Theriault outpaced Gordon by 2,710 votes (44 percent) to 2,395 (40 percent), with the NDP trailing a distant third with 790 (13 percent).
What in the world happened? For one thing, the Liberals had a very strong candidate in Junior Theriault, an active fisherman and eco-tourism operator. But there was one central issue in the riding: a proposed quarry on Digby Neck that a great majority of the people in the area were very strongly opposed to. Unfortunately for Gordon’s political career, when asked about the issue, he did what unlistening politicians often do: he ducked the issue. Meanwhile, his two main electoral opponents were very strong in their opposition to the proposed quarry.
If you take a closer look at the poll-by-poll results in Digby-Annapolis over the past two elections, it becomes crystal-clear why Gordon lost his seat this time around. Although the Liberal vote this time was up all across the riding, the returns from Digby Neck, Long Island, and Brier Island – the areas that will be most directly affected if the quarry project goes ahead – sealed Gordon’s fate. In 1999, Gordon received 576 votes (64 percent) in these polls, the Liberals 174 (19 percent), and the NDP 152 (15 percent). This time, the results were: Conservatives 251 (25 percent), Liberals 544 (61 percent), and the NDP 110 (12 percent). Gordon got 325 fewer votes on Digby Neck and the islands this time around than he did in the previous election.
Junior Theriault’s margin of victory on election night was 315. Let’s hope that he, and his 51 seat-mates in the provincial Legislature, keep their ears open.
– Scott Milsom
