Edmonton Journal from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • 5

A A5 The Edmonton Journal, Tuesday May 20, 1997 campaign Mi-Giappw Ydes Klejn Puts "TW fill 7" MI fcr -wm La 4a NOTEBOOK WfcJiyilL behind Charest But party star Lewis MacKenzie may face tough battle XThe flood of the century will be at the top of Prime Minister Jean Chretien's agenda today as he makes his first campaign visit to waterlogged Manitoba. A special meeting has been arranged so Chretien can discuss flood compensation Southam Newspapers Leader signs autographs Vote with love' The Canadian Press NORM OVENDEN Journal Ottawa Bureau Parry Sound, OnL Lewis MacKenzie was brimming with confidence Monday. There was such a throng of cheering well-wishers to greet Canada's best known peacekeeper and Tory Leader Jean Charest, police closed off a block of the main street in this small community of 6,000 people about three hours drive north of Toronto. With weekend poll results show issues with njunicipal officials from flood-ravaged areas. gives them an opportunity to look him in tfle eye and get a commitment from the prime niinister on the rt i 1 i process," says Liberal MP David Tftodv.

The federal Tories are pulling out their secret weapon in an attempt to win Alberta votes Conservative Premier Ralphs Klein. Klein will introduce federal Tory Leader Jean Charest at an all-candidates' rally in Calgary rt Tuesday night. It will be the first time the Alberta premier has appeared with Charest during the June 2 election campaign. The announcement comes heels of Reform Leader Pre-, I IF PL A li mm ston Manning's most stinging attack yet on his right-wing rival Charest in a fiery speech on the weekend. Klein said before the election call he would support Charest, but has been notably absent at the Parry Sound, OnL Conservative Leader Jean Charest was talking like a front-runner Monday.

"We have Canadians from across the country willing to rally around a common plan," he told cheering partisan crowds at two stops in Ontario's picturesque cottage country. "They include, by the way, a majority of the people of the province of Quebec who, for the first time in a long time, are extending their hand to other Canadians and are willing to rally around a common plan for the future." Charest is riding high after solid performances in televised leadership debates and a recent poll that put his party ahead of Liberals and the Bloc Quebecois in Quebec. Canadians have had a chance to "compare leaders and compare platforms and compare ideas," he told supporters while he campaigned in the riding of former major- At the same time, the provincial government hopes Chretien will use the visit to approve a $270-million flood relief and prevention program. Provincial sources told a local newspaper on Monday the provincial cabinet has put $128 million on the table and wants Chretien to give his blessing to the Canada-Manitoba Red River Valley Flood Disaster Assistance Agreement, which would allow $142 million in federal funding to start to flow. -Manitoba MP Lloyd Axworthy announced the first stage of the program last week by outlining a $25-million business restoration flood-assistance program.

ing the Conservatives with growing support, especially in Quebec, Charest and his star candidate in the riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka were feeding the surge in morale of their political troops and talking the big talk of momentum. Only a month ago, the pundits were predicting the death of the Conservatives, MacKenzie told the crowd. "Some funeral. Some corpse." Instead of a medal pinned to the chest of the 56-year-old former major-general, there was a political button that says it all: "It's time to believe again." A few short months ago, MacKenzie shed his non-partisan chevrons to join the Conservative team as a novice recruit. On Monday, his leader went so far as to suggest the Bosnian war hero may be in for a promotion if Klein File photo Former major-general Lewis MacKenzie, one of the star candidates for the Progressive Conservatives, was talking up the parry's comeback in the polls Monday as party leader Jean Charest visited his riding instead of getting to know his own constituents better.

Parry Sound-Muskoka is by no means a sure thing for MacKenzie, even though it was held by Conservative MPs for 64 of the past 89 years. But the massive aid plan has yet to receive official approval and it is expected Chretien will ease his return to Manitoba by giving the five-year pact the green light. The prime minister has been the target of anger in Liberal-friendly Manitoba since the Tory bandwagon general Lewis MacKenzie. Keeps gaining mumeii- turn and Charest com- Charest spent his briet swing There are indications the electorate may be less enamoured by the candidate's calling the election just a day after surveying flood damage in the province. "Party leaders have avoided the province since the start of the election campaign, but Reform Leader Preston Manning broke that pattern with a Sunday visit to Winnipeg.

Other party leaders have plans to follow soon. comeback in Canadian through the riding shaking hands and signing autographs with the words "vote with love." "When he's in Alberta and the West he tries to be Preston Manning, when he's in Ontario he tries to be (Ontario Premier Mike) Harris, in Quebec he tries to be Mul- federal Tory leader's Alberta events during the campaign's first three weeks. He was a no-show at a Conservative rally Charest held in Man- ning's Calgary Southwest riding just prior to the campaign start. It's a touchy contest for Klein, who has told his own caucus they may actively support Reform or Tory candidates in the federal -election. Many provincial Tories in Alberta are Reform supporters.

Alberta Tory campaign chief Doug Ford said Klein's appearance has nothing to do with Man- ning's recent attacks or polls showing the Tories lagging behind Reform in the province, formerly a Conservative stronghold. i While Charest is gaining Klein's? support, he got a less than glowing endorsement Monday from an Ontario Tory. Ontario Treasurer Ernie Eves touted as a supporter refused endorse the federal party boss. when he dropped by the provin- cial finance minister's riding. At a rally in Parry Sound, Charest boasted Eves was a "long-j time friend and strong supporter" of his federal party.

But Eves told reporters he only appeared at the rally as a "common courtesy." I "There are things I support in the PC platform. There are things I support in the Reform platform) and quite frankly there are some things I support in the Liberal party's platform," said Eves. "I don't think my being here4 today to welcome a federal leader, has any bearing whatsoever If don't ever tell anybody how I vote and I don't intend to start now." roney and in the East he's spending more money than the leader of the NDP." Liberal Leader Jean Chretien attacking Conservative Leader Jean Charest celebrity status than is the national media. And an almost exclusive focus on national unity and reaching out to Quebec isn't necessarily the priority issue to win a ticket to Ottawa. "He's too high a profile for a rural riding.

He's too well qualified," said Jack Newton, of Huntsville, president of the Ontario Hunt Camps Association. "If I have a problem, I want to talk to the person whose name was on the ballot. I don't want to talk to the MP's assistant" Liberal incumbent Andy Mitchell, who beat the second-place Reformer by 7,000 votes and the Tory candidate by 11,000 votes in 1993, is picking up different, more localized priorities when he campaigns. "The development of the economy and improving the job market are the ones I keep hearing most at the doorstep." Then there's the certainty. of a split vote in the fight for the right.

Reform candidate Peter Spadzinski, a popular local reeve, has wide support judging from the signs posted along the highways. political history by becoming prime minister June 2. "If you had to choose a Canadian deputy prime minister, who would you prefer and who do you think the people of Canada would prefer (Liberal) Sheila Copps or Lewis MacKenzie?" Charest shouted to a gathering of supporters in Huntsville, while MacKenzie stood at his side. Charest later said he only suggested MacKenzie for the deputy prime minister's post "as an example. But he'll play a role.

He deserves to play a role." The ex-general has the royal jelly, said Bracebridge receptionist Joyce Reid. "Leadership is important. I think Lew can capture people's imagination." But the fact Charest has devoted a full day in the Muskoka Lake district at the start of the final stretch to voting day is more than just pay back to Canada's second most prominent Tory. The former chief of staff of United Nations protection forces in Sarajevo spent much of the early part of the campaign raising funds for the Tories and promoting the party's unity message The largest aboriginal group in northern Manitoba won't endorse Liberal incumbent Elijah Harper in the June 2 federal He has also corralled the anti-gun registration vote. "That adds up to a close horse race," said Ontario Treasurer Ernie Eves, who holds the provincial seat for Premier Mike Harris's Tories and is a Parry Sound resident.

Eves thinks many of Charest's policies are "bang on," including recognition of Quebec as a distinct society. "I think that's appropriate People get too hung up on those two little words." But loyalty to the Liberal's Mitchell can't be discounted, Eves said. "He has worked very hard for his constituents. It boils down to whether people want a change and are they going to revert to their small-c conservative roots." So. what, does it mean.

for. the future of the Tories1 attempts, to rebuild in Ontario if such a star hopeful is edged out? "We'd be right back where we were a couple of months ago," said Joyce Reid. "Nowhere." election. The Manitoba Kee-watinowi Okimakinak speaks tor 2b reserves, most of which are in the Churchill riding where Harper is seeking reelection. His backing of the Liberals' gun-control bill angered some chiefs.

,1 Av-l I Some are also HflmAr ucu wmi 1113 guvcj.11- ment's proposed changes to the Indian Act. "I guess the best way to describe it is that as a group, we're divided," said George Muswaggon, grand chief of the group. He said it will be left to individual Bouchard, Parizeau jump to aid of Bloc 1 chiefs to make their own choice. In 1993, the group publicly endorsed Harper and was part of a concerted effort to get the aboriginal vote out. Almost half the 75,000 people who live in the riding are aboriginal.

It was one of the keys to Harper's narrow victory in 1993. mMMvi i tect Quebec's interests, it's me," the former Bloc leader said before a boisterous crowd of 700 at a rally in Jonquiere, Que. "If there's someone who knows that it's impossible for Quebecers to go to Ottawa and change the 11 it Tired of the tiresome rhetoric on jobs, the economy and unity? You may not consider casting your vote for an alternative party, but you might cast vour attention to stitution, it's me. Photos by The Canadian Press Prime Minister Jean Chretien talks to supporters in Kamloops, B.C., flanked by local candidates Bruce Murdock, left, and Joel Groves. Reform Leader Preston Manning and his wife Sandra receive a warm welcome from supporters in Halifax.

Story on A1 their platforms in search of a worthy idea or price for that," he said, referring to his departure from the Tory party seven years ago. Barely two weeks ago, sovereigntists dis JENNIFER DITCHBURN The Canadian Press Jonquire, Que. The Bloc Quebecois is enlisting the services of former Quebec premier and hard-line separatist Jacques Parizeau to help light a fire under its faltering campaign. Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe, campaigning in the stronghold nationalist Saguenay region, announced Monday that Parizeau would be making up to five appearances to rally support. "This relaunches our campaign, a campaign that will show in the last two weeks how the Bloc is organized," Duceppe said.

Other prominent separatists such as Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard and former Bloc leader Michel Gauthier are also taking a more visible role widely regarded as a rescue tactic for Duceppe's lacklustre campaign. New polls suggest the Bloc is losing ground to the Tories. At a rally Monday night, Bouchard made an energy-charged call to arms for sovereigntists to vote against federalists. "If there is someone who knows that you can't trust Ottawa to pro 1 Libpi-ai two. A few Web pages of interest include: The Canadian Party at http:www.sniartt.conicdnparty Canada Action Party at Torv.

'Vr Yiberal, 1 i -J I' Parizeau 14- old ston Jory -re uuwal sberal, Tos C-V1 M' Yv-Same" me story Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada at http:fox.nstn.caepc-nilindex.html Christian Heritage Party of Canada at http:www.chp.ca Green Party of Canada at http:green.ca tanced themselves from Parizeau when it was reported he had plans to unilaterally declare independence in the days after a Yes vote in the 1995 referendum. Gauthier defended the decision to use Parizeau. "Mr. Parizeau is a great sovereigntist, and we need all the sovereigntist leaders and all the sovereigntist organizers to do the campaign that you're expecting from us," he said. "Sovereigntists cant let themselves be divided." More election stories on A6, A1 1 I a 50 I Pofctan "UB 0" 3b ejsRel 30 EfMroncs CROP 25 1 coMws y- 10 "V0 5 Bigg 7 I Drmat 9T6 questions may twy 1 in i 1 1 -H tt- 1 A 10 20 10 20 Parties hone their focus for the final stretch JIM BROWN The Canadian Press it will be another Liberal majority, and a big one," says pollster Conrad Winn of Compas Research.

"But it's too confused to say exactly what the distribution of seats will be." Most of the confusion comes Ottawa With two weeks until voting day, the question in the federal election is pretty much the same as it was at the start Can anybody here from Conservative Leader Jean Charest meets Vancouver candidates and drops into local cafe; meets with Alberta Premier Ralph Klein and attends a reception in Calgary. Liberal Leader Jean Chretien breakfasts with the Victoria Chamber of Commerce; the Bloc's precipitous decline in Quebec, sparking a competition between Chretien and Charest to scoop up the loose votes. Opinion polls indicate the Tory leader, based largely on strong perfor meets with mayors, civic and flood-relief challenge Jean Chretien for the prime minister's job? Conservative Leader Jean Charest is making some headway in Quebec and Reformer Preston Manning is consolidating his base in 13 Days conservatives in the West where Manning's Reformers maintain the edge they established in 1993. Manning, who has no hope of electing anybody in Quebec, has tried to profit from the national unity debate in the rest of the country by trumpeting his hard- line federalist stance and reject- ing distinct society status. 'He understands the electoral potential (in the West)," says Allan Tupper, a University of Alberta! political scientist.

"But I dont think it's the breakthrough issue he needs in Ontario and Atlantic Canada." The Liberals can hardly wait to get the debate off national unity in -t the concluding weeks of the cam- paign and back onto their pre- ferred message of continued deficit-cutting, coupled with mod- est increases in social spending. "That's where most people want to be and that's where we want to be." says Donolo. "Every survey shows what peo- pie are most focussed on is the economy." Charest has done better than expected, but says the three-way fight for Quebec has just begun. "The important thing is those (Bloc) votes have been shaken loose. They don't always stick on the same ledge where they first land.

We think we'll get a handsome share." One thing the Liberals and Bloc have going for them and the Tories don't is a grassroots team of door-knockers, telephone callers, envelope stuffers and car poolers ho can turn out the vote on election day. Charest by contrast has been a virtual one-man show, with a campaign built increasingly around his personal leadership qualities, but a nationwide slate of candidates that contains few household names. "Of course they're not known because they havent been in government yet" shrugs spokesperson Tom Van Dusen. "These people will rise and become stars." Among the problems Charest is facing is an inability to woo small- Western officials in Winnipeg, attends a rally. Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe coflees with the homeless in Montreal, meets organizers of Tour d'lle bike race.

Reform Leader Preston Manning attends a townhall meeting in Barrie. Ont, NDP Leader Alexa McDonough speaks to students in Port Coquitlam, B.C.; talks to Canada. But neither has made Regina New Democrats. mances in televised debates, may be the best bet to pry so-called soft nationalists away from the separatist cause. The Bloc's response has been to remind voters that sovereignty is the real issue, not personalities.

"Mr. Charest is like a mirage," says MP Pierre Brien, a key Bloc organizer. "From a distance he seems great but when you get close, there nothing there." Peter Donolo. the Liberal campaign spokesperson, concedes much impact in the Ontario heartland that accounts for more than a third of the 301 seats at stake on June 2. New Democrat Alexa McDonough continues to chip away from the left, with minimal results, while Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe is trying desperately to pull his separatist forces out of electoral free falL "There's every reason to believe Get more information on northern Aberta ridings and visit candidates' Web sites by going to JoumaIExtra election Web page.

httpywww.edmorrtoryoiffnal.com.