Election 2000: Chrétien's Third Majority Introduction Contents Election 2000 was a triumph for the Liberals and especially for Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. Barely three and a half years into a majority mandate, he made the Introduction decision to call an election that few wanted. The result was his third majority government-172 seats for the Liberals in the 301-seat Parliament and 41 per cent The Big Decision of the popular vote. (The last such triple majority was Mackenzie King's in 1935, 1940 and 1945.) The victory was especially sweet because in Quebec, where he has a history of political difficulties, Chrétien won his 11th personal mandate in his The Gamble riding of Saint Maurice; and the party won 36 of 75 seats, plus the largest percentage of the popular vote of any party. The Prime Minister said he called the Pre-existing Conditions? election in part because of the battle between two conflicting visions of Canada, those of the Liberals and of the Canadian Alliance. He attempted to project the Down and Dirty image of a Liberal Party fiscally prudent, moderate, and sensitive to the needs of the disadvantaged versus a Canadian Alliance Party made up of hard-line and intolerant social and fiscal conservatives. His victory succeeded in pretty much The Failure to Unite the stopping the Alliance dead in its tracks at the Ontario border (the party won only Right two Ontario seats), and in severly reducing the political influence of the Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats. In part due to an effective The Youth Vote and a campaign by Joe Clark, Chrétien was able to assure the failure of the right to unite. Young Candidate But there was a downside to this campaign. It was one of the most negative campaigns in Canadian history, with the lowest voter turnout of any election since Discussion, Research and 1896. Chrétien fought a campaign that was more about his opponents than about Essay Questions himself and his government. Voters and his own party often viewed him as arrogant, power-hungry, and out-of-touch. Many Liberal candidates felt they won despite him. The focus of the campaign was to have been on values, ideas, and major policies, but there were few defining issues. Important platform policies-large cuts in personal income tax, paying down the national debt, the restoration of health-care funding-were common to several parties, not just the Liberals. The NiR Home Liberal platform itself was the slimmest in the last three elections. Little discussion or debate took place on many of the issues Canadians had identified as important, E-Mail such as the environment and education, raising questions about the mandate voters delivered to the Prime Minister. Chrétien's ethics and honesty were called into question during the campaign, and concerns about his involvement in a loan to CBC Learning Home a friend who owned the Auberge Grand-Mère were especially troubling. As a result, he will face real challenges during the next Parliament; some fear the negativity expressed during the campaign will continue. There is also no doubt that, politically, the country is polarized. Western alienation is even more obvious than before; the Liberals hold only 14 seats from Manitoba west. In light of his party's unsuccessful efforts to win more seats in the West, Chrétien will have to deal with his own not insignificant unpopularity there. At one point during the campaign, the Prime Minister seemed to acknowledge this unpopularity, and indicated that, should he win, he might well resign sometime during the new term. Calls for his resignation, though muted now, are likely to continue; and challengers, especially Paul Martin, are waiting for their chance to pursue the leadership and the office of prime minister. Political observers will be watching closely to see if Chrétien can improve his personal public image or whether the Prime Minister's recent triumph will be short-lived. Comprehensive News in Review Study Modules Using both the print and non-print material from various issues of News in Review, teachers and students can create comprehensive, thematic modules that are excellent for research purposes, independent assignments, and small group study. We recommend the stories indicated below for the universal issues they represent and for the archival and historic material they contain. "Western Alienation." December 1990 "Election '93: Historic Change," September 1993 "Election Polls: Taking the Pulse," October 1993 "Conservatives in Canada: What Kind of Future?" October 1996 "Election 97: The Regions Speak," September 1997 "The Return of Joe Clark: New Hope for Conservatives?" December 1998 "Stockwell Day's New Alliance," September 2000 Other Related Videos Available from CBC Learning Does your resource collection include these CBC videos? Canadian Great Speeches Canadian Parliamentary Video Election 2000: Chrétien's Third Majority The Big Decision Contents Election campaigns are complicated matters involving careful and complex decision-making. Many of these decisions are made before the campaign begins: Introduction Who will manage the overall campaign? What policies will make up the party platform? What parts of the country will offer each party the best opportunities for The Big Decision seats? Who will the individual riding candidates be? How high profile should the leader be? What outstanding candidates will be featured in special media-centred appearances? Where will the party's ads be placed and what approach will they The Gamble take? How much money will the party be able to spend? Other decisions are made during the campaign: Is the party's message getting through? If not, how do the Pre-existing Conditions? campaign managers make sure it does? How does the leader respond to an attack, or deal with a candidate's indiscretion, or discipline a rebellious riding Down and Dirty association? What policy issues should be highlighted at a particular time or in a particular place? What should be the emphasis in a given speech-positive, praising the party's policies or achievements, or negative, attacking the opponents and their The Failure to Unite the views? What parts of the country are not responding as expected? What ridings Right will benefit most from some extra attention? The Youth Vote and a As you watch this News in Review report, jot down answers to the following Young Candidate questions: 1. Why did the Prime Minister decide to call an election barely three and a half Discussion, Research and years into a five-year mandate? Essay Questions 2. Why did the Liberals decide to present a mini-budget just before the election call? 3. Why did the Liberals decide to concentrate their attack on Stockwell Day and the Canadian Alliance, practically ignoring the New Democrats and Progressive Conservatives? 4. Why did Stockwell Day decide to abandon his "campaign of respect" and attack NiR Home the Prime Minister personally? 5. Which parties seem to have been most adept at presenting their message to the voter, and to not being distracted by the decisions of other parties? E-Mail 6. When the time came for the voters to make their decision, what information had they been given about the issues, leadership, and party values? CBC Learning Home Follow-up Discussion The 2000 election has been described as one of the most negative in Canadian history. Based on your viewing of the video, what were some of the crucial decisions made by the parties and the candidates, or other factors, that allowed this negativity to develop? Which parties and candidates seemed to best concentrate on discussion and debate, rather than name-calling and invective? Comprehensive News in Review Study Modules Using both the print and non-print material from various issues of News in Review, teachers and students can create comprehensive, thematic modules that are excellent for research purposes, independent assignments, and small group study. We recommend the stories indicated below for the universal issues they represent and for the archival and historic material they contain. "Western Alienation." December 1990 "Election '93: Historic Change," September 1993 "Election Polls: Taking the Pulse," October 1993 "Conservatives in Canada: What Kind of Future?" October 1996 "Election 97: The Regions Speak," September 1997 "The Return of Joe Clark: New Hope for Conservatives?" December 1998 "Stockwell Day's New Alliance," September 2000 Other Related Videos Available from CBC Learning Does your resource collection include these CBC videos? Canadian Great Speeches Canadian Parliamentary Video Election 2000: Chrétien's Third Majority The Gamble Contents It was an enormous gamble on the part of the Prime Minister. After only three and a half years in office, with a majority government, Jean Chrétien chose to attempt Introduction to win a third such mandate. Despite the significant lead for the Liberals shown in polls taken prior to the calling of the election, a minority of his own party supported The Big Decision him in this decision. Many felt he called it because of a love for power, and saw it as a desperate attempt by Chrétien to assure a third term as prime minister and to avoid making way for a new party leader. It was seen as a special slap in the face The Gamble for supporters of Paul Martin, who was actively supported by many caucus members as a popular replacement for Chrétien. This speculation was further Pre-existing Conditions? encouraged when, just before calling the election, the Prime Minister invited Brian Tobin, the premier of Newfoundland and another potential leadership candidate, to Down and Dirty join the federal cabinet. Leaders of other parties were unanimous in their condemnation of the election call. Stockwell Day of the Canadian Alliance accused the Prime Minister of calling the election "for no good reason," although it should The Failure to Unite the be noted that Day had challenged Chrétien to an election battle.