Canada Swept along by a unprecedented flood of corporate donations and media advertising, the Conservative government of Brian Mul- roney won a second majority government Monday night. But despite the prime minister’s declara- tion that “the people have spoken,” there was no overwhelming mandate for the Canada-U:S. trade deal, Communist Party leader George Hewison told CP supporters election night. In an election in which the trade deal had become the overriding issue, a clear major- ity of voters cast their votes for parties which were avowed opponents of the deal. The Liberals and New Democrats together garnered 56 per cent of the popular vote while the Tories — despite capturing 170 seats — managed only 43 per cent. “Forty-three per cent isn’t a majority in the school I went to,” Hewison said during an election-night telephone hook-up with supporters in Vancouver. “Free trade was rejected by a majority of Canadians.” He added that many of those who voted Tory “did so out of confusion and because of the biggest big business selling job in Canadian history.” Only in Quebec, where Liberal Premier Robert Bourassa had campaigned actively for support of the trade deal, and in Alberta, a traditional Tory stronghold, did the Tories manage a clear majority in the popu- lar vote. But the seats gained in those two provin- ces, together with those the Tories were able to hang on to in rural Ontario, were suffi- cient to give the party its parliamentary majority, despite losses in Atlantic Canada, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia and the Northwest Terri- tories. In this province, what few gains the Tories made in 1984 were reversed deci- sively as the New Democrats took 19 of 36 seats, more than doubling the eight seats they held during the Tory sweep in 1984. NDP candidates won election in a number of former Tory strongholds, including Saanich-Gulf Islands and Prince George- Bulkley Valley and came within 279 votes of taking Vancouver-Centre, the seat held since 1979 by Treasury Board Minister and trade deal architect Pat Carney who did not seek re-election. For British Col- umbians as for other Canadians, the dec- isive issue was free trade and the strong shift in both seats and popular vote towards the New Democrats reflected the voters’ percep- tion that the party was the most likely to defeat Tory can- didates. But in other parts of the country, particu- larly in Ontario and Manitoba, — that momentum went to the Liberal Party which had taken a high public profile on the anti- free trade field virtually from the opening of the election campaign. The Liberals were also able to gain that profile because of the campaign adopted by the NDP which emphasized honesty and integrity in leadership while giving only secondary importance to the opposition to the trade deal. But despite the renewed majority for the Tories, those who fought hard against free trade shouldn’t feel defeated, Hewison emphasized. The overwhelming vote against the trade deal and the involvement of thousands of Canadians in opposing the deal has created a new base of opposition to Tory policies, he noted. He reminded British Columbians that they had “seen this movie before in May, HEWISON 6 « Pacific Tribune, November 28, 1988 ‘Majority rejected trade deal: CP’ Le : Flanked by (I to r) campaign manager Fred Vancouver Quadra Communist candidate 1983,” when Social Credit Premier Bill Bennett won re-election despite massive opposition to his policies. It was less that two months later, Hewi- son said, that Operation Solidarity and the Solidarity Coalition came into being, created when the introduction of right-wing legislation galvanized that opposition into a movement. In the wake of the election, “the unity of the pro-Canada forces is vital,” he said. “The government must not be allowed to get the upper hand with its neo-conservative policies.” Hewison also congratulated the Com- munist Party’s candidates across the coun- try for their work in the election campaign. Fifty-two candidates carried the party’s banner into the election campaign, includ- ing 12 in British Columbia ridings. Bho Stings thoes Biailernvey vee le sceang | ‘esapehes shares} tranches apsst | ea 6 FOR SALE Wilson and candidates Elsie Dean, Betty Griffin, Reg Walters and Kim Zander, Bert Ogden addressed supporters at CP election headquarters Monday night. They played a prominent role in getting the party’s alternative program out to thou sands of Canadians and influenced thé debate — and even the outcome — many ridings, he said. Although the party’s vote did not reflect that influence, in part because of the polar ized voting across the country, he said, the party has seen an upsurge in membership a§ a result of the campaign. Keep up fight for Canada, says AFL Continued from page 1 fied during the election campaign as the “sellout of Canada,” Werlin said. “If the deal was a sellout then, it is a sellout now,” he stressed. “The Tory sellout of Canada must be fought after the election with the same level of determination as it was fought during it.” Werlin said the federation rejects claims that the election constituted a referendum on free trade and they now have a mandate to proceed with it. He pointed out that well over 50 per cent of those who voted cast their ballots for parties that campaign against the deal. He calculated that if parliamentary seats had been alloted on the basis of votes for or against free trade, without being divided on party lines, the pro-free trade vote would have netted only 88 seats while the anti-free trade vote would have won 207 seats. Even with the so-called reform votes counted into the pro-free trade camp, the balance would have been 92 to 202 against the deal. Werlin also asked that both the New Democrats and Liberals press for amend- ments to the Election Expenditures Act. “When it became clear that Brian Mul- roney and the Tories wouldn’t win the elec- tion, big business came to the rescue,” he said, noting that millions were spent on a 10-day advertising campaign to buy the election for the Tories. “In fact this election has finally smoked big business out from behind the skirts of right-wing politicians and brought them into open conflict with ordinary Canadi- ans,” he said. On the other hand, Werlin said the pro- Canada forces have “developed a lasting bond. They will never give up the fight for an independent sovereign and independent Canada. “During the election, Mr. Turner and Mr. Broadbent received dedicated support from these people. If they expect to be sup- ported in the future they must not now give up the ghost in the fight against free trade. Now more than ever they must lead the fight over Canada for Canadians.” Werlin’s determination was echoed by other leaders of the anti-free trade cam- paign. : “Our agenda hasn’t changed,” said Lynn Kaye, president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women. ““We still don’t want abortion to be a crime, we want a good national child care program. “The government promised us social programs wouldn’t be affected. We'll be watching closely to make sure.” Kaye said NAC, representing over 600 women’s groups across the country, would be meeting with the other organizations they had worked with during the campaign to plan its response to parliament’s opening. David Orchard, chair of the Saskatchewan- based Citizens Concerned About Free Trade, which was instrumental in defeating Tory cabinet minister Ray Hnatyshyn, agreed the government has no mandate to go ahead with the deal. “This is not a victory for Mr Mulroney. It’s a defeat for free trade,” he stressed. “The free trade fight is still on,” said WERLIN HURTIG Maude Barlow of the Council of Canad ans. “It’s not over.” ; CoC chair Mel Hurtig called for a publi’ opinion poll asking Canadians whethe! there should be a referendum on deal. “If they indicate there should be, than W? would attempt to launch a nation-w! campaign to get the referendum.” ; The Pro-Canada Network, representiné 34 country-wide organizations, is waiting for its general assembly in early Decembef before announcing its response. ; Chair Tony Clarke reported a massiv? response from supporters who have con tacted the Network to urge a continuatio® of the fight. “I’m sure other people are already speak ing to Turner about how to continue wi" this,” he said. Meanwhile, Hurtig has called for change in Canada’s election act, making illegal for big business — particularly large American corporations — to engage ' third party advertising.