Leaders make last pitches to voters

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This article was published 04/10/2011 (5278 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NDP Premier Greg Selinger

Final focus:

Premier Greg Selinger spent the day trying to shore up ridings vulnerable to Tory attack and trying to steal one away from the Progressive Conservatives. Sporting new running shoes, he did a sprint through Southdale, St. James, Kirkfield Park and Fort Richmond. And in a bid to steal River East from the Tories, Selinger once again used the fear of health-care cuts under a PC government to sway the vote the NDP’s way.

Sound bite:

“It’s all about the risk,” he said as he campaigned at a senior’s complex on Henderson Highway. “That’s the big message for us. There’s is a big risk of going with the other guys on health care, on Hydro and the economy. So we’re just telling people if you’re concerned about that, please vote.”

Conservative Leader Hugh McFadyen

Final focus:

Hugh McFadyen managed to squeeze in a last-minute campaign pledge on crime (PC Announcement No. 23, if you’re keeping track at home) in the middle of a frantic day that saw him campaign in four NDP-held constituencies. The crime promise — to create a serious-offender task force to prosecute violent offenders and diligently enforce any court conditions upon their release — came less than 18 hours before the polls opened at 7 a.m. today. McFadyen also received the endorsement of the Manitoba Police Association, the union that represents front-line police officers. On the campaign trail, he knocked on doors north (Rossmere), south (St. Vital), east (Radisson) and west (St. James) in Winnipeg.

Sound bite:

“We’re happy. We’re delighted with the campaign,” McFadyen told a news conference outside Seine River candidate Gord Steeves’s election headquarters. “I’m a football fan. I’ve always admired quarterbacks like Peyton Manning and Joe Montana who saved their best plays for late in the game. And I think that’s where we’re at. That’s what we’re doing today.”

Liberal Leader Jon Gerrard

Final focus:

Liberal Leader Jon Gerrard spent the final full day of the campaign canvassing on his home turf of River Heights in an all-out, boots-on-the-ground effort to keep his seat. Polls, pundits and critics say Gerrard is in the political fight of his life to hold River Heights and give the Liberals a voice in the Manitoba legislature. Gerrard said he hoped to hit about 800 residences in his last-minute blitz.

Sound bite:

“It’s about getting people out to vote and making sure that everybody who is a Liberal here is out to vote and everybody who is a Liberal around the province is out to vote,” Gerrard said in a brief pause on Lindsay Street.

Green Leader James Beddome

Final focus:

James Beddome had his sights set Monday on one constituency — his. A dozen party workers served Tall Grass Prairie bakery cinnamon buns and coffee at a morning campaign event in the heart of Wolseley before blitzing the left-leaning constituency in a last-ditch effort to send Beddome to the legislature. The Green leader said since the Sept. 23 televised leaders debate — where he performed well — he’s been recognized much more by constituents when he knocks on the door. The Greens have finished a distant second to the NDP in Wolseley in the past two general elections.

Sound bite:

“It’s an uphill battle. I’m not naive. But I think this will be the strongest showing that you’ve seen from the Greens in Wolseley ever, and we just might win.”

— Bruce Owen and Larry Kusch