Stronach bolts to federal Liberals /7
WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2005

Spruce Kings complete trade /8

Getting fit `fore' some golf /25

Kylie Minogue facing battle with cancer /16

80 CENTS (HOME DELIVERED: 57 CENTS A DAY)

Liberals win majority; NDP storms back
VA N C O U V E R ( C P ) -- British Columbia's Liberals won a second straight majority government Tuesday, but Premier Gordon Campbell will return to the legislature facing a resurgent NDP opposition. The NDP looked like it would win more than 30 seats in the 79-seat legislature as the party made inCAMPBELL roads across the province, even defeating some cabinet ministers. Campbell, who stood on stage at his victory party with his wife, two sons and his mother, said the win gives him a mandate to continue with his program of rebuilding health care and education after deep cuts over the last four years. "British Columbians have spoken, they have spoken t h a t t h e y w a n t t o m ove ahead," he said. "They want their economy to keep moving. They want to improve health care. Over JAMES the next four years, many of the investments we made over the last four years will start to bear fruit." But in many ways, the NDP was the story of the night. Led by rookie NDP legislature when the election Leader Carole James, the campaign began. party also rebounded in the Campbell's victory meant he popular vote. is the first B.C. premier in more James even sounded like than two decades to win backthe winner as she addressed Legislature (79 members) to-back elections, running a campaign that highlighted the her supporters in Victoria. Elected Leading Total strength of the economy and "What an amazing night, LIB 39 7 46 warning voters that an NDP what a historic night for the NDP 27 6 33 NDP," said James, who won a *As of press time victory would mean a return to seat in the legislature for the the days when B.C. was a havefirst time. not province. "There will be a lot more New Democrats But the results will likely be seen as a stiff warnstanding strong, speaking up for their communi- ing to Campbell that the cuts he made to social programs have hurt. ties and holding this government accountable." -- See CAMPBELL on page 5 The NDP had only three seats in the 79-seat

PROVINCIAL RESULTS

Local ridings back Liberals
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff The Liberals swept Prince George's three ridings on Tuesday, helping return their party to a second majority, but they will face a resurrected New Democratic Party. The NDP, under the leadership of Carole James, returned to a solid footing as the official Opposition with a projected 33 seats to the Liberals' 46. The NDP had been decimated in the 2001 election, winning only two seats of 79. The NDP also made a comeback in the North's 10 ridings this year, which had been swept by the Liberals in 2001. The NDP captured the North Coast and Skeena while narrowly winning in both Cariboo ridings. The Prince George Liberal winners credited their campaign teams for helping them secure much closer races than in the last election. Prince George-Mount Robson was the most-closely contested race, but Liberal incumbent Shirley Bond kept her seat with a margin of under 1,000 votes. She defeated NDP candidate Wayne Mills, while Independent Paul Nettleton finished third. "The great news tonight is we did something that hasn't been done in decades in this province, and that's reelect a premier and his government," said Bond. "To be honest, I think that's a remarkable accomplishment, and the people of British Columbia gave us that mandate to continue to govern." Gordon Campbell is only the fifth premier in B.C. to be re-elected. Bond said she does need to reflect on the fact this has been a close race. "I need to think about what that means, and how I begin to address some of the concerns of the people that obviously expressed that at the ballot box," she said. But Bond said the Liberals will stick to their economic plan. "We brought British Columbia from worst to first, and we're going to continue now to keep it there," she said. Mills credited footwork for his strong performance. "I knocked on as many doors as possible and talked to as many people as I could," he said. How much influence independent Paul Nettleton had on the campaign, Mills could not say. "I have no idea how Paul played it," he said.

PRINCE GEORGEMOUNT ROBSON
94 of 94 polls reporting xShirley Bond LIB Wayne Mills NDP Paul Nettleton IND Don Roberts GRN Matthew Burnett MP 5,640 4,701 2,085 989 222

PRINCE GEORGE NORTH
84 of 84 polls reporting xPat Bell LIB Deborah Poff NDP Denis Gendron GRN Leif Jensen IND Steve Wolfe MP Mike Mann DR 7,419 5,369 1,129 432 228 228

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

MLA-elect John Rustad, MLA Shirley Bond and MLA Pat Bell celebrate their victories in the three Prince George ridings for the Liberals in Tuesday's provincial election.

High : 18 Low : 6 page 2

drive! fr ee t
with a

2005

NDP candidates thrilled with vote
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff Despite losing their own races, Prince George's three New Democratic Party candidates were in a cheery mood Tuesday night, thanks to the strong performance of their party in general. "We're back as a revitalized force and I think the province is going to be much stronger with a strong NDP opposition," said Deborah Poff, the NDP's candidate in Prince George North. "I'm really proud of what we've done." Prince George-Omineca candidate Chuck Fraser was equally buoyed by the NDP's seat count provincewide. "We can keep Gordon Campbell's feet to the fire and we can stop all this recklessness over the years," he said. Fraser, who lost in 1996 to then-Liberal Paul Nettleton by just 308 votes, said he was confident heading into election night although Prince George-Omineca is traditionally a conservative riding. Nettleton, now an independent, ran in Prince George-Mount Robson this time around and lost. Fraser figured he picked up a few votes from Nettleton supporters, but not appreciably.

PRINCE GEORGEOMINECA
104 of 104 polls reporting xJohn Rustad LIB Chuck Fraser NDP Andrej J. DeWolf GRN Erle Martz DR 8,129 5,847 1,303 457

twis

INDEX
Annie's Mailbox . . . . . . . . . 26 Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-24 City, B.C. . . . . . . . . . . 3,5,6,13 Classifi ed . . . . . . . . . . . 18-21 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . 16 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,14 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-12 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

MILLS

POFF

0

58307

00100

8

"Some people told me they voted for Nettleton in the last election and this time they were going to vote for me because I'm a nice guy," he said. Union leader Wayne Mills came closest to winning as he gave Liberal incumbent Shirley Bond a run for her money in Prince George-Mount Robson. "It was a good run," he said. "I don't like to lose, nobody likes to lose, but it was a good fight," he said. Nettleton finished third and appeared to have siphoned votes away from both Bond and Mills. But by how much Nettleton may have impacted the campaign, Mills could not say. -- See SUPPORTERS on page 3

Pat Bell, who was re-elected in Prince George North, said while the Liberals won some tight races that will change the dynamic of the legislature, he was pleased with the Liberals' share of the popular vote. He noted that the voting patterns had returned to their more-traditional splits between the NDP and a free-enterprise party. The Liberals finished with about 47 per cent of the popular vote. "I think that's a pretty positive testament of the work we've done," said Bell. "For me, we need to stay focused on what we do well, which is build the economy, make sure people have highpaying jobs, and that we have the resources to provide services without continuing to rack up the debt," he said. "Those things are never easy decisions to make. There are always sawoffs here and there on how you approach that." -- See RUSTAD on page 3

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