Editing Gary Doer (section)

==NDP leader==

===Leadership election===
Doer was the first declared candidate in the Manitoba New Democratic Party's 1988 leadership contest. He was supported by cabinet ministers [[Vic Schroeder]], [[Myrna Phillips]], [[Muriel Smith (politician)|Muriel Smith]], [[Leonard Evans]], [[Jerry Storie]] and [[Wilson Parasiuk]], and by federal [[Member of Parliament|Members of Parliament]] [[Rodney Murphy|Rod Murphy]] and [[David Orlikow]].<ref>Geoffrey York, "Senior ministers back Doer's leadership bid in New Democrat race", ''Globe and Mail'', 26 March 1988, A8; Geoffrey York, "NDP delegates pick leader tomorrow", ''Globe and Mail'', 29 March 1988, A4.</ref>  He also received an endorsement from the Manitoba Federation of Labour.<ref>"Ex-rebel seems likely to succeed Pawley."</ref>  Doer emphasized his experience in managing large organizations, and called for [[Equal pay for women|pay equity]] legislation to be introduced within a year of his election.<ref>"Attack on Meech pact given warm welcome", ''Globe and Mail'', 29 March 1988, A4; Richard Cleroux and Geoffrey York, "Doer favored to win Manitoba NDP leadership race", ''Globe and Mail'', 15 March 1988, A4.</ref>  He narrowly defeated rival candidate [[Len Harapiak]] on the third ballot of the party's [[New Democratic Party of Manitoba leadership elections#1988 leadership convention|leadership convention]] in Winnipeg.<ref>Geoffrey York, "Doer captures NDP helm in tight Manitoba race", ''Globe and Mail'', 31 March 1988, A1.</ref>  He was not sworn in as premier, as the legislature had already been dissolved.<ref>Geoffrey York, "Pawley to stay until Manitoba election", ''Globe and Mail'', 1 April 1988, A3.  The rules of succession were unclear in this situation. It is possible that Doer could have been sworn in as premier, but he accepted Howard Pawley's decision to remain as a caretaker premier until the election.</ref>

Doer became leader of the Manitoba NDP when the party was at a low ebb of popularity.  An internal poll before the election showed that they had only 6% popular support, and some NDP workers privately worried that they could lose all of their legislative seats.<ref>Tim Harper, "Manitoba parties stagger to the starting line", ''Toronto Star'', 13 March 1988, B1; Geoffrey York, "Manitoba NDP in uphill battle", ''Globe and Mail'', 26 March 1988, D1; Richard Cleroux and Geoffrey York, "NDP's 12 seats might have been 0, official admits", ''Globe and Mail'', 28 April 1988, A19; Richard Cleroux, "Party bounced from office to third place", ''Globe and Mail'', 29 April 1988, A8.  The party was also $1 million in debt.  See Doug Nairne, "Doer Die", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 24 January 1999, A1.</ref>  Many believed Doer was their best hope for a recovery.<ref>Doer himself later acknowledged that he was not yet ready for the take a position of leadership.  Daniel Lett, "Opposition leader knows he has to win this time", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 11 September 1999, A17.</ref>  Support for the NDP increased to 19% during the leadership campaign, and to 23% after Doer was chosen as Pawley's successor.  The party nevertheless remained in third place, and faced an uphill struggle in the [[1988 Manitoba general election|1988 election]].<ref>Geoffrey York, "Party still running a poor third in popularity", ''Globe and Mail'', 8 April 1988, A4.</ref>

===1988 election===
Doer promised a $58 million tax cut, and opposed the [[Government of Canada|federal government]]'s free trade deal with the [[United States|United States of America]].  He indicated that he was open to the possibility of amending the [[Meech Lake Accord]], a federal proposal for constitutional reform.<ref>Derek Ferguson, "Tough fighting starts now in Manitoba election race", ''Toronto Star'', 4 April 1988, A16; Geoffrey York, "New Manitoba NDP leader promises tax cut if returned", ''Globe and Mail'', 5 April 1988, A4.</ref>  He also promised to build more community health centres, and supported home renovations for senior citizens and the disabled.<ref>Geoffrey York, "Tories pledge additional tax cuts", ''Globe and Mail'', 8 April 1988, A4.</ref>

The NDP won 12 out of 57 seats, while the Progressive Conservatives under [[Gary Filmon]] won 25 seats and the [[Manitoba Liberal Party|Liberals]] under [[Sharon Carstairs]] jumped from one seat to twenty. Although the NDP was knocked down to third place, it still held the balance of power. Doer rejected the possibility of forming a [[coalition government]] with the Liberals. Instead, he opted to tolerate a PC [[minority government]], clearing the way for Filmon to become premier with the Liberals as the Official Opposition.<ref>Geoffrey York, "Manitoba's NDP will permit Tories to assume power", ''Globe and Mail'', 28 April 1988, A1.</ref>  He was not personally blamed for his party's loss, and continued as party leader.  The NDP chose not to defeat Filmon's government during confidence votes in late 1988 and early 1989, as Doer argued the public would not support another election for a legislature less than a year old.<ref>Geoffrey York, "NDP critical, but won't kill Manitoba Tories' budget", ''Globe and Mail'', 18 August 1988, A4; "Doer goes against non-confidence vote", ''Globe and Mail'', 25 May 1989, A13; "Manitoba NDP foils Liberal bid to force election", ''Toronto Star'', 25 May 1989, A15; Geoffrey York, "NDP cites tax breaks, backs Manitoba budget", ''Globe and Mail'', 8 June 1989, A14.</ref>

===Meech Lake Accord===
The dominant political issue in Manitoba between 1988 and 1990 was the [[Meech Lake Accord]], which recognized [[Quebec]] as a "[[distinct society]]" in Canada and devolved some powers from the federal government to the provinces.  The accord required approval from all ten provincial legislatures to become law.  The provincial Liberals initially opposed the accord, which meant that Doer's support was necessary for its passage.<ref>Thomas Walkom, "The man in the driver's seat", ''Globe and Mail'', 27 February 1989, A7.</ref>  In November 1988, Doer indicated that his party would not support the accord unless certain amendments were introduced.<ref>Geoffrey York, "Amendments demanded Will kill Meech Lake, Manitoba NDP warns", ''Globe and Mail'', 24 November 1988, A1.</ref>  He was later appointed to a provincial panel that held a series of public meetings, and recommended significant changes to the deal.<ref>Edison Stewart, "Meech Lake pact's future: Manitobans have their say", ''Toronto Star'', 6 April 1989, A30; Edison Stewart, "Meech Lake pact suffers a major setback", ''Toronto Star'', 23 October 1989, A1.  Doer also participated in a federal [[New Democratic Party]] internal review of its position on the accord.  See Ross Howard, "NDP support for Meech accord should stay, review concludes", ''Globe and Mail'', 13 September 1989, A14; Ross Howard, "NDP still split on constitutional accord", ''Globe and Mail'', 14 September 1989, A14.</ref>  The Filmon government also expressed skepticism about the accord, and announced that it too would seek amendments from the federal government.

All three Manitoba party leaders agreed to a federally brokered compromise in June 1990, shortly before the accord's official deadline.<ref>Tim Harper, "Manitoba leaders back plan", ''Toronto Star'', 9 June 1990, A8; Tim Harper, "Manitoba troika say they'll pass accord in time", ''Toronto Star'', 10 June 1990, A14.</ref>  The accord nonetheless failed to pass in the Manitoba legislature because of a procedural motion from [[Elijah Harper]], a [[Cree]] member of the NDP caucus who argued that it did not give fair representation to [[Aboriginal peoples in Canada|Indigenous Canadians]].  Doer described Harper's decision as "a fundamental issue of conscience", and blamed [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Brian Mulroney]] for delaying negotiations until the deadline had almost expired.<ref>Geoffrey York, "Native MLA blocks debate on Meech", ''Globe and Mail'', 13 June 1990, A1.</ref>  One year later, he indicated that he felt "betrayed" by federal negotiators, and described the entire Meech Lake process as "dishonest from start to finish".<ref>Geoffrey York, "Harper deals crushing blow to Meech deal", ''Globe and Mail'', 23 June 1990, A6.</ref>

===1990 election===
In the aftermath of the accord's defeat, Filmon called a [[1990 Manitoba general election|provincial election]] for 11 September 1990.  Doer promised a ten-year freeze on personal income taxes, and argued that the Progressive Conservatives would pursue a hidden right-wing agenda if they won a [[majority government]].<ref>"Manitoba Liberals vow to back research", ''Globe and Mail'', 21 August 1990, A7; David Roberts, "Filmon plan nasty, NDP says", ''Globe and Mail'', 18 August 1990, A3.</ref>  He also promised legislation that would make it more difficult for companies based in Manitoba to close down.<ref>"Mr. Filmon, and weaker options" [editorial], ''Globe and Mail'', 10 September 1990, A12.</ref>

An early poll showed the NDP in third place with 18% support, well behind the governing Progressive Conservatives and also behind the Liberals.<ref>David Roberts, "Manitoba Premier calls general election", ''Globe and Mail'', 8 August 1990, A2.</ref>  The Liberal campaign faltered, however, and the New Democrats were able to make strong gains in the election's final days, partly buoyed by the unexpected victory of [[Bob Rae]]'s [[Ontario New Democratic Party|New Democrats]] in the neighbouring province of [[Ontario]].<ref>David Roberts and Miro Cernetig, "Filmon's Tories win narrow majority", ''Globe and Mail'', 12 September 1990, A1.  Doer took an aggressive approach in a televised party leaders' debate and sought to link Filmon with Mulroney's increasingly unpopular federal government, highlighting the premier's support for the federal [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservatives]] in the [[1988 Canadian federal election|1988 federal election]].  See David Roberts, "Gloves come off in Manitoba race", ''Globe and Mail'', 31 August 1990, A4; David Roberts, "3 Manitoba party leaders to debate aboriginal issues", ''Globe and Mail'', 4 September 1990, A3.</ref>  The Progressive Conservatives won a narrow majority with 30 seats, while the New Democrats won 20 and the Liberals seven.  Doer succeeded Carstairs as [[Leader of the Opposition (Manitoba)|Leader of the Opposition]] in the legislature.