Manitoba MP Rick Borotsik quits Conservatives - CPC loses 5th MP - CTV

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1075250895140_4/?hub=Canada

BRANDON, Man. — Manitoba MP Rick Borotsik has become the fifth Tory to walk away from the newly merged Conservative Party.

Borotsik, a gregarious and outspoken two-term member of Parliament, announced Tuesday he will not run in the next federal election expected this spring.

"I have some concerns with the leadership. I have concerns with policy," Borotsik said from his constituency office in Brandon. He represents the Brandon-Souris riding in southern Manitoba.

Borotsik, 53, criticized the merger of the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance from the outset and called it an Alliance takeover.

He said there are wide gaps between his beliefs and those of many of the people who now make up the new Conservative Party of Canada.

"There are big holes with respect to official bilingualism. There are big holes with respect to universal health care."

In other good news, Belinda Stronach gets endorsed by Nova Scotia Conservative MP Bill Casey. The Toronto Star:

OTTAWA - Belinda Stronach won an endorsement for her Conservative leadership bid today from Nova Scotia MP Bill Casey - then promptly refused to say where she stands on federal funding for economic development in Atlantic Canada.

Casey was the first member of the old Tory caucus to declare support for any of the candidates vying to head the new party, formed last month by a merger of the former Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance.

The new recruit seemed unfazed by Stronach's waffling. "I'm going to support her and help her in any way that I can," said Casey.

The veteran MP added that he is impressed by Stronach's overall commitment to economic growth and job creation, two issues of key importance to his region.
http://tinyurl.com/2j9dp

I guess her commitment to "bake a bigger economic pie" won him over. ;)

Go Belinda!

Now if any of us here in the centre of the universe (Ontario) knew who this Manitoba MP Rick Borotsik was, it might matter. ;)

"There are big holes with respect to official bilingualism."

Manitoba has a very well-organized and politically-active French-speaking community (the Franco-Manitobans), ranking right up there with Franco-Ontarians in terms of demands for educational, health and social services in their own language, for instance.

(As background, official bilingualism was Pierre Trudeau's response to Quebec nationalism: in crass political terms, and more philosophically in terms of keeping the country together and protecting equality of rights, the stronger the French-Canadian communities outside Quebec are, and the more opportunities the Québécois have to succeed on equal terms with English speakers, the weaker the constituency for separation.)

The Reform/Alliance parties have never been known for their commitment to the francophone community's rights.

Going into the 2002 election, the CBC referred to the riding as having a "small francophone population" -- and also noted that Borotsik was the "last remaining Progressive Conservative MP in Western Canada".

http://www.winnipeg.cbc.ca/decision2000/ridings/brandon-souris.html

In 1997, he won the support of 35.6 per cent of riding votes. The Reform Party was close behind Borotsik capturing 32 per cent and the NDP got 13 per cent.

... Liberal Glen McKinnon broke the Tories' 50-year hold on the riding in 1993, before Bostick <sic> won it back in 1997.

2000 results -- http://www.brandonu.ca/organizations/bulc/Local_Ridings_Page/Local_Ridings.htm:

Rick Borotsik - Progressive Conservative - 37.40%
Gary Nestibo - Canadian Alliance - 31.86
Dick Scott - Liberal - 17.85
Errol Black - N.D.P. - 12.32
Lisa Gallager - Communist Party - 0.27
Colin G. Atkins - No Affiliation - 0.25

Borotsik is a former mayor and apparently personally popular, which I assume he's counting on to attract that 70% that voted "right-of-Liberal" in 2000. Big gamble, looks like.

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