Influence Grit and Tory candidates draw on celebrity power in Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe

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Adam Huras
Telegraph-Journal

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MONCTON - It may be the closest thing New Brunswick has to a rock star riding this federal election.

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Adam Huras/Telegraph-Journal

At left, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion toured the Dieppe Market earlier this month with candidate Brian Murphy. Meanwhile, the Conservative candidate Daniel Allain kicked off his campaign by inviting former New Brunswick premier Bernard Lord to his launch party. In Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe, Murphy and Allain seem headed for a close race on election night.

Conservative candidate Daniel Allain has brought in former premier Bernard Lord and Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day. Liberal incumbent Brian Murphy called on Toronto Centre MP Bob Rae. And Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion made his second visit to the riding last Saturday, flanked by Murphy and several other sitting federal Grits from New Brunswick.

The same day, Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke to a Moncton gymnasium with all 10 of his New Brunswick Tory candidates seated in the front row.

Thirty-six days of campaigning in Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe has seen a who's who of political heavyweights, veterans with high profiles who used powerful words to persuade voters to support their party's hopefuls.

"It means that the Conservative Party of Canada believes in Greater Moncton," Allain said. "Stephen Harper was here to gain the seat, Stéphane Dion was here to save the furniture."

Those words are certainly new from Conservatives running in the riding. History shows a Liberal legacy of large margin victories.

Murphy won the riding decisively in 2006 by more than 8,400 votes. It has been 20 years since a Tory has held the federal seat, and a Conservative has won only four times in the past 36 years, though when it occurred it seemed easy. Claudette Bradshaw captured the riding in 1997, 2000 and 2004, winning twice by margins of more than 15,000 votes.

Before Bradshaw, the Liberals were guided by George Rideout, who won in 1993 by a 25,000 vote margin.

The Liberals are taking nothing for granted. And though it is tough to argue with an appearance by the prime minister, Murphy, the former Moncton mayor, poked a little bit of fun toward at least one of the Conservatives' visitors.

"I wanted Mr. Dion here to underline some of the basic Liberal principles that have been part of this riding for most of the time this riding has existed," Murphy said. "He came and underlined the importance of bilingualism, ACOA, and infrastructure funding while paying head to some local issues."

"The idea of Stockwell Day as a rock star is something I would really have to think about."

The Conservatives' best weapon seemed to be federal campaign co-chair and former New Brunswick premier Bernard Lord, who brought screaming cheers when called upon to introduce Allain, his former executive assistant, as Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe's new Tory leader, and later in the campaign when Lord introduced Harper at a boisterous, well-organized rally in Moncton.

"He was a great premier, and I am doing door-to-door right now and almost 50 per cent of the questions are related to provincial politics," Allain said. "I know who are the players, I have certainly great connections with my network with politicians, but I have great connections with non-profits."

Alison Ménard, an activist and lawyer and the riding's Green Party candidate says her campaign has pointed a finger at what she says has turned into a "who you know" election race.

"For me this election is about the politics of power versus the politics of values," Ménard said. "We have seen old style political parties sort of trot their stars through the riding.

"'I know people and you should vote for me because I know people.'"

Ménard sees the 2008 election as an opportunity to loosen a Liberal stranglehold, something she says is suffering from the perception that Dion is a weak leader, and the Greens' environmental policy taking centre stage.

She says her party's values fit directly into the two major issues that all candidates have had to address - restoration of the Petitcodiac River and the economy.

Strapped with a small campaign budget, Ménard says she has done everything else possible to gain persuade voters, including staking out street corners to stop citizens on their way to work for conversations about the issues.

Carl Bainbridge is running for the New Democrats in the riding. Born in Moncton, he has lived in Toronto and Vancouver while working in the film industry, before returning to the Hub City five years ago. Bainbridge is currently a self-employed driver contractor.

And while the Greens expect modest gains in Moncton, a Telegraph-Journal commissioned poll suggests a dead heat between the Liberals and Conservatives in the riding.

Murphy's time as mayor may serve him well, if history has any say. Municipal politics have historically played a large part in the minds of local voters. Of the last seven federal representatives to win the riding, four were elected after serving as mayor.

Murphy believes the Moncton area wants a strong community leader.

"Claudette proved that more than any of us. She wasn't mayor, but personal experience and popularity seems to be a hallmark of being an MP in Moncton," Murphy said. "There are very few Johnny-come-lately's. It was the community touch she had. It really comes down to community involvement."