Article appeared in the Oct 13 issue of the Interlake Spectator…
It was an exciting race to the top for Interlake candidates in the Oct. 4 provincial election. The night was won by New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate, Tom Nevakshonoff, incumbent, who earned 3,359 votes. Progressive Conservative (PC) candidate, Steve Lupky, was hot on the trail with 2,899 votes at the final tally. Independent candidate, John Zasitko, and Liberal candidate, Albert Ratt, trailed far behind with 213 and 184 votes, respectively.
The contest between Lupky and Nevakshonoff, to represent the Interlake riding in the Manitoba Legislature was, to say the least, a cliff-hanger. As the polls reported in on election night, each seemed to overtake the other time and again. Finally, Nevakshonoff was declared the winner. He will step up to take on his 4th term in Parliament, having first been elected in 1999.
From the start, one knew that the outcome would be too close to a call with certainty. Unresolved issues around the Lake Manitoba flooding situation may have been the biggest determining factor in the closeness of the race in this riding. Indeed, Nevakshonoff saw a decline in votes which cannot be accounted for solely by the change in boundaries in the riding.
“I was disappointed that the support slipped somewhat, but I understand it given the amount of damage that (flood victims incurred),” Nevakshonoff said in a telephone interview on Thursday.
“(As the results came in) It was obvious that the flood on the west side was the main issue, I would say. The polls weren’t so good on the west…I have more work to do…on repairing the damage that was caused the people.”
“It is incumbent upon us that they are restored to their original (pre-flood) state,” Nevakshonoff reiterated.
Nevakshonoff has often stated that those along Lake Manitoba were flooded out to save other regions of the province, but that would not have happened if the north drainage channel were built years ago.
“This is the greatest natural disaster in modern Manitoba history,” he added, “yet Ottawa thinks it’s just business as usual…To date, the federal government has only moved cattle to higher ground in the spring.”
Nevakshonoff said he wants to see the standard DFA arrangement be in effect, in which the province pays 10 per cent for disaster financial assistance and the federal government pay 90 per cent.
“The next four years is going to be hard work…I step forward with determination,” Nevakshonoff concluded.
On the plus side, Nevakshonoff said he got good support from First Nations communities, and saw some increases there.
“We pushed hard on the reserves, and managed to elevate that a little bit,” he said.
Taking second place on election day was Lupky, who saw the closeness in the race as positive.
“It was good. You want to be in the race. You want it to be competitive,” Lupky said. “It was an interesting night—very draining, of course, but the results are what they are.”
Lupky is taking time to reconnect with his family, and is unsure whether he will run again.
“The results are disappointing. I tried hard to win,” said Lupky. “Being so close to the campaign right now, I can’t even think about it…but, never say never.”
Lupky added that the experience was a good one for him.
“I met a great bunch of people in the riding. I learned a lot…I wish I could have taken it to the next step and helped them out with their challenges.”
Independent candidate, Zasitko echoed the sentiment.
“It was a good experience. I’ve never done it before,” Zasitko said. “It gave me a lot of insight into what goes on….I was a bit disappointed in the results, but not totally. I beat the Liberals though…I’m not sure if I’ll run again—that’s four years away. It depends on what I’ll be doing at the time.”
Albert Ratt had stated in an interview prior to the election that his goal will remain working with people on justice and addictions issues whether or not he gets elected. He could not be reached for further comment after the election.
