Danny Williams in N.L. has 76 per cent support

There does not seem to be much of a race in this election. I imagine the Liberals could lose many of the eleven seats they hold. The NDP has just one seat.


Williams heads into N.L. campaign with commanding lead
'Long after the oil and gas is gone, we will have to depend on the fishery': Liberal leader
Last Updated: Monday, September 17, 2007 | 7:21 AM NT
CBC News
Newfoundland and Labrador politicians will hit the campaign trail in earnest Monday, as Premier Danny Williams asks for the house of assembly to be dissolved.


Premier Danny Williams will officially launch the PC campaign at a rally Monday evening in Corner Brook.
(CBC)
The Opposition Liberals, though, have already hit the ground running, with the release Sunday of a platform that asks voters to think beyond the short-term prosperity that oil wealth will bring.

Williams is to visit Government House in St. John's on Monday to ask Lt.-Gov. Ed Roberts to dissolve the legislature. Williams's first major campaign event will a suppertime launch at Corner Brook's Pepsi Centre.

The election will be held on Oct. 9, the first under fixed-date legislation passed in 2004.

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Williams heads into the three-week campaign with a commanding lead in the polls and coming off a string of high-profile energy announcements, particularly a resolution to a long-running dispute over development of the Hebron oil megaproject.

A Corporate Research Associates poll released this month shows the Progressive Conservatives have 76 per cent support among decided voters.

Liberal leader Gerry Reid launched his campaign platform while arriving on a fishing vessel at St. John's harbour. He said the platform demonstrated the Liberals' commitment to rural communities.


Liberal leader Gerry Reid released a platform on Sunday that promises tax cuts, fee reductions and other measures.
(CBC)
"Very little has been done about the fishery," said Reid, citing plant closures and a strike he blamed on "poor government policy [that] just about brought the fishery to its knees."

Reid reminded voters that oil revenues will be finite.

"Long after the oil and gas is gone, we will have to depend on the fishery," Reid said.

The Liberals, who were thrown out of government in 2003, have a steep road ahead of them to hold back the PCs. Even as the campaign starts, the Liberals have to find candidates in 15 of the province's 48 districts.

"That's a possibility when you see where the premier is in the polls — there's obviously some people reconsidering whether or not they're going to run," Reid said.

"But we've had a couple of very decent candidates come forward over the last few days."

The Liberal platform includes elements that the party has already highlighted in a bid to attract middle- and working-class families, including lower taxes and reduced fees.

The Liberals also say they would create a prosperity fund to manage the province's offshore wealth. However, the platform does not say whether a Liberal government would seek an equity stake in future oil and gas projects.

Williams announced in August that his government has acquired a 4.9 per cent ownership stake in Hebron. Last week, Williams said the province has purchased a five per cent stake in pending expansion of the White Rose field.

A long-awaited energy blueprint announced last week says the province will seek a 10 per cent equity stake in all future oil and gas projects.

The Progressive Conservatives hold 34 seats in the Legislature, while the Liberals hold 11. The New Democrats hold one seat, while two seats are vacant.