LIBERALS LEAD IN CANADIAN POLLS

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30103, 10 April 1963, Page 15

LIBERALS LEAD IN CANADIAN POLLS

Pearson Probable Leader Of Minority Govt.

(N .2 PA..-R.euter—Copyright)

OTTAWA, April 9. Canada’s Nobel Prize-winning Liberal leader, Mr Lester Pearson, was close to power today after a striking election victory which fell just short of an over-all majority. results almost all in, Canada’s two minor parties, Social Credit and the New Democratic Party, appeared certain to combine forces to make Mr Pearson, as leader of the biggest party, the next Prime Minister.

tv a^*ance would end the six-year reign of the Conservatives led by Mr Diefenbaker. Early today however, Mr Diefenbaker had still not conceded defeat.

With five results to come from yesterday’s , polling, Mr Pearson’s Liberals held 126 of ’Parliament’s 265 seats, 22 of them captured from the Conservatives. Mr Diefenbaker kept 93 seats. Either the New Democrats, with 17 seats already in hand, or the Social Credit Party with 24, could put Mr Pearson into office.

Mr Diefenbaker's minority Government was toppled on February 5, when the Liberal, Social Credit and New Democratic Parties joined in a vote of no-confidence.

Representation in the previous Parliament was: Conservatives 113, Liberals 99, Social Credit 30, New Democrat 19 Four seats were vacant—three that had been held by Conservatives and one by a Liberal

The election was the fourth for Canada in six years. Defence policy and the question of nuclear warheads became a major issue, directly involving United StatesCanadian relations. Mr Pearson voiced his intention of honouring Canadian commitments to take nuclear warheads—a stand Mr Diefenbaker opposed All four party leaders were re-elected: Mr Pearson m Algoma East. Ontario, Mr Diefenbaker m Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Mr Robert Thompson <Social Credit) in Alberta’s Red Deer riding, and the N.D P leader, Mr T. C. Douglas, in BurnabyCoquitlam. on the west coast. The Liberals gained substantially both in the Atlantic Provinces and in the populous centra! provinces of Quebec and Ontario But unfortunately for Mr Pearson,

■who looked early on as if he would sweep to a majority victory, the western prairie lands held to the Conservative line. With Canadian time differences, returns from the west came in hours after the eastern seaboard results Mr Pearson’s race to the magic 133-seat mark slowed as the night wore on and stopped at 126.

In Quebec, the Liberals gained 13 seats—seven from Social Credit and six from Conservatives. But Social Credit gained two others from the Liberals. In Ontario, the Liberals gained seven Conservativeheld seats and one from the New Democrats, but the Conservatives captured two Liberal seats to cut the net Liberal gain in the Province to six.

Mr Real Caouette, the Social Credit Party’s firebrand deputy leader, was returned by a wide majority in Villeneuve, but many of the winning Social Cred iters had their vote margins whittled down On the prairies, only one or two chinks appeared in that fortress of Conservative strength The Liberals gained one Conservative seat in Manitoba and another in Alberta. But the only Liberal

seat in Saskatchewan fell to a Conservative as the Conservatives took all 17 Saskatchewan seats. Mr Diefenbaker left the outcome in the air when he said at Prince Albert, Saskatchewan: “No decision can be taken as to the course to be followed” because no party has a majority. Mr Pearson, in a postelection statement, also declined to make any “definitive” forecast about the final outcome, but suggested he might yet gain a majority victory through the service vote. These votes, collected from Canadian forces in Europe and with the United Nations in the Middle East and in the Congo, will not be announced until next week-end. The Liberals were previously in power for 22 years until Mr Diefenbaker defeated them in 1957. Mr Pearson, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 after helping settle the Suez crisis, will come to power for the first time. A working diplomat for 20 years, he became a politician only in 1948, as Canada’s External Affairs Minister. In Vancouver, Mr Douglas said in a television interview that his party had a duty to work with whatever Government evolves from today’s election “to grapple effectively and successfully with the problems that face Hinting strongly that the N.D.P. would support a minority Liberal Government, he said: “It’s obvious the Liberals will have the biggest block of seats . . . the New Democratic Party has a duty to co-operate with any Government for the betterment of Canada and for good government.” In Red Deer, Alberta, the Social Credit leader, Mr Robert Thompson, said his party would use its strength in the-new House of Commons tor the sound government of Canada. Mr Diefenbaker said his prayer was that “Canada will be God-guided in the days ahead for the benefit of Canada and her great destiny “It is natural that I regret the outcome of today’s voting.” he said. “I have never been exultant in victory, nor have I been craven when things have gone badly. We must all face the future together for the good of Canada. “We must join in a common dedication on behalf of Canada and the Canadian people,” he said. “It is my earnest wish that all bitterness will be dissipated, that there will be no recriminations.”

C.P said one possibility open to Mr Diefenbaker was to delay his decision whether to hand over the Prime Ministership until a vote in the House of Commons showed how the parties lined up. That would keep him in office at least six weeks.

In Calgary, the Defence Minister, Mr Douglas Harkness said after his re-election in Calgary North, Alberta, that Mr Diefenbaker should be replaced as leader of the Conservatives. After winning his seventh consecutive election in the constituency on his own defence policy—that Canada should fulfil its commitments to its allies ano acquire nuclear weapons—he said: “After this election it is apparent a leadership convention will be in order.”

Agriculture students at the local high school may pay their tuition with rice instead of cash.—School authorities in Hanamaki, Japan.