On the Scene

PRESTON Manning had love on his mind. The leader of Canada’s Reform Party related that his wife, Sandra, sometimes asks why he doesn’t tell her he loves her. Manning replied: Isn’t it better to say it with deeds than with words? The 2,500 supporters in an Edmonton stadium on May 27 might have thought they had wandered into a John Bradshaw workshop by mistake. Could this be the “bigot” whose “divisive” message had provoked fears of civil war? But when the votes were counted on June 2, Canada had to ponder what Manning’s tough love might mean for a fractured country.

Though Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was re-elected, his Liberal Party took only 38 per cent of the popular vote. Against a splintered opposition, that was enough for 155 seats-a slim majority out of a total of 301. The separatist Bloc Québecois took 44 of Quebec’s 75 seats, and the socialist New Democrats took 21 seats.

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Kevin Michael Grace

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PRESTON Manning had love on his mind. The leader of Canada’s Reform Party related that his wife, Sandra, sometimes asks why he doesn’t tell her he loves her. Manning replied: Isn’t it better to say it with deeds than with words? The 2,500 supporters in an Edmonton stadium on May 27 might have thought they had wandered into a John Bradshaw workshop by mistake. Could this be the “bigot” whose “divisive” message had provoked fears of civil war? But when the votes were counted on June 2, Canada had to ponder what Manning’s tough love might mean for a fractured country.

Though Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was re-elected, his Liberal Party took only 38 per cent of the popular vote. Against a splintered opposition, that was enough for 155 seats-a slim majority out of a total of 301. The separatist Bloc Québecois took 44 of Quebec’s 75 seats, and the socialist New Democrats took 21 seats.