Ralph Goodale lost his seat as Regina—Wascana’s Member of Parliament on Monday night, nearly 26 years to the day after being first elected.
Conservative candidate Michael Kram, whom Goodale defeated by 10,621 votes in the 2015 federal election, led by nearly 7,000 votes with 92 per cent of polls reporting.
Speaking to Regina Liberal supporters gathered at the Regina German Club, Goodale seemed poised as always as he conceded, practiced after 45 years in politics.
To a crowd chanting “Ralph, Ralph, Ralph, Ralph,” Goodale expressed his thanks to them, his disappointment in having lost, his congratulations to Kram, and his admiration of the electorate.
“And so the democratic process moves forward, and pages are turned, things change and people go forward,” said Goodale.
“One thing we always need to absolutely believe in with 100 per cent of our political hearts and souls is that the democratic process works and the people are always right, and in this country we share in a democracy that is a rare and precious thing in all of the world.”
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Goodale was first elected to Regina—Wascana in 1993.
He called it a “great privilege and honour” to represent the riding all these years.
Asked Monday afternoon whether he was ready to retire, Goodale responded, “We are very focused on winning this election and getting the result tonight and that is my entire preoccupation.”
Asked Monday night about what’s next, he responded: “That remains to be seen. I have no plans beyond this evening.”
He said “it will be up to others to carry the mantle of being the candidate” in future elections, and he has no hopes of becoming a Senator.
“I’ve been a loyal Liberal in Saskatchewan for a very long time, much longer than a lot of people would have predicted. And I’m grateful for all the loyal support that I’ve had. And political cycles come and go. The personalities and the issues and the opportunities and the challenges change from time to time,” Goodale said.
“And I’m sure that Liberals will work very hard for good positive principles that will be of assistance to this province and this region and this country.”
Conservatives celebrate
At the Conservative party gathering at Evraz Place, there were cheers of “Goodbye Ralph” as CTV News declared Kram the winner at 9:15 p.m.
“I haven’t heard this much yelling and screaming since our last campaign team meeting,” Kram told supporters.
“I’ve been thinking about this moment since elementary school social studies and now that its here I have no words to express how it feels. It’s overwhelming.”
Kram thanked his parents and a “great team” that helped lead him to victory.
“As much as I like to think that the voters were won over by the charm of a slightly nerdy information technology consultant, the truth is that they were won over by this great team,” said Kram.
Kram also acknowledged Goodale, thanking him “for his many years of service to the people of Saskatchewan.”
“I know we’ve been a bit hard on him these last six weeks … he’s often been a strong advocate for Regina. He didn’t keep getting elected by accident,” said Kram.
“Ralph Goodale has been a dedicated public servant and I wish him well in the next chapter of his life.
“Not too long ago, and even as recently as the past few days, people have told me that there is no way that anyone is ever going to beat Ralph. Even when the polls started to indicate that that was possible, people still denied it. Well I stand here … we have beaten the odds.
“We have beaten the skeptics and that is all because of you, the people in this room tonight.”
Voter frustration?
In 2015, 42,899 people voted in Regina—Wascana, of 57,504 possible voters; 7,677 voted in advanced polls.
This year, in advance of Election Day, 13,572 people voted in this urban riding, of 59,907 electors. As results came in, it appeared overall voter turnout in the riding was down as compared to 2015.
There were some delays in voting in the riding on Monday, as Elections Canada was forced to merge polls after losing more than 20 polling station workers. Some were Crown employees due back to work after their strike ended Sunday.
A polling station at Prairie Place, a seniors’ residence in Regina’s Centre Square neighbourhood, was one of those affected. Those at the front of the line reported waiting about 40 minutes to cast their vote.
Anyone in line to vote at 7:30 p.m. was guaranteed to be allowed to vote.
Aside from Goodale and Kram, four other names were on the ballot — Hailey Clark (NDP), Tamela Friesen (Green Party), Mario Milanovski (People’s Party of Canada), and Evangeline Godron (independent).
“I want to make sure that the people feel well-represented, that if you wanted to vote NDP, you voted NDP,” said Clark.
“As long as the people of Regina—Wascana feel properly represented, I’m on board and I hope to try to show that in the next election as well.”
Goodale said he’d spent Monday “in large measure, just staying out of the way of the volunteer organization.”
At campaign HQ, people were coming and going, to transport voters to the polling stations, to phone supporters and remind them to vote, and knock on doors.
“Having watched elections over the course of now 45 years and looking back at the results, in almost every campaign, for whatever party you may be affiliated with, there are enough people who stay home, who, if they had voted, would have changed the result,” said Goodale.
“Surprisingly, there are some who are in the yet-to-be-decided category,” said Goodale. “There is always persuasion to be done to the very last minute.”
Kram echoed this sentiment in a tweet Monday evening: “Only an hour left to vote. Don’t miss out! We are in a tight race in every vote counts.”
Goodale first became an MP as a 24-year-old in in 1974. In 1981, he became leader of the provincial Liberal Party; he never held a seat provincially.
In 1988, Goodale first ran in Regina—Wascana, but lost the seat to Progressive Conservative candidate Larry Schneider.
Overheard at the German Club were comments like, “It is what it is” (Goodale himself) and “Can’t win ’em all” (campaign manager Sean McEachern).
There was also at least one comment overheard that reflected optimism at making room for change.
— With files from Arthur White-Crummey and Lynn Giesbrecht
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
