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FORT FRANCES — Howard Hampton said Thursday that he will return to Queen's Park to keep a Liberal majority government accountable, despite the fact that his party won no new seats in Wednesday's election.
“By the sounds of it, the Conservative party is going to go through some turmoil, but New Democrats are going to be there raising the issues,” he said on the shores of Rainy Lake in Fort Frances, Ont.
“At last count it was six dozen promises and $26-billion in spending and they're not going to raise your taxes, so I think there'll be a lot there to focus on.”
The NDP won 10 seats, three more than they achieved in the 2003 election, but the same number with which the entered the campaign, after picking up several ridings in by-elections.
But Mr. Hampton, who has led his party in three elections without making significant gains, said he would continue as leader.
“We improved our percentage in the popular vote, and if we had 1,000 votes distributed differently we would have won four more seats, but that's the way it goes,” he said.
The NDP provincial council will meet in December and decide on its plan for the future, he said, when asked if he would face a confidence vote from his caucus.
His party will now concentrate on helping fight a federal election, and said he believes several ridings in Northern Ontario could be won by the NDP.
Meanwhile, Mr. Hampton denounced the “vagaries of the electoral system,” yesterday when asked about the failed referendum.
“It was designed to fail,” he said of the referendum. “The referendum was held, whether it was fair or flawed, I have my views.”
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