Stockwell Day pushes Canada's right-wing agenda

PENTICTON, Canada (Reuters) -- Stockwell Day, the western conservative whose opposition Canadian Alliance has only an outside chance of winning the federal election on Monday, is one of the most right-wing political leaders in recent Canadian history.

The dynamic 50-year-old campaigned on the theme that Canadians wanted deep tax cuts, a transfer of power from Ottawa to Canada's 10 provinces and the back of veteran Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

But Day instead found himself on the defensive over his strong religious and political beliefs, which the Liberals focused on to raise suspicions among voters in the politically crucial eastern part of Canada.

MESSAGE BOARD Canada today

Before becoming Alliance leader this year, Day sharpened his skills as a minister in the western province of Alberta, where he became known for a tough no-nonsense brand of social conservatism and made little secret of his religious views.

Alliance strategists felt this combination would not help the party break through in the voter-rich province of Ontario, so Day muzzled his combative skills, deflected questions about his beliefs and promised to follow "an agenda of respect."

The result was disappointing. Day struggled to sell himself to voters as the Liberals accused him of harboring a hidden agenda to introduce a U.S.-style "winner-take-all" society. Although known for his debating skills, Day barely produced a notable soundbite, and remained a mystery to many.

"The reason Stockwell Day, the great white hope, is going down to defeat on Monday is quite simple: The voters don't know who he is. And the explanation is: neither does he," wrote veteran Globe and Mail columnist Allan Fotheringham.

In private, Day is a wickedly funny man with a sharp and often self-deprecating sense of humor .

But his public persona during the campaign was blander, with only a few flashes of wit. His speeches rambled, without clear focus, and sometimes he gave the impression he was making up policy as he went along.

Bring Canadians together

Day says he wants to restore honor to the political system after seven years of what he terms Liberal misrule. He promises to heal divisions in society caused in part by the West's belief that it has been shut out of Ottawa.

"I'm absolutely convinced I have enough of an understanding of this country that we can provide a type of government that will actually bring Canadians together in a great sense of confidence and freedom," he said during the campaign.

Despite his strong ties with conservative Alberta, Day was born in the southern Ontario city of Barrie and grew up in Montreal before moving across the country every few years.

He dropped out of university after less than a year and worked as an auctioneer, in a funeral parlor and as a deckhand before becoming an assistant pastor at a fundamentalist Christian school in Alberta.

Day was first elected to the Alberta's legislature in 1986. As provincial treasurer for three years he presided over a boom in the oil-and-gas-rich province, delivering a string of billion-dollar budget surpluses and cutting provincial debt.

"I think I know enough both from study and also from practice to be able to see things that gained great advantage to a province can also provide great advantage to a nation. I think I do have the unique blend of experience and intensity of heart to make that happen for a nation," he said.

Day -- who refuses to campaign on Sundays -- has tried to deflect attention from his religious beliefs, saying they are not relevant to the campaign.

But he was hurt by a television documentary alleging he once said the world was 6,000 years old and believed man had existed alongside dinosaurs.

He once suggested a killer be taken out of his prison cell and handed over to other inmates "to be dealt with in a way we don't have the nerve to" and he faces a C$600,000 ($390,000) lawsuit after criticizing a lawyer who defended a pedophile in a child pornography case.

Several Day speeches over the five-week campaign were interrupted by protestors chanting "Sexist, racist, anti-gay, go away, Stockwell Day."

Friends say the accusations are unfair and point out that Day and his wife Valorie once turned their house in Edmonton into a shelter for wayward teenagers.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

See related sites about Americas

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.