Kick in the Pants

In the first real test of federal political sentiment since the Dominion elections of June 1945, the Liberal Party got a hard kick in the pants.

123 out of 243. The boot came from the constituency of Pontiac, a huge district in the mining area of western Quebec. Only once in 30 years (in 1930) had Pontiac ever voted anything but Liberal. But last week, in a by-election to fill a vacancy caused by M.P. Wallace Reginald McDonald's death, Pontiac turned the Liberals out. The winner was a Social Creditor, Real Caouette, 29 (pronounced Ca-wet).

The defeat cut Prime Minister King's already slim margin in the House of Commons to 123 seats (out of 243), and set political pundits staring into their crystal balls. There are two more federal by-elections coming up -- in late October -- in Toronto-Parkdale, and Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. The Liberals already concede Toronto-Parkdale to the Tories ; it has never elected a Liberal. But Portage la Prairie, like Pontiac, is vacant because of a Liberal's death. If the Liberals lose that one too (their chances are only fair), the Liberals would barely control the House. There would be 122 Liberals, plus the Speaker (who does not vote except in case of a tie), plus two independents who usually vote with the Liberals, against an opposition of 120. In short, the Liberals technically would rule only by grace of the two independents.

11,000 for $4,500. Pontiac's winner Caouette is a handsome, bespectacled garage manager from Val d'Or, with a flair for oratory and big promises. He plumped for abolition of income taxes on wages of $3,000 a year or less; $20-a-month Government "dividends" for everybody; $60-a-month handouts for all unemployables 21 or over. Like any good Social Creditor, he berated banks, and for homey campaign purposes he gave his party a fine French-Canadian name: L'Union des Electeursc de Pontiac. He spent only $4,500 campaigning, but he wound up with about 11,000 votes -- a few hundred more than the dumfounded Liberals, 4,000 more than the Conservatives (who reportedly spent $50,000).

Caouette won partly because he picked up support from the nationalistic Bloc Populaire, which got 4,500 votes last time but had no candidate this time. But the chief reason was that the Liberal Party, fat and lazy after its unopposed years, campaigned halfheartedly, made no real effort to win, bungled the few things it did.

Nevertheless Caouette's triumph was ominous to Liberals. In a "safe" Liberal constituency, two-thirds of all the votes cast went against the Liberal candidate.

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