Paul Davis not worried by Liberal landslide
Newfoundland and Labrador premier Paul Davis says he's not surprised — nor sorry — to see Stephen Harper out of office, and says he sees similarities between his party and Justin Trudeau's.
"Newfoundlanders and Labradorians from all over said Mr. Harper had disrespected us as a province and disrespected us as a people," he said.
"We have long memories sometimes with politics...How our leaders treat us is important."
Davis said many people regarded Harper as behaving arrogantly, such as when he vetoed Ches Crosbie's candidacy nomination in Avalon.
He also pointed to Harper's dealings with the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) fisheries fund as a source of major mistrust and dissatisfaction
"Newfoundlanders and Labradorians don't forget," said Davis.
Stephen Harper will step down as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, after the Liberals won a landslide majority on Monday night.
Davis said he looks forward to sitting down with the new prime minister and other premiers at a first ministers conference, which Justin Trudeau has promised to hold annually.
The last such meeting was held in 2009.
Davis draws parallels between PCs and Liberals
With a provincial election at the end of November, Davis said he's not concerned by Newfoundland and Labrador's strong support for the federal Liberals.
Instead, Davis said he sees parallels between his own party and Trudeau's.
"If you look at the federal election, during the campaign I think every party went from last place to first place and so on," he said.
"The federal Liberals were in last place when that campaign started, and I see us as in much the same position as Mr. Trudeau was when he went into the election."