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PASTOR'S REPORT, May 14, 1979
Page 11
with Edward Broadbent of the New Democratic Party third at 16%.
Mr. Trudeau--who bridges in his own bloodstream the cultural dichotomy
of Canada--has continually stressed his value in keeping the nation uni
fied against the separatist challenge of the Parti Quebecois provincial
government in Quebec.
The Progressive Conservatives, on the other hand,
have made Canada's sluggish economy the main issue. Mr. Clark blames
Trudeau for Canada's 88¢ dollar and high unemployment. He claims, more
over, that Canada is overdue for a change from the highly personalized,
rather autocratic style of the Trudeau leadership. Eleven years is
enough, Clark maintains.
Will there be a change on May 22? A recent poll showed that while
Canadians may want a change at the top, they still question the leader
ship abilities of the unsung "average man" Clark. The poll showed that
Canadians believe, by more than 2 to 1, that Trudeau would still make a
better Prime Minister than Clark.
As much as Canadians may feel that the pocketbook issue of the national
economy is the main issue in the campaign, the unity question, as stressed
by Mr. Trudeau, is still the most critical one the nation faces. A
prosperous Canada would be impossible were the country to be balkanized.
Roger Lemeliu, the publisher of the influential Montreal French-language
daily, La Presse � said in a May 2 speech that the separatist Parti Quebe
cois government in Quebec was succeeding in its attempt to propagandize
people in the province against Canadian federalism. He said that the
PQ had succeeded to some extent in turning economic uncertainty into
blackmail designed to weaken the federal government and induce other
provinces to let Quebec separate.
"When we /in Quebec/ hear prosperous provinces declare that they want to
talk about economic performance and are fed up with the talk about
Canadian unity, we feel discouraged and abandoned to say the least. I
tell you, there can be no long-term prosperity or guarantee of freedom
in Canada without unity. Unity is the keystone. Unity is fundamental."
--Gene Hogberg, News Bureau