Ches Crosbie wants to turn N.L. around. First, though, he's gotta get his moose

Ches Crosbie says he's ready to get to work in the House of Assembly after last night's win in Windsor Lake — but first, he's gotta get his moose.

Crosbie, who won the Windsor Lake byelection Thursday night with 2,034 votes, plans to go moose hunting in the Bay du Nord region next week.

In an interview with CBC's St. John's Morning Show on Friday, Crosbie said that hunting grounds and the House of Assembly have a few qualities in common.

"You've got to size up your target and then take aim," Crosbie said.

Muskrat Falls biggest issue

That target will largely be the provincial Liberals. Crosbie said his win is an indication that his district's residents aren't satisfied with the governing party.

"People are unhappy with the performance of the Ball Liberal government and they wanted someone, myself, to be in the House of Assembly holding the Liberal government to account," said Crosbie, who won the provincial Progressive Conservative leadership in April.

Crosbie said he thinks Muskrat Falls and affordable power rates are the biggest issues in the province right now, with taxes close behind that.

He acknowledged that he can't immediately change the hard numbers facing Newfoundland and Labrador, including the provincial debt and an aging population.

But the new Windsor Lake MHA, who replaces former Liberal finance minister Cathy Bennett in the legislature, said he can change political attitudes.

'You can't change the numbers but I think it's a matter of mindset," he said.

"Just having a sense of confidence that there are people in charge of things who have a vision of where the province needs to go and how to get there, that will change the mood in the province."

Congrats from Andrew Scheer

Building relationships with premiers across the country, and the federal government, is also important for the province, Crosbie said.

Federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer tweeted congratulations to Crosbie last night — while several people pointed out that the federal Tories blocked Crosbie from running in the last federal election.

Stephen Harper was the Conservative leader at the time, and Crosbie said the relationship between that party and his provincial counterparts is better now.

"We need to have strategic relationships with the government in Ottawa," he said, adding that he thinks Scheer has more than a decent chance of becoming prime minister in 2019.

Improving relationships with each province is also important, Crosbie said, especially to make the case that Newfoundland and Labrador is not being treated fairly under Confederation due to its population losses in recent decades.

Adjusting to the political arena

Crosbie himself may be new to politics, but his family is not. His father John Crosbie, a former cabinet minister in federal and provincial governments, and his mother Jane Crosbie were both at his campaign headquarters Thursday night to celebrate his win.

Crosbie said that when he asked his father what makes a good politician, he was told to stay the course.

The new leader of the Opposition said adjusting to the political arena from decades spent in the legal one will take some adjustment, but it's work he's already begun to do.

"I've been campaigning for two years now," Crosbie said.

"I've had time to learn how to do this — and I'm still learning."

With files from the St. John's Morning Show

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