'Goose egg' not essential for ABC success: Williams

Newfoundland and Labrador's premier says a complete wipeout of the federal Conservatives in his province is not necessary for his ABC campaign to have done its job.

Danny Williams is waging his "anything but Conservative" campaign against Conservative Leader Stephen Harper over the federal Tories' switch in position on excluding non-renewable energy from the equalization formula.

Even though Williams famously declared in 2006 that he wanted to see "a big goose egg for the Conservatives" in Newfoundland and Labrador in the next federal election, he said Tuesday that the ABC campaign will have worked if the party just loses seats.

The Conservatives held three seats in Newfoundland and Labrador when the election was called, but only one incumbent, Avalon MP Fabian Manning, is running in the Oct. 14 campaign.

"Our goal here was to reduce their presence in this province," said Williams.

"At the end of the day, they will have less than three seats. If that happens, then we will consider ourselves successful in at least asking Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to respond to the way that we've been treated by the Harper Conservatives," he said.

"If Mr. Manning gets re-elected, you know, so be it," Williams said.

Williams himself raised the spectre of erasing the Conservative standing in the province in October 2006, following an evidently frosty exchange with Harper during a private meeting at a provincial Progressive Conservative convention in Gander.

Speaking with delegates later, Williams revealed that Harper had told him he was leaning toward including offshore oil revenues in the equalization formula — a decision the Conservatives made policy the following year.

"When those federal election results come in across the country and they come to Newfoundland and Labrador, there better be a big goose egg for the Conservatives if they haven't delivered on their promise," Williams said at the time.

Steve Outhouse, an organizer of the Conservative campaign in Newfoundland and Labrador, said the ABC campaign has been a moving target since Day 1.

"You know, it's hard for the premier to, at the end of the day, say whether he was successful or not, because he has changed the measure of success so many times," Outhouse said.

OK for cabinet ministers to campaign: premier

Meanwhile, Williams is defending the fact that several cabinet ministers have been away from their offices this week, taking the ABC campaign to communities in the Avalon riding.

Justice Minister Jerome Kennedy, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Tom Hedderson and Trevor Taylor, the innovation minister as well as the acting minister of fisheries, met with Avalon constituents earlier this week, during normal working hours.

Williams said government work is not being compromised.

"We work nights, we work weekends [and] I think, as Trevor Taylor said today, we work 24/7," Williams said.

"So, if we decide to take an hour or two on a cause that is extremely important to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, I don't think our time could be better spent, quite frankly."

The federal Conservatives, however, say that ABC campaigning done during business hours should count as an election expense.

Outhouse said campaigning by cabinet ministers during the day can be translated into a cash value.

The Progressive Conservative party of Newfoundland and Labrador registered the ABC campaign with Elections Canada, as a third party in the federal election campaign.

Williams, who had suggested last month that he may travel to other provinces on the ABC campaign, said he has ruled that out.

Instead, Williams said it was more appropriate for him to take on media interviews, and for the campaign to put up a high-profile billboard by the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto.

Williams has also submitted essays to newspapers across the country arguing against Harper, and the campaign has launched a website called anythingbutconservative.ca.

The Conservatives have argued that Williams has been unfair and inaccurate in many of his criticisms. For instance, the federal Tories insist that Harper never told Williams — in a claim the premier has repeated many times — that the Conservatives did not need seats in Newfoundland and Labrador.