By Andrew de Souza

Joseph comes in as surprise second

May 3, 2011 | 6:49 AM

Conservative incumbent Rob Clarke took home the win for the Desnethé-Missinipi-Churchill River riding’s parliament seat as expected on Monday night—but the surprise came from the Lawrence Joseph and the NDP’s in their strong second place finish.

Clarke walked away from the election with approximately 48 per cent of the vote, a slight increase since the last election in 2008.

He said it was his engagement of the people that helped him win the election.

“I’ve door knocked in Meadow Lake all the way to Pierceland, Dorintosh all the way to Whitefox up to La Ronge, up to Fond du Lac, over to Creighton and Deschambault Lake going to meet the constituents and talking to them,” he said.

For Clarke, it was a mission to maintain the Conservative Party of Canada’s foothold in the region.

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But as in many other areas in the nation, the real story was how the New Democratic Party was able to rise from the periphery to a major contender.

In the Desnethé-Missinipi-Churchill River Riding that rise was clearly evident in the campaign’s move from a distant third to a strong second place.

Joseph said one of the biggest factors in his campaign was his profile as a community leader.

“I think for one thing, the profile of myself is there and I think the people that voted for me knew who I am and knew that I was a warrior and a fighter and an advocate for the issues that face the people in this constituency,” he said.

“Here we are very unique. We’re still trying to survive every day. There’s poverty issues here, there’s suicide issues here and there’s certainly a lot of drugs and alcohol and all the negative things that really weigh heavy on not only the minds of the family but also the leadership in this area.”

In the end, Joseph was able to muster approximately 44 per cent of the vote — a huge increase from the 17 per cent achieved in the last election under NDP candidate Brian Morin.

Joseph said that the huge increase was enough to motivate him to continue to run in future elections.

He said he hope Clarke would see the close margin he had won by and respect the situation.

adesouza@panow.com