Darrell Dexter: The Incrementalist

He didn’t make waves. Rather, his political progress proceeded like a gathering tide, building momentum slowly and steadily. Dexter inched his way up the political ladder, as did his party. In 1999 the NDP had just 11 seats in the legislature. Two years after Dexter took over the party, they added another four. In 2006 it won 20 seats, and by Spring 2009, the NDP had formed a majority government with 31 seats. The party’s rise to power reflects the trajectory of its leader, says Corbett. “Darrell is an incrementalist. He moves forward one step at a time.”

Do it like Doer

When Gary Doer stepped down as Premier of Manitoba this October to take over as Canada’s Ambassador to the United States, he left, as Winnipeg Free Press political columnist Dan Lett observes, “with his boots on.” After 10 years as Premier, Doer left with his reputation as leader of the most successful NDP administration in Canada intact. Like Dexter, Doer spent years in Opposition and took over as leader during a period of ebbing NDP support in Manitoba. By steering clear of the more left-wing elements of his party and toeing a decidedly centrist line, he slowly built up support for the NDP, until the party formed the provincial government in 1999. Under his leadership, the NDP reached out to businesses, Lett says, engaging influential business leaders in various economic working groups and advisory panels. He oversaw cuts to income taxes, corporate taxes and small business taxes. “He did things most people would have expected of a conservative government,” Lett remarks. In so doing, Lett says Doer was able to tighten his grip on power, by effectively demoralizing his political opponents, and placating businesses enough to not only avoid a “holy war”, but to earn their grudging respect. What’s more, because of his lengthy experience in opposition, by the time he became premier, Doer was surrounded by an experienced and dedicated political team who had spent years preparing for the job. “They were a group of political sharp pins who really spoke to the quality of his government,” Lett observes.

There’s lots to learn from Gary Doer,” says Dexter, who counts the former Manitoba premier as a close friend. A handful of Doer’s political aides, and at least one policy analyst, now work in Dexter’s office. So far, this premier has walked a pragmatic, centrist path. By not appointing several high-profile, left-leaning members of his caucus to cabinet, notably Halifax MLAs Howard Epstein and Leonard Preyra, Dexter seems to have deflected fears of an overtly socialist agenda. The importance of such a move can’t be understated, argues Lett. “Whenever the NDP comes into power, there are elements of the population, especially the business community, just waiting to go nuts.” However, Dexter’s reputation as a “conservative progressive” was forged long before he came into power.

Do it like Hamm – or McKenna

It is said that in politics, you ought to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Years before becoming Premier, Dexter began what would ultimately become one of his most formative working partnerships with former conservative Nova Scotia Premier John Hamm. Beginning in 2003, when the Conservative party was reduced to a minority, Hamm and Dexter worked together in what has been described as a “coalition-style” government, where Dexter held the balance of power. Hamm’s reputation for prudence and good governance, (he committed to using the $830-million in revenues realized from the Atlantic Accord directly on the provincial debt) made him a popular and respected leader and appealed immensely to Dexter. Over the years, the two worked together, making deals, delivering votes and inching their agendas forward. “It was akin to a sort of mentorship,” says McDonough. “He learned a lot about how to govern from that relationship.” During these years, McDonough says the NDP made huge strides in Nova Scotia. “He built up power the NDP caucus had never had.”

It is perhaps demonstrative of this respect that Dexter, with his hustling, no-rest-for-the-weary demeanour, is beginning to draw comparisons with another revered leader – former New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna. “People tell me they want me to be like Frank McKenna,” Dexter said to a gathering of Toronto investors this fall. “But there is only one Frank McKenna. But what I can do is strive to bring that same kind of attention and drive to the need to develop the economy of this region.” Later, Dexter expounds this view. “This is about commerce. It’s about making sure that we recognize that a market economy drives our ability to do the things we want to do.”