View source for Gary Doer

{{Short description|Premier of Manitoba from 1999 to 2009}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = 
| honorific-suffix    = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|OM|size=100%}}
| name                = Gary Doer
| image               = Gary Doer - 2023 US-Canada Summit (52807000921) (cropped).jpg
| caption             = Doer in 2023
<!----------------------->
| office1              = [[List of Canadian ambassadors to the United States|Canadian Ambassador to the United States]]
| term_start1          = 19 October 2009
| term_end1            = 3 March 2016
| primeminister1       = [[Stephen Harper]]<br />[[Justin Trudeau]]
| predecessor1         = [[Michael Wilson (Canadian politician)|Michael Wilson]]
| successor1           = [[David MacNaughton]]
<!----------------------->
| office2              = 20th [[Premier of Manitoba]]<ref>Doer's full title is Premier of Manitoba, President of the [[Executive Council of Manitoba]], and [[Minister of Federal/Provincial Relations (Manitoba)|Minister of Federal/Provincial Relations]].</ref>
| term_start2          = 5 October 1999
| term_end2            = 19 October 2009
| predecessor2         = [[Gary Filmon]]
| successor2           = [[Greg Selinger]]
| monarch2             = [[Elizabeth II]]
| lieutenant_governor2 = [[Peter Liba]]<br />[[John Harvard (politician)|John Harvard]]<br />[[Philip S. Lee]]
| deputy2              = [[Jean Friesen]]<br />[[Rosann Wowchuk]]

<!----------------------->
| office3          = Leader of the Opposition in the [[Legislative Assembly of Manitoba]]
| term_start3      = 1990
| term_end3        = 1999
| predecessor3     = [[Sharon Carstairs]]
| successor3       = Gary Filmon
<!----------------------->
| office4          = Leader of the Second Opposition in the [[Legislative Assembly of Manitoba]]
| term_start4      = 1988
| term_end4        = 1990
| predecessor4     = [[Israel Asper]] (1975)
| successor4       = [[Sharon Carstairs]]
<!----------------------->
|office5              = [[Manitoba NDP|Leader of the Manitoba New Democratic Party]]
|term_start5          = 30 March 1988
|term_end5            = 17 October 2009
|predecessor5         = [[Howard Pawley]]
|successor5           = [[Greg Selinger]]
<!----------------------->
|office6              = [[Minister of Crown Investments (Manitoba)|Minister of Crown Investments]] in the Government of Manitoba
|term_start6          = 4 February 1987
|term_end6            = 9 May 1988
|predecessor6         = [[Vic Schroeder]]
|successor6           = position eliminated
<!----------------------->
|office7              = [[Minister responsible for the Manitoba Telephone System|Minister in the Government of Manitoba responsible for the Manitoba Telephone System]]
|term_start7          = 4 February 1987
|term_end7            = 9 May 1988
|succeeding7          = 
|predecessor7         = [[Al Mackling]]
|successor7           = [[Glen Findlay]]
<!----------------------->
|office8              = [[Minister of Urban Affairs (Manitoba)|Minister of Urban Affairs]] in the Government of Manitoba
|term_start8          = 17 April 1986
|term_end8            = 9 May 1988
|predecessor8         = [[Laurent Desjardins]]
|successor8           = [[Gerald Ducharme]]
<!----------------------->
|office9              = [[Minister responsible for the Accountability of Crown Corporations (Manitoba)|Minister in the Government of Manitoba responsible for the Accountability of Crown Corporations]]
|term_start9          = 19 August 1987
|term_end9            = 9 May 1988
|predecessor9         = position created
|successor9           = [[Clayton Manness]]<ref>Clayton Manness was styled as Minister charged with the administration of The Crown Corporations Public Review and Accountability Act.</ref>
<!----------------------->
|office10             = [[Minister responsible for the Liquor Control Act (Manitoba)|Minister in the Government of Manitoba responsible for the Liquor Control Act]]
|term_start10         = 21 September 1987
|term_end10           = 9 May 1988
|predecessor10        = [[Roland Penner]]
|successor10          = [[James McCrae (politician)|James McCrae]]
<!----------------------->
|office11            = Member of the [[Legislative Assembly of Manitoba]] for [[Concordia (electoral district)|Concordia]]
|term_start11        = 18 March 1986
|term_end11          = 19 October 2009
|predecessor11       = [[Peter Fox (Canadian politician)|Peter Fox]]
|successor11         = [[Matt Wiebe]]
<!----------------------->
|order12             = 
|office12            = President of the [[Manitoba Government Employees' Association]]
|term_start12        = 1979
|term_end12          = 1986
|predecessor12       = [[William Jackson (Canadian labour leader)|William Jackson]]
|successor12         = [[Peter Olfert]]
|majority12          = 
<!----------------------->
|birth_name=Gary Albert Doer
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1948|03|31|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Winnipeg]], [[Manitoba]], [[Canada]]
| death_date          =
| death_place         =
| party               = [[New Democratic Party of Manitoba|New Democratic]]
| spouse              = Ginny Devine
|}}
'''Gary Albert Doer''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|OM}} (born 31 March 1948) is a former [[Canadians|Canadian]] politician and diplomat from [[Winnipeg]], Manitoba, Canada. He served as Canada's [[List of Canadian ambassadors to the United States|ambassador to the United States]] from 19 October 2009, to 3 March 2016. Doer previously served as the 20th [[premier of Manitoba]] from 1999 to 2009, leading a [[New Democratic Party of Manitoba|New Democratic Party]] government.

Since the end of his term as envoy to Washington, Doer has taken up a position as senior business advisor with the global law firm [[Dentons]] and was retained by the government of Alberta to lobby the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]] on the [[softwood lumber dispute]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Bellefontaine |first=Michelle |date=2017-05-18 |title=Alberta hires Gary Doer, former ambassador to U.S., to help in softwood lumber dispute |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/Edmonton/alberta-manitoba-premier-gary-doer-lumber-softwood-dispute-1.4104763 |publisher=CBC News}}</ref> Doer is a member of the [[Inter-American Dialogue]].

==Early life and career==
Gary Doer was born to a [[middle class]] family in [[Winnipeg]], Manitoba. His background is [[Germany|German]] and [[Wales|Welsh]]. He graduated from [[St. Paul's High School (Winnipeg)|St. Paul's High School]] and went on to study [[political science]] and [[sociology]] at the [[University of Manitoba]] for one year where he was a member of [[Tau Kappa Epsilon]] fraternity,<ref>Staff Writer (Summer 2012). [http://www.tke.org/files/file/the_teke/2012-summer.pdf "Tekes in Politics"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309083305/http://tke.org/files/file/the_teke/2012-summer.pdf |date=9 March 2016 }}. ''The Teke''. pp. 12–13. [[Tau Kappa Epsilon]]. Retrieved 10 January 2018.</ref> but left to become a corrections officer at the Vaughan Street Detention Centre. He later rose to become deputy superintendent of the Manitoba Youth Centre.<ref>"Profile: Gary Doer", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 17 April 1995.</ref> Doer's work environment was not always safe: he once had to deal with a hostage taking situation, and was attacked with a [[baseball bat]] on another occasion.<ref>Geoffrey York, "New leader of Manitoba NDP rose through union movement", ''Globe and Mail'', 31 March 1988, A4.  For the date of Doer's departure from university, see David Roberts, "Doer practices for last kick at the political can", ''Globe and Mail'', 3 April 1995, A4.</ref>

Doer became president of the [[Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union|Manitoba Government Employees' Association]] in 1979, and served in this capacity until 1986.<ref>"National union of civil workers acclaims head", ''Globe and Mail'', 4 April 1979, P2.</ref>  He also held prominent positions with the [[Manitoba Federation of Labour]] and the [[National Union of Public and General Employees]], served as a director of the [[Winnipeg Blue Bombers]], and became a governor of the University of Manitoba.<ref name="Geoffrey York 1988">Geoffrey York, "New leader of Manitoba NDP rose through union movement", ''Globe and Mail'', 31 March 1988, A4.</ref>  In 1983, he negotiated an agreement with the provincial government of [[Howard Pawley]] in which civil servants agreed to delay a wage increase in return for a guarantee of no layoffs or wage rollbacks.<ref>"The Manitoba Government and the union representing about 12,000 civil servants ...", ''Globe and Mail'', 16 February 1983, P8; "Manitoba workers opt for job security", ''Globe and Mail'', 24 February 1983, P13.</ref>  The following year, he openly criticized [[Dennis McDermott]]'s leadership of the [[Canadian Labour Congress]].<ref>Brian Cole, "Antagonism to McDermott voiced by Doer", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 22 October 1983.</ref>

Doer first joined the New Democratic Party in the 1970s, and worked for the party in the [[1973 Manitoba general election|1973 provincial election]].<ref>Alison Mayes, "The province is his office", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 20 May 2007, B3.</ref> He discontinued his membership in 1975 to preserve the neutrality of his union, and was later courted by both the New Democrats and [[Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba|Progressive Conservatives]] to run for public office.<ref>Richard Cleroux and Geoffrey York, "Doer favored to win Manitoba NDP leadership race", ''Globe and Mail'', 15 March 1988, a4.</ref>  He rejoined the NDP in 1986, and was a candidate in [[1986 Manitoba general election|that year's provincial election]].<ref>Geoffrey York, "Filmon describes rival as a 'slick individual'", ''Globe and Mail'', 16 March 1988, A4.</ref><ref>[http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=20070524_111541_5896 Jordan Timm, "The Gary Doer phenomenon"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011105439/http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=20070524_111541_5896 |date=11 October 2007 }}, ''Macleans'', 24 May 2007, accessed 18 August 2007.</ref>

==Cabinet minister==
Doer was elected to the [[Legislative Assembly of Manitoba]] in the 1986 provincial election for the northeast Winnipeg division of [[Concordia (electoral district)|Concordia]]. He joined the government of [[Premier of Manitoba|Premier]] [[Howard Pawley]] on 17 April 1986, as [[Minister of Urban Affairs (Manitoba)|Minister of Urban Affairs]], and was given additional responsibilities as [[Minister responsible for the Manitoba Telephone System]] on 2 December of the same year.   Doer ordered a [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] probe of the MTS soon after his appointment, and worked to reform its practices following a failed investment in [[Saudi Arabia]].<ref>"RCMP probes latest scandal in Manitoba telephone firm", ''Toronto Star'', 15 December 1986, A18; Janet McFarland, "Chance meetings spark merger", ''Globe and Mail'', 19 March 2004, B4.  Outgoing MTS minister [[Al Mackling]] had previously commented that Doer would make a good replacement.  See Ritchie Page, "Five top officials ousted over Manitoba telephone fiasco", ''Globe and Mail'', 22 November 1986, A4.</ref>  He soon developed a reputation as a "fixer", working as a trouble-shooter in difficult fields.<ref>Derek Ferguson, "Ex-rebel seems likely to succeed Pawley", ''Toronto Star'', 29 March 1988, A24.</ref>

Doer was given further responsibilities as [[Minister of Crown Investments (Manitoba)|Minister of Crown Investments]] on 5 February 1987,<ref>He was also named to chair a new committee of cabinet called the Crown Reform Committee.  See Geoffrey York, "Pawley hauls in reins on Crown companies after MTX write-off", ''Globe and Mail'', 6 February 1987, A3.</ref> and was later named as [[Minister charged with the administration of The Crown Corporations Public Review and Accountability Act (Manitoba)|Minister responsible for the Accountability of Crown Corporations]] (19 August 1987) and [[Minister charged with the administration of The Liquor Control Act (Manitoba)|Minister responsible for the Liquor Control Act]] (21 September 1987). Seen as a rising star in the party, he was sometimes mentioned as a future leader.<ref>Geoffrey York, "Life sweet again for Pawley as NDP widens lead in polls", ''Globe and Mail'', 17 March 1987, A9.</ref>

The Pawley government was sustained by a narrow legislative majority after the 1986 election, and was defeated on 8 March 1988, when disgruntled backbencher [[Jim Walding]] voted with the opposition on a budget [[Motion of no confidence|non-confidence motion]]. Pawley resigned as NDP leader the next day, and called a new general election for 26 April.<ref>Ross Howard, "'Courageous' move called best hope", ''Globe and Mail'', 10 March 1988, A1.</ref>

==NDP leader==

===Leadership election===
Doer was the first declared candidate in the Manitoba New Democratic Party's 1988 leadership contest. He was supported by cabinet ministers [[Vic Schroeder]], [[Myrna Phillips]], [[Muriel Smith (politician)|Muriel Smith]], [[Leonard Evans]], [[Jerry Storie]] and [[Wilson Parasiuk]], and by federal [[Member of Parliament|Members of Parliament]] [[Rodney Murphy|Rod Murphy]] and [[David Orlikow]].<ref>Geoffrey York, "Senior ministers back Doer's leadership bid in New Democrat race", ''Globe and Mail'', 26 March 1988, A8; Geoffrey York, "NDP delegates pick leader tomorrow", ''Globe and Mail'', 29 March 1988, A4.</ref>  He also received an endorsement from the Manitoba Federation of Labour.<ref>"Ex-rebel seems likely to succeed Pawley."</ref>  Doer emphasized his experience in managing large organizations, and called for [[Equal pay for women|pay equity]] legislation to be introduced within a year of his election.<ref>"Attack on Meech pact given warm welcome", ''Globe and Mail'', 29 March 1988, A4; Richard Cleroux and Geoffrey York, "Doer favored to win Manitoba NDP leadership race", ''Globe and Mail'', 15 March 1988, A4.</ref>  He narrowly defeated rival candidate [[Len Harapiak]] on the third ballot of the party's [[New Democratic Party of Manitoba leadership elections#1988 leadership convention|leadership convention]] in Winnipeg.<ref>Geoffrey York, "Doer captures NDP helm in tight Manitoba race", ''Globe and Mail'', 31 March 1988, A1.</ref>  He was not sworn in as premier, as the legislature had already been dissolved.<ref>Geoffrey York, "Pawley to stay until Manitoba election", ''Globe and Mail'', 1 April 1988, A3.  The rules of succession were unclear in this situation. It is possible that Doer could have been sworn in as premier, but he accepted Howard Pawley's decision to remain as a caretaker premier until the election.</ref>

Doer became leader of the Manitoba NDP when the party was at a low ebb of popularity.  An internal poll before the election showed that they had only 6% popular support, and some NDP workers privately worried that they could lose all of their legislative seats.<ref>Tim Harper, "Manitoba parties stagger to the starting line", ''Toronto Star'', 13 March 1988, B1; Geoffrey York, "Manitoba NDP in uphill battle", ''Globe and Mail'', 26 March 1988, D1; Richard Cleroux and Geoffrey York, "NDP's 12 seats might have been 0, official admits", ''Globe and Mail'', 28 April 1988, A19; Richard Cleroux, "Party bounced from office to third place", ''Globe and Mail'', 29 April 1988, A8.  The party was also $1 million in debt.  See Doug Nairne, "Doer Die", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 24 January 1999, A1.</ref>  Many believed Doer was their best hope for a recovery.<ref>Doer himself later acknowledged that he was not yet ready for the take a position of leadership.  Daniel Lett, "Opposition leader knows he has to win this time", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 11 September 1999, A17.</ref>  Support for the NDP increased to 19% during the leadership campaign, and to 23% after Doer was chosen as Pawley's successor.  The party nevertheless remained in third place, and faced an uphill struggle in the [[1988 Manitoba general election|1988 election]].<ref>Geoffrey York, "Party still running a poor third in popularity", ''Globe and Mail'', 8 April 1988, A4.</ref>

===1988 election===
Doer promised a $58 million tax cut, and opposed the [[Government of Canada|federal government]]'s free trade deal with the [[United States|United States of America]].  He indicated that he was open to the possibility of amending the [[Meech Lake Accord]], a federal proposal for constitutional reform.<ref>Derek Ferguson, "Tough fighting starts now in Manitoba election race", ''Toronto Star'', 4 April 1988, A16; Geoffrey York, "New Manitoba NDP leader promises tax cut if returned", ''Globe and Mail'', 5 April 1988, A4.</ref>  He also promised to build more community health centres, and supported home renovations for senior citizens and the disabled.<ref>Geoffrey York, "Tories pledge additional tax cuts", ''Globe and Mail'', 8 April 1988, A4.</ref>

The NDP won 12 out of 57 seats, while the Progressive Conservatives under [[Gary Filmon]] won 25 seats and the [[Manitoba Liberal Party|Liberals]] under [[Sharon Carstairs]] jumped from one seat to twenty. Although the NDP was knocked down to third place, it still held the balance of power. Doer rejected the possibility of forming a [[coalition government]] with the Liberals. Instead, he opted to tolerate a PC [[minority government]], clearing the way for Filmon to become premier with the Liberals as the Official Opposition.<ref>Geoffrey York, "Manitoba's NDP will permit Tories to assume power", ''Globe and Mail'', 28 April 1988, A1.</ref>  He was not personally blamed for his party's loss, and continued as party leader.  The NDP chose not to defeat Filmon's government during confidence votes in late 1988 and early 1989, as Doer argued the public would not support another election for a legislature less than a year old.<ref>Geoffrey York, "NDP critical, but won't kill Manitoba Tories' budget", ''Globe and Mail'', 18 August 1988, A4; "Doer goes against non-confidence vote", ''Globe and Mail'', 25 May 1989, A13; "Manitoba NDP foils Liberal bid to force election", ''Toronto Star'', 25 May 1989, A15; Geoffrey York, "NDP cites tax breaks, backs Manitoba budget", ''Globe and Mail'', 8 June 1989, A14.</ref>

===Meech Lake Accord===
The dominant political issue in Manitoba between 1988 and 1990 was the [[Meech Lake Accord]], which recognized [[Quebec]] as a "[[distinct society]]" in Canada and devolved some powers from the federal government to the provinces.  The accord required approval from all ten provincial legislatures to become law.  The provincial Liberals initially opposed the accord, which meant that Doer's support was necessary for its passage.<ref>Thomas Walkom, "The man in the driver's seat", ''Globe and Mail'', 27 February 1989, A7.</ref>  In November 1988, Doer indicated that his party would not support the accord unless certain amendments were introduced.<ref>Geoffrey York, "Amendments demanded Will kill Meech Lake, Manitoba NDP warns", ''Globe and Mail'', 24 November 1988, A1.</ref>  He was later appointed to a provincial panel that held a series of public meetings, and recommended significant changes to the deal.<ref>Edison Stewart, "Meech Lake pact's future: Manitobans have their say", ''Toronto Star'', 6 April 1989, A30; Edison Stewart, "Meech Lake pact suffers a major setback", ''Toronto Star'', 23 October 1989, A1.  Doer also participated in a federal [[New Democratic Party]] internal review of its position on the accord.  See Ross Howard, "NDP support for Meech accord should stay, review concludes", ''Globe and Mail'', 13 September 1989, A14; Ross Howard, "NDP still split on constitutional accord", ''Globe and Mail'', 14 September 1989, A14.</ref>  The Filmon government also expressed skepticism about the accord, and announced that it too would seek amendments from the federal government.

All three Manitoba party leaders agreed to a federally brokered compromise in June 1990, shortly before the accord's official deadline.<ref>Tim Harper, "Manitoba leaders back plan", ''Toronto Star'', 9 June 1990, A8; Tim Harper, "Manitoba troika say they'll pass accord in time", ''Toronto Star'', 10 June 1990, A14.</ref>  The accord nonetheless failed to pass in the Manitoba legislature because of a procedural motion from [[Elijah Harper]], a [[Cree]] member of the NDP caucus who argued that it did not give fair representation to [[Aboriginal peoples in Canada|Indigenous Canadians]].  Doer described Harper's decision as "a fundamental issue of conscience", and blamed [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Brian Mulroney]] for delaying negotiations until the deadline had almost expired.<ref>Geoffrey York, "Native MLA blocks debate on Meech", ''Globe and Mail'', 13 June 1990, A1.</ref>  One year later, he indicated that he felt "betrayed" by federal negotiators, and described the entire Meech Lake process as "dishonest from start to finish".<ref>Geoffrey York, "Harper deals crushing blow to Meech deal", ''Globe and Mail'', 23 June 1990, A6.</ref>

===1990 election===
In the aftermath of the accord's defeat, Filmon called a [[1990 Manitoba general election|provincial election]] for 11 September 1990.  Doer promised a ten-year freeze on personal income taxes, and argued that the Progressive Conservatives would pursue a hidden right-wing agenda if they won a [[majority government]].<ref>"Manitoba Liberals vow to back research", ''Globe and Mail'', 21 August 1990, A7; David Roberts, "Filmon plan nasty, NDP says", ''Globe and Mail'', 18 August 1990, A3.</ref>  He also promised legislation that would make it more difficult for companies based in Manitoba to close down.<ref>"Mr. Filmon, and weaker options" [editorial], ''Globe and Mail'', 10 September 1990, A12.</ref>

An early poll showed the NDP in third place with 18% support, well behind the governing Progressive Conservatives and also behind the Liberals.<ref>David Roberts, "Manitoba Premier calls general election", ''Globe and Mail'', 8 August 1990, A2.</ref>  The Liberal campaign faltered, however, and the New Democrats were able to make strong gains in the election's final days, partly buoyed by the unexpected victory of [[Bob Rae]]'s [[Ontario New Democratic Party|New Democrats]] in the neighbouring province of [[Ontario]].<ref>David Roberts and Miro Cernetig, "Filmon's Tories win narrow majority", ''Globe and Mail'', 12 September 1990, A1.  Doer took an aggressive approach in a televised party leaders' debate and sought to link Filmon with Mulroney's increasingly unpopular federal government, highlighting the premier's support for the federal [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservatives]] in the [[1988 Canadian federal election|1988 federal election]].  See David Roberts, "Gloves come off in Manitoba race", ''Globe and Mail'', 31 August 1990, A4; David Roberts, "3 Manitoba party leaders to debate aboriginal issues", ''Globe and Mail'', 4 September 1990, A3.</ref>  The Progressive Conservatives won a narrow majority with 30 seats, while the New Democrats won 20 and the Liberals seven.  Doer succeeded Carstairs as [[Leader of the Opposition (Manitoba)|Leader of the Opposition]] in the legislature.

==Leader of the Opposition==

===First term, 1990–95===
Doer criticized the Filmon government's cutbacks to health and education, and drew attention to the province's rising unemployment and child poverty rates in the early 1990s.<ref>Paul Samyn, "NDP itching to hit hustings", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 14 November 1994.</ref>  Opposing Filmon's austerity measures, he argued it was inappropriate for the government to cut jobs at a time of high unemployment.<ref>David Roberts, "Manitoba slashes 1,000 jobs, Budget pleases business leaders", ''Globe and Mail'', 17 April 1991, A6; "Tories slash spending on provincial highways", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 16 March 1993.</ref>  In 1993, he opposed the government's decision to end funding for groups such as the Foster Family Association, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, the Manitoba Anti-Poverty Organization and the Manitoba Environmental Council.<ref>"Tories pull plug on agencies", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 16 March 1993.  Doer also called for Ontario's $13 billion hydro purchase from Manitoba to be renegotiated in 1992, following reports that the Ontario Hydro Board was considering delaying the deal, and in light of the fact that environmental-assessment research was running behind schedule.  See David Roberts, "Manitoba NDP leader wants hydro deal delayed", ''Globe and Mail'', 22 September 1992, A4.</ref>

Doer announced in late 1992 that his caucus would support the [[Charlottetown Accord]], a comprehensive package on constitutional reform that was introduced by the federal government after the failure of Meech Lake.<ref>"'No' will doom Canada, PM warns", ''Financial Post'', 29 September 1992, p. 6.</ref>  The Accord was defeated in a national referendum.

Doer released an election platform in November 1994, highlighted by a ten-point preventive health-care program for children and a six-point Manitoba Works plan to reduce unemployment.<ref>Frances Russell, "Hot times under the Dome", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 1 December 1994.</ref>

===1995 election===
Doer focused on health issues in the [[1995 Manitoba general election|1995 provincial election]].  He promised that he would replace walk-in clinics with neighbourhood health organizations, to be staffed with salaried doctors, nurses, midwives and social workers.<ref>"Doer has prescription for community health", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 24 March 1995.</ref>  He pledged to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to reduce prescription drug costs, and to review some of the hundreds of drugs that had been delisted in recent years.<ref>Alice Krueger, "Doer targets drug costs", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 4 April 1995.</ref>  He also promised to create a new group of health providers called [[nurse practitioner]]s, to carry out some doctors' responsibilities.<ref>Alice Krueger, "New role favored in care", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 11 April 1995.</ref>  On economic issues, Doer promised a balanced budget with no personal or sales tax increases over four years and indicated that he would cut nearly $119 million from government programs to fund health, education, and job creation.<ref>Alice Krueger, "Doer sets spending priorities", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 24 March 1995.</ref>

An early poll from the [[Angus Reid Public Opinion|Angus Reid]] firm showed the Progressive Conservatives with 37% support, the Liberals with 35%, and the NDP with 21%.<ref>"If election was held yesterday", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 23 March 1995.  Some questioned this poll's accuracy.  See David Roberts, "Doer practices for last kick at the political can", ''Globe and Mail'', 3 April 1995, A4.</ref>  The Liberal campaign faltered once again, however, and a poll released only days before the election showed the NDP had again surpassed the Liberals for second place.<ref>Frances Russell, "Health issues push NDP past Liberals", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 19 April 1995.  The poll showed the Progressive Conservatives at 40%, the NDP at 33%, and the Liberals at 27%.</ref>  The Progressive Conservatives were re-elected with 31 seats, the NDP increased their total to 23, and the Liberals fell to only three. By the time of the election, the Ontario NDP was deeply unpopular, and Filmon's Tories capitalized on fears that Doer would govern in a similar manner to Rae if elected.

In the closing days of the campaign, Doer asked the province's chief electoral officer to investigate reports that three independent candidates from an unregistered party known as [[Independent Native Voice|Native Voice]] had received assistance from a Progressive Conservative campaign official. Some believed these candidates would split the progressive-left vote in their ridings, and give the Progressive Conservatives a greater chance of winning.<ref>Alice Krueger, "'Dirty' politics alleged", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 23 April 1995.</ref>  Little was done at the time, but the story emerged as a prominent provincial scandal following an exposé from the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] in June 1998.  Doer called for an inquiry, which the Filmon government granted; the presiding officer determined that at least one of the candidates had been illegally induced to run to by local agents of the Progressive Conservative Party.<ref>David Kuxhaus, "Who bankrolled native candidate in '95 campaign?", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 24 June 1998, A1; David Kuxhaus, "PCs yield, call vote inquiry", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 26 June 1998, A1; David Kuxhaus, "Vote charge haunts Tories NDP demands probe", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 23 June 1998, A1.</ref>

===Second term, 1995–99===
Despite an improving economy, the Filmon government's 1996 budget introduced further cuts to social assistance, health care, and post-secondary and public school education.  Doer argued that the cuts were ideological in nature, and not based on financial necessity.<ref>Dan Lett, "Social program cuts unnecessary: critics", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 3 April 1996, A3.</ref>  The government also introduced legislation permitting unionized workers to shield their dues from being donated to political parties.  Doer suggested that corporate shareholders should also be allowed to opt out of party donations.<ref>Alice Krueger, "Union workers can say no", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 13 April 1996, A4.</ref>

Doer opposed the Filmon government's decision to privatize the [[Manitoba Telecom Services|Manitoba Telephone System]] in 1996, arguing that it would cause Manitobans to lose control over a vital part of their economy.<ref>Paul Samyn, "MTS sale rings alarm", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 1 November 1996, B4.  A poll in November 2006 showed that 67% of Manitobans opposed the sale, including 78% of rural Manitobans.  See David Roberts, "Opposition keeps bill to sell Manitoba Telephone on hold", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 13 November 1996, A5.</ref>  He called for a referendum, which Filmon rejected.<ref>Frances Russell, "PCs caught in paradox", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 13 November 1996, A10.</ref>  Doer nonetheless accepted the finality of the sale, telling party delegates in 1999 that buying back the service would be too expensive and carry too many risks.<ref>David Kuxhaus, "Bid to buy back MTS dead: Doer", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 28 February 1999, A3.</ref>

Doer also opposed the Filmon government's proposal to water-down the single-desk marketing powers of the [[Canadian Wheat Board]].<ref>Paul Samyn, "Tories hang up on MTS", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 3 May 1996, A1; Paul Samyn, "NDP demands Tories back wheat board", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 19 September 1996, B8.</ref>  He argued there could be no "middle-of-the-road" position on the Wheat Board, adding that continued single-desk marketing would be "in the economic interests of producers and the economic interests of Winnipeg".<ref>Paul Samyn, "Filmon straddles fence in wheat board showdown", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 24 September 1996, A1.</ref>

Some New Democrats expressed discontent with Doer's leadership in late 1997.  Most notably, a group led by policy committee chairman Victor Olson issued a statement on party renewal that was generally interpreted as a challenge to his leadership.<ref>Frances Russell, "NDP gets knives out for Doer", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 3 October 1997, A8; Frances Russell, <untitled editorial>, ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 8 October 1997, A10; Alice Krueger, "Discontent rumbling in NDP", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 5 November 1997, A1; "Doer may have to fight off dissidents as party meets", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 15 November 1997, A4.</ref>  This came to nothing, but there was general agreement among party members that Doer would need to win the next election to continue as party leader.<ref>Dan Lett, "Doer closes in on the do-it stage", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 16 November 1997, A4: "Doer continues as NDP boss", ''Toronto Star'', 17 November 1997, p. 1.  There was an abortive challenge to Doer's leadership at the party's 1997 convention.  Party activist Eduard Hiebert was unable to get the fifty signatures required for a [[leadership review]].  See Alice Krueger, "Doer quest goes on", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 17 November 1997, A3.</ref>

===1999 election===
In the buildup to the [[1999 Manitoba general election|1999 provincial election]], Doer unveiled a platform that called for balanced budgets, debt repayment and a freeze on taxes.<ref>Frances Russell, "NDP tries out a new tune", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 18 December 1998, A14; Brian Cole, "Doer's Democrats", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 22 December 1998, A10.</ref>  He again emphasized health care as a priority,<ref>David Kuxhaus, "Fears about health system spreading, survey finds", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 22 December 1998, A4.</ref> and said that his government would stop the practice of using public monies for politically motivated polls and advertisements.<ref>"NDP doesn't want taxes used to fund political ads", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 27 March 1999, A9.</ref>  He also expressed concern that the Progressive Conservatives could privatize [[Manitoba Hydro]],<ref>Frances Russell, "Hydro sparks to fly in election", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 8 March 1999, A10.</ref> and criticized a provincial [[workfare]] initiative as giving too much discretionary power to government overseers.<ref>Douglas Nairne, "Workfare framework set as legislature passes bill", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 15 July 1999, 10.</ref>

The NDP voted to support the Filmon government's 1999 budget, citing the premier's decision to increase health spending with money from a provincial "rainy day fund".<ref>David Kuxhaus, "NDP backs Tory budget", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 11 May 1999, A5.</ref>  Doer added that, if elected, his party would replace Filmon's budgeted income tax cut with a property tax cut.<ref>Frances Russell, "Doer crosses his fingers", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 12 May 1999, A14.</ref>

The NDP entered the 1999 election in a much stronger position than in the three previous campaigns.  A poll taken three years earlier had shown the NDP leading the Progressive Conservatives for the first time since the Pawley administration.<ref>Paul Samyn, "NDP tops Tories in poll", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 30 March 1996, A5.</ref>  The Tories regained their lead by 1998, but fallout from the vote-splitting scandal gave the NDP an 8% lead in a Probe/Free Press poll issued in March 1999.<ref>There were several provincial polls released between 1996 and 1999.  A poll issued in February 1997 indicated that the NDP had fallen to third place. Doer dismissed this as meaningless, citing the poll's small sample size of one hundred people and its large margin of error. See Frances Russell, "Feuding NDP trail Tories, Grits: poll", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 25 February 1997, A4. In a December 1997 Free Press/Probe Research Inc. poll, the Progressive Conservatives had 36%, the NDP 35%, the Liberals 20%.  The [[Reform Party of Canada|Reform Party]] was at 7%; this party did not have an official provincial wing, but some party members had unofficially fielded a candidate in 1997 by-election. A January 1998 poll, from Angus Reid, showed the PCs and NDP tied at 36% with the Liberals at 28%.  See Doug Nairne, "Manitobans flee Liberals, poll suggests", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 23 December 1997, A1; Alice Krueger, "Tories, NDP tied in provincial poll", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 22 January 1998, A7; Frances Russell, "PCs show wear and tear", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 23 January 1998, A10. Another Angus Reid poll in March 1998 showed the Progressive Conservatives with 38%, the NDP with 28%, and the Liberals with 23%.  Doer suggested the latter poll was inconsistent with internal surveys. See Stevens Wild, "Provincial leaders scoff at poll showing large Tory lead", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 21 March 1998, A3.  A Free Press/Probe Research Inc. poll in March 1998 showed the NDP and Progressive Conservatives at 35% and the Liberals at 26%. In December 1998, a Free Press/Probe Research poll showed the Progressive Conservatives with 38% and the NDP with 35%. See David Kuxhaus, "Filmon's Tories take a licking, but they keep on ticking", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 21 December 1998, A1. For the March 1999 poll, see Brian Cole, "Poll results rub Tories raw", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 20 March 1999, A14.</ref>  In this period, many began to regard the NDP as a possible government-in-waiting.<ref>Frances Russell, "Harsh new light on PCs", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 22 March 1989, A10; Brian Cole, "The same old dress", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 21 March 1989, B4; Paul Sullivan, "Gary Doer's star shines bright in Manitoba", ''Globe and Mail'', 3 April 1999, D2; David Roberts, "It will be close, Filmon says of next election; Manitoba Premier admits the rival NDP has a chance to form the government", ''Globe and Mail'', 11 May 1999, A4.</ref>  Later polls showed the gap between the parties narrowing to a virtual tie.<ref>David Roberts, "Tories, NDP race neck and neck toward Manitoba's election day", ''Globe and Mail'', 4 September 1999, A5; Doug Nairne, "Manitoba race gets serious as parties enter home stretch", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 7 September 1999, A7.</ref>

Doer pledged $13 million to shorten health-care waiting times in the 1999 campaign, and promised if he was elected he would end hallway in six months.  He also pledged an additional $2 million to hire more nurses and provide incentives for rural doctors.<ref>David Kuxhaus, "Doer touts $15-M plan to repair health care", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 20 August 1999, A1.</ref>  In education, he promised to cut college and university tuition fees by 10% and to invest $24 million to the province's three community colleges.<ref>David Kuxhaus, "NDP to boost college funding", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 28 August 1999, A1.</ref>  On election reform, he promised to ban campaign donations from corporations and unions.<ref>Daniel Lett, "End big campaign donations, Doer says", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 11 September 1999, A10.</ref>  Doer also criticized the Filmon government's handling of a contract with Urban Shared Services Corp., which attempted to save the province money by reheating food for hospitals and seniors' homes at a centralized location.  The project went well over-budget, and the food was often criticized as inedible.<ref>Scott Edmonds, "Front-runners in Manitoba vote focus on health care, tax cuts", ''Globe and Mail'', 26 August 1999, A6.</ref>

A poll released a week before the election showed the NDP and Progressive Conservatives tied with 42% support, and the election was considered too close to call until the actual day of voting.<ref>Doug Nairne, "Manitoba poll shows NDP and Tories in dead heat", ''Globe and Mail'', 17 September 1999, A1.</ref>  The NDP ultimately won 32 seats, against 24 for the Progressive Conservatives and only one for the Liberals.  A collapse of the Liberal vote worked to the NDP's advantage.<ref>Douglas Nairne, "Doer to gain from Liberals' pain", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 17 September 1999, A1; Douglas Nairne, "It's Premier Doer! Collapse of Liberal vote swings province to NDP", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 22 September 1999, A1.</ref>

==Premier==
More than eleven years after declining the option, Doer was sworn in as [[Premier of Manitoba]] on 5 October 1999.  He also took the position of [[Minister of Federal/Provincial Relations (Manitoba)|Minister of Federal/Provincial Relations]].<ref>David Roberts, "Doer takes the stage as Manitoba's new Premier", ''Globe and Mail'', 6 October 1999, A1.</ref>

===Re-election campaigns===
After governing for just under four years, Doer called a [[2003 Manitoba general election|new provincial election]] for June 2003.  He brought forward a five point re-election plan highlighted by promises to reduce property and income taxes, hire more nurses and doctors and make reductions in medical waiting lists, take a cautious approach to managing the economy, and improve the province's education and law enforcement systems.  Many journalists noted similarities to the NDP's 1999 platform.<ref>Daniel Lett, "Doer touts 5-point plan", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 6 May 2003, A1; "NDP: Day 4", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 6 May 2003, A4; Daniel Lett, "NDP taking aim at nurse shortage", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 7 May 2003, A4; Daniel Lett, "Doer promises to unveil new property tax plan", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 12 May 2003, A5; Scott Edmonds, "NDP unwraps tax cut plans as Manitoba election campaign almost at mid point", ''Canadian Press'', 16 May 2003, 16:35; Mia Rabson, "Doer promises additional police, Crown attorneys", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 21 May 2003, A6.</ref>  The NDP held a massive lead in the polls throughout the campaign, and most observers agreed that its re-election was a foregone conclusion.<ref>For instance Thomas Walkom, "In moody Manitoba, election is far from mind", ''Toronto Star'', 17 May 2003, H1; Scott Edmonds, "NDP shows commanding lead in Manitoba election campaign, says poll", ''Canadian Press'', 23 May 2003, 16:10; Peter Schroedter, "Political fans left without team to cheer", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 24 May 2003, A17; John Dafoe, "Bland diet for Manitoba voters", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 27 May 2003, A12; Daniel Lett, "NDP heads for landslide", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 29 May 2003, A1; Scott Edmonds, "Second poll shows Manitoba's N-D-P heading for huge election win", ''Canadian Press'', 29 May 2003, 17:44.</ref>  Even the ''[[Winnipeg Free Press]]'', not traditionally supportive of the NDP, urged voters to re-elect Doer's government.<ref>"Re-elect Mr. Doer" [editorial], ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 31 May 2003, A16.</ref>  The NDP won an increased majority with 49.47% support and 35 of 57 seats, and made inroads into traditionally Progressive Conservative areas of south Winnipeg.

Four years later, Doer called [[2007 Manitoba general election|an election]] for May 2007.<ref>Joe Friesen, "Manitoba heads to the polls", ''Globe and Mail'', 21 April 2007, A6.  The election call took place on the same day that Doer stood with [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Stephen Harper]] to announce new funding for the [[Canadian Museum for Human Rights]].  See Mary Agnes Welch, "Izzy Asper's dream lives", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 21 April 2007, B1; Mia Rabson, "Doer's timing as good as it gets", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 22 April 2007, A5.</ref>  The NDP campaign focused on Doer's personal popularity and his government's record in office.<ref>Steve Lambert, "Manitoba's Doer seeks third straight majority", ''Calgary Herald'', 21 April 2007, A15.</ref>  The party released a seven-point re-election plan, focused on health care, the environment, education, tax cuts, public safety, money for highways, and keeping Manitoba Hydro as a public institution.<ref>Mia Rabson, "700 new nurses pledged", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 24 April 2007, A5.</ref>  Doer promised to hire 700 nurses and nurse practitioners, 100 new police officers, 20 new crown prosecutors, and 20 new workplace safety inspectors.  He also promised to improve Manitoba's record on vehicle emissions, provide tax credits for caregivers, and phase out the provincial small business tax over three years.<ref>"Manitoba NDP promises to hire 700 new nurses and nurse practitioners if re-elected", ''Canadian Press'', 23 April 2007, 11:05; Mia Rabson, "NDP pledges more police, prosecutors to tackle crime", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 26 April 2007, A4; Mia Rabson, "Doer pounds on job safety", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 28 April 2007, A7; Mia Rabson, "Doer's drive to clear the air", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 23 April 2007, A1; Mary Agnes Welch, "NDP offers caregiver $1,020 tax credit", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 7 May 2007, A5; Mary Agnes Welch, "Small business tax to go, Doer says", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 11 May 2007, A4.  The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' again supported Doer.  See Bob Cox, "Editorial - Tipping to Mr. Doer", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 19 May 2007, A16.</ref>  The NDP was again re-elected with an increased majority, this time taking 36 of 57 seats.

===Prominent cabinet members===
Prominent members of Doer's first cabinet included [[Greg Selinger]] in [[Minister of Finance (Manitoba)|Finance]], [[Gord Mackintosh]] in [[Minister of Justice and Attorney General (Manitoba)|Justice]], [[Dave Chomiak|David Chomiak]] in [[Minister of Health (Manitoba)|Health]] and [[Rosann Wowchuk]] in [[Minister of Agriculture (Manitoba)|Agriculture]].<ref>David Roberts, "Doer takes the stage as Manitoba's new Premier: Five women, two natives included in streamlined 15-member cabinet", ''Globe and Mail'', 6 October 1999, A2; Scott Edmonds, "Doer cabinet parties in Manitoba --- Rookies, veterans hit theatre's stage for swearing-in", ''Toronto Star'', 6 October 1999, 1.</ref>  [[Tim Sale (politician)|Tim Sale]] replaced Chomiak at Health in October 2004, and was in turn succeeded by [[Theresa Oswald]] in 2006.<ref>"Doer shuffles cabinet, changes Health Minister", ''Globe and Mail'', 13 October 2004, A12.</ref>  Chomiak replaced Mackintosh at Justice in 2006.<ref>Joe Friesen, "Doer unveils his pre-election cabinet shuffle", ''Globe and Mail'', 22 September 2006, A8.</ref>  Selinger remained as Finance Minister until 2009, when he succeeded Doer as Premier. Wowchuk remains in Agriculture.

[[Jean Friesen]] served as Doer's [[Deputy Premier (Manitoba)|Deputy Premier]] in his first term.  She retired in 2003, and Doer chose Rosann Wowchuk as her replacement.<ref>David Kuxhaus, "Doer names Wowchuk deputy premier", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 7 June 2003, A3.</ref>

===Financial policy===
The Doer government has introduced an uninterrupted succession of [[balanced budget]]s since its first election in 1999.  These budgets have generally been cautious, and have sought to balance tax concerns with spending increases.  Doer's first budget, delivered in 2000, removed 15,000 low-income Manitobans from the tax rolls and introduced $150 million in tax breaks over three years while projecting a $10 million surplus.<ref>David Roberts, "Manitoba raises health-care spending", ''Globe and Mail'', 11 May 2000, A2.  The actual surplus for 2000-01 was $26 million.  See David Roberts, "Manitoba budget promises more spending, faster tax cuts", ''Globe and Mail'', 11 April 2001, A7.  His second budget, in 2001, pursued a consciously middle-of-the-road path by increasing government spending on education, health and infrastructure, while also bringing forward tax cuts for corporations and individuals.  See David Roberts, "Manitoba budget promises more spending, faster tax cuts", ''Globe and Mail'', 11 April 2001, A7; Helen Fallding, "NDP plays it safe", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 11 April 2001, A1.  The 2002 budget made use of $288 million from [[Manitoba Hydro]] over a period of three years, and increased taxes on [[cigarette]]s on maintain a balanced budget.  See "Smokers suffer big tax hit to keep Manitoba in black", ''Kitchener-Waterloo Record'', 23 April 2002, A5; David Kuxhaus, "Tapping Hydro profits best approach, NDP says", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 24 April 2002, A13.  Doer defended the Hydro decision as a bold move that allowed the province to balance its budget without dipping into the Fiscal Stabilization Fund.  See "Manitoba legislature wraps up lengthy spring session", ''Canadian Press'', 9 August 2002, 12:25.</ref>  His 2003 budget, the last of his first term, reduced provincial taxes by $82.7 million and increased spending by about 5%, mostly in health and education.<ref>Daniel Lett, "Spending up, taxes down", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 23 April 2003, A1; Frances Russell, "NDP does just enough to survive", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 25 April 2003, A14.  Manitoba later announced that it would post a deficit for the fiscal year ending in 2003, using a clause in the province's balanced-budget legislation that permits deficit spending to cover emergency expenses.  Greg Selinger, Doer's finance minister, cited the damage caused to Manitoba's economy by forest fires, drought and [[bovine spongiform encephalopathy]] (mad cow disease). See Mia Rabson, "Provincial government faces deficit", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 27 March 2004, A3.</ref>

Despite a series of economic setbacks, the government was able to post a balanced budget in 2004 through increased taxes and drug premiums as well as civil service reduction through attrition.  Tobacco and liquor taxes were increased and the provincial sales tax expanded to cover more services,<ref>Michelle Macafee, "Manitoba increases taxes, drug premiums to balance 2004-05 budget", ''Canadian Press'', 19 April 2004, 17:45.</ref> although Doer rejected a panel recommendation to increase the sales tax by 1%.<ref>Leah Janzen, "Doer rejects tax plan", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 5 May 2004, A1.</ref>

The government was able introduce a more expansive budget in 2005 after an infusion of federal revenues, reducing personal and property taxes, increasing spending by 3.5%, and putting $314 million into a "rainy day" fund.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Doer's bonanza budget", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 9 March 2005, A1.</ref>  Doer's 2006 and 2007 budgets introduced further tax cuts, and the 2007 budget offered increased education spending and a new child benefit to assist low-income families.<ref>Steve Lambert, "Manitoba government plans small tax cuts and new law on drug-addicted kids", ''Canadian Press'', 5 March 2006, 11:11; Steve Lambert, "Tax cuts, new spending promised", ''Globe and Mail'', 5 April 2007, A10.</ref>

At the Manitoba NDP's March 2009 convention, Doer announced that Manitoba would continue its commitment to education, training and research despite a global economic downturn and a slowing economy.  He argued that the province was still recovering from the Filmon government's spending cuts during the economic downtown of the 1990s, and that his policies would allow Manitoba to emerge from the recession in a strong, competitive position.<ref>Steve Lambert, "Recession requires more, not less, social spending: Doer, Layton", ''Canadian Press'', 7 March 2009, 04:52pm.</ref>  His government introduced a balanced budget with economic stimulus programs a few weeks later, even as the global recession forced other provincial governments across Canada into deficit.<ref>Doer accessed the province's "rainy day fund", and committed less money than in past years to paying down the province's debt.  See Bruce Owen, "Manitoba tables balanced budget in face of recession", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 25 March 2009, ''Canwest News Service''; "Manitoba announces surplus budget", ''National Post'', 26 March 2009, A4.</ref>

Doer encouraged the [[Bank of Canada]] to lower its rates in late 2003, saying that the rising strength of the [[Canadian dollar]] in relation to the [[United States dollar]] was causing increased unemployment.<ref>Marian Stinson and Heather Scoffield, "Bank faces pressure to trim rates; But most experts expect no cut", ''Globe and Mail'', 15 October 2003, B1.</ref>  He later criticized Bank Governor [[David A. Dodge|David Dodge]] for doing nothing to save Canadian jobs and profits.<ref>Daniel Lett, "Doer lashes Dodge on buck", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 4 November 2003, A1.</ref>  In early 2008, he called for a national strategy to offset the disruptions caused by Canada's soaring dollar.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Doer urges joint effort on loonie Ottawa, provinces must work together", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 8 January 2008, A4.</ref>

In 2004, provincial [[Office of the Auditor General Manitoba|Auditor General]] [[Jon Singleton (accountant)|Jon Singleton]] argued that Manitoba was actually running a deficit due to costs associated with crown corporations, utilities and arm's-length agencies that were not officially counted in the budget. He recommended that Manitoba adopt a system of [[Generally Accepted Accounting Principles]] (GAAP).  Greg Selinger, Doer's Finance Minister, noted that the existing rules were set in place by the Filmon government, and indicated that the NDP had included a summary financial statement to its budget including many of the costs Singleton identified.<ref>Daniel Lett, "Auditor general urges changes to budget legislation", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 9 January 2004, B4.</ref>  The Doer government nevertheless announced in 2005 that it would adopt GAAP.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Manitoba's rosy finances questioned", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 10 September 2005, A6.</ref>

For the first seven years of his administration, Doer was assisted on financial matters by [[Eugene Kostyra]], a cabinet minister from the Pawley government.  Kostyra resigned from his position as secretary of Manitoba's Community and Economic Development Committee in late 2006,<ref>Paul Samyn, "Key Doer aide Kostyra heads for retirement", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 26 July 2006, B4.</ref> and Angela Mathieson was appointed as his replacement.<ref>Martin Cash, "Premier names his replacement for Kostyra", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 23 August 2006, A5.</ref>

===Health===
Doer has frequently argued in favour of Canada's public health system.<ref>For instance, at the NDP's 2000 annual meeting, he said that Manitoba would lead a national charge to prevent the erosion of [[Medicare (Canada)|medicare]].  See Douglas Nairne, "NDP delegates vow to lead charge against any erosion of medicare", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 5 March 2000, A4.</ref>  He criticized [[Alberta]]'s plan to introduce more private health provisions in 2002, and defended the public system as efficient and less expensive.<ref>"Manitoba's health facts", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 21 January 2002, A10; Helen Fallding, "Public care is cheaper: Doer", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 25 January 2002, A1.</ref>  In the same year, he endorsed [[Roy Romanow]]'s assessment that the federal government must play a stronger role in health care to prevent more encroachments by the private system.<ref>"Medicare sickness not fatal: Romanow", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 7 February 2002, B1.</ref>  At a presentation before the Romanow Commission in 2002, Doer called for the federal government to double its health care commitment.<ref>Thomas Walkom, "Romanow gets earful on medicare reform", ''Toronto Star'', 7 March 2002, A6.  Doer later argued for Canada's publicly funding medical system at a 2003 meeting of federal and provincial first ministers.  The meeting resulted in a significant infusion of new money from the federal government, although not as much as the [[Roy Romanow|Romanow commission]] on health care had recommended.  See Daniel Lett, "In the health-care debate, 'accountability' means cash", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 23 January 2003, A6; Dennis Bueckert, "Federal proposal could change agenda of premiers' health-care meeting", ''Canadian Press'', 23 January 2003, 03:06; Tim Harper and Les Whittington, "Premiers complain cash doesn't match Romanow findings", ''Toronto Star'', 6 February 2003, A1. He later indicated that he was disappointed with the level of health funding included in the [[Paul Martin]] government's first federal budget in 2004.  See "'Unacceptable': Premiers disappointed by lack of new money for health care", ''National Post'', 24 March 2004, A6.</ref>  Two years later, he played a significant role in negotiations that saw the federal government contribute $18 billion in new funding to the provinces over six years.<ref>Tonda MacCharles and Mary Gordon, "Tough talk did the trick", ''National Post'', 16 September 2004, A1; Paul Samyn, "Health talks proved Doer an emerging political giant", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 19 September 2004, B3.</ref>

The Doer government's first budget included a $135 million increase in health spending, taking total provincial spending to $2.43 billion.<ref>David Roberts, "Manitoba raises health-care spending", ''Globe and Mail'', 11 May 2000, A2.</ref>  In October 2002, the government announced a long-anticipated $100 million expansion to the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, with new operating rooms and emergency departments.<ref>"Manitoba's largest hospital gets new operating rooms and emergency department", ''Canadian Press'', 10 October 2002, 13:40.</ref>  The government was unable to end "hallway medicine" in the six-month period it had promised during the 1999 election, and faced the problem of nursing vacancies in the early 2000s.<ref>Mia Rabson, "NDP still has health-care vows to keep", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 21 September 2002, A13.</ref>  Nevertheless, most observers agreed that the provincial situation improved significantly between 1999 and 2003.<ref>Daniel Lett, "NDP has hallway medicine down but not out", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 4 May 2003, A4.  A ''Winnipeg Free Press'' article in 2007 argued that "hallway medicine" may be properly applied in some circumstances, as a means of monitoring patients who don't necessarily need to be admitted to hospital.  See Daniel Lett, "Successful politicians survive the Big Lie", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 11 September 2007, A4.</ref>  Health spending continued to increase during Doer's second term; a report in December 2004 indicated that Manitoba's per capita health spending was the highest in Canada for the seventh continuous year.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Manitoba tops nation in health spending", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 9 December 2004, A12.</ref>

Doer emerged as a defender of Manitoba's burgeoning internet pharmaceutical industry in the mid-2000s.  This industry was very popular among American clients, but nonetheless provoked opposition within both countries.<ref>Steve Lambert, "Canada's Internet drug industry gets thumbs-up from Minnesota governor", ''Canadian Press'', 12 November 2003, 17:13.</ref>  In 2004, Doer accused federal [[Minister of Health (Canada)|Health Minister]] [[Ujjal Dosanjh]] of capitulating to American interests by agreeing to increased restrictions on the industry.<ref>Paul Samyn, "Doer slams health czar", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 17 December 2004, A1; Graeme Smith, "Doer fights crackdown on Internet pharmacies", ''Globe and Mail'', 11 January 2005, A10.</ref>  He later argued that the Canadian government could protect its national drug supply and maintain Manitoba's pharmaceutical sector simply by banning bulk exports.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Ban bulk drug exports to save jobs: premier", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 1 February 2005, A3.</ref>

Doer's government introduced a landmark anti-smoking bill in 2004, banning smoking in all indoor public places and workplaces across the province. Supported by all parties, the legislation was the first of its kind in Canada.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Smoking ban 'historic'", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 3 March 2004, A1; Mia Rabson, "Health issues trump business complaints", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 19 November 2004, A10.</ref>  It did not cover Manitobans working in federal government buildings or living on [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] territory, as these were not under provincial jurisdiction.<ref>Leah Janzen, "Smoke-ban loophole under fire", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 4 March 2004, A3; "One law for Manitobans" [editorial], ''Globe and Mail'', 16 August 2006, A16.</ref>

Doer welcomed [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Paul Martin]]'s decision to name Winnipeg as the site of Canada's new public health agency in 2004.<ref>Mary Gordon, "Winnipeg wins health agency HQ", ''Toronto Star'', 18 May 2004, A12.</ref>

===Social policy===
The Doer government passed a bill granting full adoption rights to gay and lesbian couples in 2002.  The NDP and Liberals supported the bill, while the Progressive Conservatives voted against it.<ref>"Bill gives same-sex couples the right to adopt children", ''Guelph Mercury'', 2 August 2002, A6.</ref>

In 2004, the federal government announced that it would introduce legislation to permit the legalization of [[same-sex marriage in Canada]].  Federal [[Minister of Justice (Canada)|Justice Minister]] [[Irwin Cotler]] initially indicated that civic officials would be allowed to opt out of performing same-sex marriages if the practice offended their beliefs.  Doer criticized this, arguing that provincial employees should not be permitted to discriminate.<ref>Campbell Clark, "Prairie officials compelled to perform gay marriages", ''Globe and Mail'', 18 December 2004, A5.</ref>  Doer initially declined to express his personal views on the subject, but announced in late 2004 that he supported same-sex marriage as a [[human rights|human right]].<ref>"Manitoba premier says same-sex marriage a right", ''Kitchener-Waterloo Record'', 29 December 2004, A3.</ref>

In April 2005, Doer signed a $176 million deal with the federal government of [[Paul Martin]] to expand the provincial day-care sector.<ref>"'Historic' accord to boost day care", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 30 April 2005, A1.</ref>  The project was canceled in 2006 by the new [[Conservative Party of Canada|Conservative]] government of [[Stephen Harper]], over Doer's objections.<ref>Philip Authier, "Premiers talk tough over cuts: Billions lost for child care", ''Montreal Gazette'', 25 February 2006, A4; Nicholas Read, "Stay-at-home parents will be the biggest beneficiaries of the new federal plan", ''Vancouver Sun'', 3 May 2006, A4.</ref>

Unlike some within the NDP, Doer is personally opposed to the decriminalization of [[cannabis (drug)|marijuana]], which he has said could result in economic difficulties with the [[United States]].<ref>"Premier no fan of pot motion", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 4 February 2007, A4.</ref>

As premier, Doer encouraged several Manitoba [[crown corporation]]s to donate money to the [[Canadian Museum for Human Rights]] in Winnipeg; [[Manitoba Public Insurance]], [[Manitoba Hydro]], [[Manitoba Lotteries Corporation]] and the [[Manitoba Liquor Control Commission]] subsequently made donations of one million dollars each.  Opposition leader [[Hugh McFadyen]] and some journalists questioned Doer's involvement in the matter, arguing that he was effectively directing the corporations to make these donations.<ref>Tamara King, "Doer government grilled on Crown donations to Canadian Museum for Human Rights", ''Canadian Press'', 28 April 2008, 6:52pm; Daniel Lett, "Do you think donations pass the `smell test'?", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 29 April 2008, A3.</ref>

===Education===
Doer's government cut university tuition by 10% during its first term, and later provided universities with a property tax exemption.<ref>Helen Fallding, "NDP will try to minimize budget pain", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 21 January 2002, A9.</ref>  It also amalgamated several school divisions prior to the [[2002 Manitoba municipal elections|2002 municipal elections]],<ref>Nick Martin, "New divisions not drawn up, Doer gov't says", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 7 July 2000, A6.</ref> and began to phase out education property taxes in the same period.<ref>Helen Fallding, "Education tax phase-out in spring likely", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 12 October 2001, A3.</ref>

In 2006, the Doer government introduced a proposal for Manitoba university graduates to receive a tuition rebate of up to 60% if they chose to stay and work in the province after graduation.<ref>Paul Samyn, "Major tuition rebate in works", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 14 November 2006, A7; Mia Rabson, "Tuition rebates will be as high as 60 per cent", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 16 November 2006, A7.</ref>

A 2008 ''[[Winnipeg Free Press]]'' article indicated that Manitoba and Alberta were investing more money in public education per student than all other provinces of Canada.  Teachers' wages in Manitoba were also noted to be healthy in relation to the average national wage.<ref>Nicholas Hurst, "Education spending works for Doer's NDP", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 31 July 2008, A11.</ref>

===Agriculture===
Shortly after being sworn in as premier, Doer led an all-party delegation to [[Ottawa]] to seek a $1.3 billion financial bailout for western farmers to help mitigate an economic downturn in the sector.  He was joined by [[Saskatchewan]] [[Premier of Saskatchewan|Premier]] [[Roy Romanow]], Progressive Conservative MLA [[Larry Maguire]], and Manitoba Liberal leader [[Jon Gerrard]].<ref>David Kuxhaus, "Prairie politicians band together to plead farmers' case", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 21 October 1999, A3; Paul Adams, "Romanow, Doer want $1.3-billion in farm aid", ''Globe and Mail'', 28 October 1999, A8.</ref>  The federal government introduced $170 million in funding shortly thereafter, a figure that Doer and Romanow described as "heartless".<ref>Valerie Lawton, "Farmers get $170 million more in aid", ''Toronto Star'', 5 November 1999, 1; Mathew Ingram, "Farm bailouts are no real answer", ''Globe and Mail'', 5 November 1999, B2.</ref>  In February 2000, Romanow and Doer stood with Chrétien to announce their support for a compromise bailout of $400 million.<ref>Brian Laghi and David Roberts, "One-time cash payout to help prairie farmers with spring crop", ''Globe and Mail'', 25 February 2000, A4; Paul Samyn, "Help on way for cash-poor grain farmers", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 25 February 2000, A3. Doer called for an additional $500 million bailout for grain and oilseed farmers in 2001. See Helen Fallding, "Doer finds little support for farm aid", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 1 June 2001, A3. In 2002, Doer joined with [[Lorne Calvert]], Romanow's successor as Premier of Saskatchewan, to call for the federal government to oppose an American farm subsidy bill that threatened the ability of Canadian farmers to access the American market. See Paul Samyn, "Provinces unite to fightfarm bill", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 8 May 2002, A13; Mia Rabson, "Leaders to discuss U.S. farm subsidies", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 9 May 2002, A3; David Kuxhaus, "Wowchuk warns farm bill designed to reap U.S. votes", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 10 May 2002, A5.  He criticized another federal farm bailout plan later in the year, arguing that it put too much economic pressure on the provincial governments.  See Paul Samyn, "`It's half a loaf'", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 21 June 2002, B1.</ref>

Shortly after his re-election in 2003, Doer criticized the federal government for failing to respond to an agriculture crisis caused by the discovery of [[bovine spongiform encephalopathy]] in a Canadian cow and the subsequent closure of the American border to beef products produced in Canada.<ref>Daniel Lett, "Liberals fiddling while economy dives: Doer", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 10 June 2003, A5.</ref>  The federal and provincial governments subsequently agreed on a $50 million bailout to the industry.<ref>Daniel Lett, "Manitoba farmers to get $50M in aid", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 18 September 2003, A1.</ref>  The border was reopened to live cattle in December 2004.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Border reopens to live cattle", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 30 December 2004, A1.</ref>

Doer strongly supports the [[Canadian Wheat Board]]'s policy of single-desk marketing, and has opposed efforts by some on the political right to weaken its status.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Doer issues challenge over wheat board", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 7 January 2006, A12.</ref>  In late 2006, Doer accused federal [[Minister of Agriculture (Canada)|Agriculture Minister]] [[Chuck Strahl]] of interfering in the Wheat Board's elections.<ref>Paul Samyn and Mia Rabson, "Doer, directors cast Strahl as a bully", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 17 November 2006, A10.  In the same period, Doer and Saskatchewan Premier [[Lorne Calvert]] challenged the federal Conservative government to hold a national referendum on the Wheat Board's future.  See Martin Cash, "Saskatchewan joins call for referendum", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 11 November 2006, A5.  See also Larry Kusch, "More barley lawsuits likely, Tories told", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 1 March 2008, A4.</ref>

The Doer government has rejected a return to single-desk hog marketing, which was eliminated during the years of the Filmon government.<ref>Helen Fallding, "Tempers flare over hog fracas", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 11 February 2001, A3.</ref>   During its second term, the government supported plans to establish an OlyWest hog processing plant in northeast Winnipeg.  This measure was extremely controversial among party members, and area NDP MLAs [[Daryl Reid]] and [[Bidhu Jha]] indicated that they opposed the measure.  In response to criticism, Doer withdrew his support for OlyWest in 2007.<ref>Mia Rabson and [[Bartley Kives]], "Doer puts nail in OlyWest's coffin", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 9 May 2007, A6.</ref>  The Doer government introduced a temporary ban on new [[Intensive pig farming|hog farm]]s throughout most of the province in March 2008, following the release of a provincial environmental report.<ref>"Manitoba bans new hog farms", ''Calgary Herald'', 4 March 2008, C1.</ref>  Around the same time, Doer announced new funding for waste-water treatment plants that would allow two existing hog-processing plants to expand their operations.<ref>Matt Goerzen, "Waste-water treatment upgrades enable hog-plant expansions", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 8 March 2008, B9.</ref>

Doer is a vocal opponent of the American Country of Origin Labelling initiative, which would require American producers to separate meat from hogs slaughtered in Canada and increase packing and labelling cost.<ref>"Manitoba premier promises farm group he'll lobby for them on US food labelling law", ''Canadian Press'', 23 January 2008, 23:19; Larry Kusch, "U.S. food labelling could hurt hog farmers", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 24 January 2008, B6; Mia Rabson, "Doer confident hogs will flow", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 26 January 2008, A9.</ref>

===Justice===
Doer opposed the Chrétien government's decision to implement a [[Canadian Firearms Registry|federal gun registry]], and his government joined with other provinces to raise a constitutional challenge against the law in 2000.<ref>"High noon at high court for gun law", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 21 February 2000, A1.</ref>

Doer called for the federal government to strengthen its laws against [[child pornography]] in 2002, after the [[Supreme Court of British Columbia]] ruled that [[R. v. Sharpe|John Robin Sharpe]]'s fictional writings involving children met the legal definition of "artistic merit".<ref>Erin Anderssen, "Ottawa urged to tighten porn laws", ''Globe and Mail'', 28 March 2002, A4.</ref>  Doer was quoted as saying, "We believe that the rights of children should be superior rights in our country to the rights of perverts".<ref>Helen Fallding, "Manitoba justice officials to study", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 28 March 2002, A3.</ref>  The following year, the Manitoba government unveiled a website that included photographs and profiles of high-risk sex offenders.<ref>"Man. unveils Web site with photos, profiles of high-risk sex offenders", ''Canadian Press'', 11 April 2003, 20:54.</ref>

Also in 2002, Doer argued that persons who kill police officers should spend the rest of their natural lives in jail, without access to Canada's so-called "Faint Hope Clause" for early release.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Kill officer, go to jail for life, Doer urges", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 3 May 2002, A11.</ref>  Three years later, he argued that the provisions of the federal ''[[Youth Criminal Justice Act]]'' were too lenient.<ref>"Doer says youth law puts public at risk", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 8 November 2005, A4. In the summer of 2001, Doer promised that his government would pass legislation to shut down outlaw gang clubhouses, if the federal government would not do the same.  See David Kuxhaus, "Doer takes on gangs", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 29 June 2001, A1. The legislation was brought forward in November of the same year; Mia Rabson, "NDP cracks down on biker bunkers", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 20 November 2001, A1.</ref>  In 2007, Doer led an all-party task force to [[Ottawa]] to seek greater federal penalties for gang-related crime, youth offences and car theft.<ref>Bartley Kives, "Top cops, politicians to press Ottawa for crackdown on crime", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 19 September 2007, A8.</ref>

In 2004, the Doer government increased funding for the hiring of police officers and Crown prosecutors.<ref>"Manitoba Legislature acts on some promises", ''Globe and Mail'', 10 December 2004, A9.</ref>  Following increased urban violence in 2005, the province announced funding for 54 more officers.<ref>Paul Egan, "Biggest-ever funding boost comes amid fears of gang war", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 15 March 2005, A1; Jason Markusoff, "Meth problem becomes hot topic: Drug should be classified 'as absolutely the worst' because of its damaging and addictive components", ''Edmonton Journal'', 6 May 2005, A6.</ref>  The government also launched an initiative to hire seven recreational directors for inner-city Winnipeg neighbourhoods in 2008, to provide sports opportunities for youth as an alternative to crime.<ref>Bartley Kives, "City, province hoping sports will keep kids out of trouble", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 11 April 2008, A3.</ref>

Doer announced the creation of an all-party task force on security following the attacks of 11 September 2001.<ref>Helen Fallding, "All parties get involved in strengthening security", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 5 October 2001, A3.</ref>  The following month, he announced that he would work with the Governors of [[Minnesota]] and [[North Dakota]] for a coordinated security strategy.<ref>Scott Edmonds, "Manitoba, North Dakota and Minnesota look at co-ordinated security", ''Canadian Press'', 19 October 2001, 15:15.</ref>

Doer's government tabled legislation in 2009 to provide civilian oversight of police officers in Manitoba, following an inquiry into the death of Crystal Taman.  She was killed when her car, stopped for a red light, was struck by off-duty [[Winnipeg Police Service|Winnipeg Police]] constable Derek Harvey-Zink's pickup truck.  The Taman Inquiry's report strongly criticized the resulting police investigation into the collision, as well as the Doer Government's choice of special prosecutor, Marty Minuk.<ref>Bruce Owen, "Province's new police act would boost civilians' role", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 5 February 2009, A7; Bruce Owen, "Decades in the making: New police law has its roots in years of tragic history", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 18 April 2009, A6.</ref>

===Environment===
Doer has been a strong and consistent supporter of the [[Kyoto Accord]] on climate change.<ref>Helen Fallding, "Province reaffirms Kyoto accord support", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 19 February 2002, A14; Charlie Gillis, "Six Premiers, six agendas: Western conference", ''National Post'', 4 June 2002, A4; Charlie Gillis, "Premiers warm to hearing Klein's Kyoto alternative", ''National Post'', 6 June 2002, A5 [Gillis identified Doer as Klein's primary opponent]; Helen Fallding, "We'll beat Kyoto target, Doer vows", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 20 June 2002, A7; Gary Doer, "Canadians should embrace Kyoto vision", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 29 June 2002, A15.</ref>  In February 2004, his government signed an agreement with the [[Chicago Climate Exchange]] pledging Manitoba to create a trust fund to pay for projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Manitoba to create Canada's first 'climate trust'", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 4 February 2004.</ref>  In 2007, he announced that Manitoba would pursue a plan with other provinces and states to push greenhouse gas emissions to 15% below 2005 levels by 2020.<ref>"Doer pushes green deadline back to 2020", ''Edmonton Journal'', 23 August 2007, A5; Mia Rabson, "Manitoba in emissions pact", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 23 August 2007, A4.</ref>  The next year, Doer legislated his province's commitment to meet its targets under the [[Kyoto Protocol]] by 2012.<ref>Joe Friesen, "Manitoba's Kyoto bill will be a first in Canada", ''Globe and Mail'', 12 April 2008, A5.</ref>

Doer announced that Manitoba would increase [[ethanol]] production in 2002, and held consultations on a plan requiring Manitoba drivers to use ethanol-blended gasoline.<ref>Helen Fallding, "$35M to fund 'clean' gasoline", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 20 April 2002, A1; Helen Fallding, "Public gets say in mandating new gas blend", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 3 July 2002, A9; "Manitoba: Ethanol production to be increased, Premier says", ''National Post'', 3 July 2002, A6; "Public gets a chance to share its thoughts on the use of ethanol", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 20 September 2002, A16; Daniel Lett, "Manitoba a prime location to produce ethanol: panel", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 12 December 2002, A5.</ref>  In October 2002, the government instructed its provincial fleet drivers to switch to ethanol fuels.<ref>"Manitoba government angers fuel dealers with mandatory ethanol switch", ''Canadian Press'', 11 October 2002, 20:52</ref>  These plans stalled due to limited production, but were revived when a new facility was constructed in late 2005.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Ethanol fuel plan back on the road", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 27 October 2005, A1.</ref>

In March 2004, the government introduced enabling legislation on water protection, allowing for the introduction of specific regulations on water protection zones, water quality standards, and related matters.<ref>Mary Agnes Welch, "Water bill steams mayor, reeves", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 15 March 2004, B6.</ref>

Doer signed the Midwestern Regional Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord with seven American governors in November 2007.<ref>John Ibbitson, "Regions take action as federal leaders dither", ''Globe and Mail'', 16 November 2007, A24.</ref>  The following month, he announced that Manitoba would introduce vehicle emission standards similar to those in [[California]].<ref>Steve Lambert, "Manitoba to adopt California-like vehicle emission limits: Doer", ''Canadian Press'', 27 December 2007, 15:56.</ref>  In late January 2008, he agreed to a blueprint proposal with the premiers of [[British Columbia]], [[Ontario]] and [[Quebec]] for a market-based trading system to cut greenhouse gas emissions.<ref>Justine Hunter, Karen Howlett & Ian Bailey, "Campbell leads the charge on emissions pact", ''Globe and Mail'', 30 January 2008, S1.</ref>  He later became an enthusiastic supporter of North American [[Emissions trading|cap and trade]] programs to reduce energy emissions, while at the same time criticizing the idea of a [[carbon tax]].<ref>Mary Agnes Welch, "Being green far from black and white", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 6 July 2008, B1; Marianne White, "Doer pushing cap-and-trade", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 16 July 2008, A7; "Unpopularity of carbon tax responsible for Liberal demise: Premier Gary Doer", ''Canadian Press'', 15 October 2008, 2:15pm.</ref>

Doer introduced plans to eliminate coal-burning factories in his 2008 budget.  The budget also included a new program for water conservation, and a $7 million fund directed toward climate change issues.<ref>Bartley Kives, "Doer stands up to King Coal", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 10 April 2008, A1.</ref>  He also called for an independent review of the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission in 2008, arguing that the renewal process for hydroelectric projects was too long.<ref>Mary Agnes Welch, "Approval process frustrates premier", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 18 April 2008, A4.  He added that any changes would protect the public's right to oppose and cross-examine energy projects.</ref>

In November 2008, Doer announced that his government would ban new logging in provincial parks and phase out existing projects.  He also announced a ban on [[plastic bag|plastic shopping bags]], and on the use of cellphones while driving.  Parents were also forbidden to smoke when children were in the car.   The opposition Progressive Conservatives indicated that it would support all of these initiatives.<ref>Bruce Owen and Mary Agnes Welch, "NDP gets into the banning business - Measures will impact every Manitoban", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 21 November 2008, A5; "Manitoba introduces bill to limit cellphone use, smoking in cars", ''Canadian Press'', 27 November 2008, 05:04pm.</ref>

In late 2005, the American magazine ''[[Bloomberg Businessweek|Business Week]]'' listed Doer as one of the top twenty international leaders fighting climate change.<ref>Paul Samyn, "Magazine lauds Doer's green policies", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 3 December 2005, A3.</ref><ref>In 2001, Doer appointed former federal cabinet minister [[Lloyd Axworthy]] to chair a task force on climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  See Helen Fallding, "Axworthy named to chair task force to develop blueprint for action", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 21 March 2001, A7; "A plan for the warm century" [editorial], ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 25 March 2001, B4; In late 2005, Doer and [[Premier of Quebec|Quebec Premier]] [[Jean Charest]] co-authored a piece outlining strategies for reversing climate change.  See Gary Doer and Jean Charest, "Seize the climate-friendly day", ''Globe and Mail'', 7 December 2005, A27.</ref>

===Aboriginal issues===
In November 1999, Doer appointed a two-person panel to advise his government on implementing the findings of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry, which had been published eight years earlier.<ref>David Roberts, "Commission launched on 1991 native report", ''Globe and Mail'', 30 November 1999, A5. Doer indicated that he was disappointed with the Filmon government's inaction on the file.  See "Manitoba government establishes Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission" [government press release], ''M2 Presswire'', 30 November 1999.</ref>  In April 2000, Manitoba took steps to provide indigenous Manitobans with their own child and family-service agencies.<ref>"Aboriginals to get own family services", ''Globe and Mail'', 18 April 2000, A9.</ref>  Doer convened a provincial summit on aboriginal commerce in November 2004.<ref>Daniel Lett, "Aboriginal business summit set", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 28 September 2004, B8.</ref>  He indicated that the summit was intended to showcase successful businesses, and to forge greater links between the aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities.<ref>Martin Cash, "Summit to encourage more aboriginal-owned businesses", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 3 November 2004, C9; Martin Cash, "Aboriginal biz summit may deliver the goods", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 5 May 2005, A9.</ref>

Doer is a strong supporter of the [[Kelowna Accord]] signed in late 2005 by the federal government of [[Paul Martin]], provincial premiers and aboriginal leaders.<ref>Mia Rabson, "NDP ready to provide balance, says Layton", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 5 February 2006, A3.</ref>  After the Martin government was defeated in the [[2006 Canadian federal election|2006 federal election]] and replaced by the government of [[Stephen Harper]], Doer criticized Harper's failure to implement the accord.<ref>Alexander Panetta, "Critics slam Tory budget over lack of support for natives, Kyoto", ''Canadian Press'', 2 May 2006, 18:40; Paul Samyn, "Natives outraged Angered at apparent end to $5.1-B Kelowna accord", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 3 May 2006, A11; Ian Urquhart, "Premiers pressure Harper on native deal", ''Toronto Star'', 30 May 2006, A4.</ref>

In late 2008, the Doer government introduced legislation to give sixteen bands on the east shore of [[Lake Winnipeg]] greater authority over the management of their traditional lands.  The bill requires that plans for development be approved by both the province and the band's chief, and extends the range of influence well beyond the area's small reserves.<ref>Mary Agnes Welch, "Bands get east-side planning authority - Bill paves way for world heritage site", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 2 December 2008, A6.</ref>  Some chiefs in the affected area later objected to the bill on procedural grounds, arguing that they were not properly consulted.<ref>Bruce Owen, "First Nations threaten to snub bill", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 9 June 2009, A4.</ref>

Following consultations with the [[Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs]] in 1999, the Doer government established a selection committee to oversee proposals for setting up [[casino]]s in Manitoba first nations.<ref>Daniel Lett, "Play fair on native casinos, NDP told", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 7 June 2000, A1.</ref>  The process subsequently became stalled, and only one of the casinos was up and running by 2003.  The government subsequently appointed a panel to review the situation and recommend a change in strategy;<ref>Daniel Lett, "NDP to overhaul native casino plan", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 13 November 2002, A5; Daniel Lett, "NDP, chiefs join forces to look at casinos", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 18 December 2002, A3; Daniel Lett, "Nominees for native casino panel confirmed", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 28 January 2003, A6; "NDP gives free rein to casino review", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 11 April 2003, B1.</ref> the panel argued that the province should consider creating one large casino, instead of several small on-reserve casinos.<ref>Daniel Lett, "Report bets on one large native-run casino", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 4 September 2003, A1.</ref>  A second casino was opened in 2005, while the larger issue remained unresolved as of 2007.<ref>Daniel Lett, "Confusion in the NDP's native casino file", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 18 August 2007, A6.</ref>

===Energy===
Doer has often referred to hydroelectric power as playing a major role in Manitoba's long-term economic strategy,<ref>Mia Rabson, "Manitoba's political parties are revving up for a close election", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 19 January 2007, A11; Mia Rabson, "Black gold on tap", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 18 February 2007, A6.</ref> and has advocated a national east-west power grid to export Manitoba's plentiful hydroelectric power to [[Ontario]] and other provinces in [[Western Canada]].<ref>Helen Fallding, "Doer pushes power grid to link West", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 31 May 2001, A3; Paul Samyn, "Manitoba to study grid of electrical transmission", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 22 June 2001, B4; John Spears, "Hydro One considers Manitoba power line", ''Toronto Star'', 19 November 2004, D3; Leah Janzen, "Doer excited by potential for lucrative power sales", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 24 February 2005, A1.  Ontario announced its support for an east-west grid in 2007.  See Mia Rabson, "Premier's power grid dream gets energized", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 31 January 2007, A6.  In August 2002, Manitoba Hydro signed a $1.7 billion deal with its largest American consumer.  See David Kuxhaus, "$1.7-B Hydro deal", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 9 August 2002, A1.</ref>

Doer announced Manitoba's first [[wind farm]] project in November 2004, near the community of [[St. Leon, Manitoba|St. Leon]].  This was a private-public partnership arranged between Manitoba Hydro and AirSource Power Fund.<ref>Helen Fallding, "Province launches first wind farm in private-public deal", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 24 November 2004, A5.</ref>  It was officially started in April 2005.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Wind farm generating excitement", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 24 April 2005, A1.</ref>

In September 2007, [[Manitoba Hydro]] indicated that it would construct a new transmission line to connect north and south Manitoba on the west side of [[Lake Winnipeg]].  Hydro's initial plan had been to construct the line on the east side, but Doer's government rejected this approach, arguing that it would damage pristine [[boreal forest]] territories.  The local aboriginal community is divided on the issue, with some leaders supporting the government's conservation approach and others arguing that east side construction would help combat poverty in the area.<ref>Mary Agnes Welch, "East side, west side", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 9 March 2008, B1.</ref>  The Progressive Conservative Party has strongly criticized Doer's decision.<ref>Mia Rabson, "West side story for Manitoba Hydro", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 26 September 2007, A1; Mia Rabson, "International pressure part of decision: Doer", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 27 September 2007, A6.  See also Bryan Schwartz & Elijah Harper, "East side advantage", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 13 October 2007, A19; Mary Agnes Welch, "More chiefs oppose west-side decision", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 17 October 2007, A7; "Manitoba premier faces more criticism over planned hydro line", ''Canadian Press'', 31 October 2007, 16:31.  See also Madelaine Drohan, "The long arm of the U.S.", ''Globe and Mail (Breaking News)'', 22 February 2008.</ref>  In April 2008, Manitoba Hydro announced a $2 billion agreement to sell surplus energy to [[Wisconsin]] once the construction is complete.<ref>Tamara King, "Manitoba inks $2-billion electricity deal with Wisconsin", ''Canadian Press'', 17 April 2008, 2:54p; Daniel Lett, "Doer multiplies the stakes in Hydro battle with Tories", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 18 April 2008, A4.</ref>

Doer asked [[Manitoba Hydro]] and the [[Manitoba Public Utilities Board]] to provide an analysis of natural gas prices in July 2008, with the intent of limiting price increases during the winter.  He also indicated that his government would intervene to protect consumers from high prices.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Doer dumps on huge gas hike", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 12 July 2008, A1.</ref>  Finance Minister [[Greg Selinger]] later indicated that the government would provide some relief for consumers, but would not use Manitoba Hydro's profits to offset rate increases.<ref>Mary Agnes Welch, "Doer promises gas pain relief", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 30 July 2008, A1.</ref>

===Labour issues===
The Doer government introduced a number of labour reforms early in its first mandate, making it easier for unions to obtain certification and giving employees increased powers to move disputes to binding arbitration.  Business leaders opposed the changes, though Doer argued that the bill was far less contentious than opponents made it out to be.<ref>David Kuxhaus, "Premier tries to placate business riled by contentious labour law changes", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 2 August 2000, A1; David Kuxhaus, "Voters seem satisfied with Doer government", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 2 October 2000, A4.</ref>  In 2004, Doer rejected a call by party members to introduce legislation that would ban replacement workers in labour disputes.<ref>"Premier won't ban replacement workers", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 8 March 2004, A5.</ref>

Doer's government increased Manitoba's minimum wage from $6.00 to $6.25 in November 2000, and brought in subsequent increases of 25 cents on an annual basis.<ref>"Manitoba bumps up minimum wage in the province by 25 cents an hour", ''Canadian Press'', 29 November 2000, 20:55; "Survival above all" [editorial], ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 29 December 2001, A14.</ref>  By April 2005, the minimum wage had been increased to $7.25.  Some argued that this was still short of a living wage.<ref>Dennis Howlett, "The call for a living wage: activists fighting for fair wages across the country", ''Canadian Dimension'', 1 May 2005, p. 25.</ref>  The minimum wage was increased to $8.50 in 2008.<ref>[https://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/standards/doc,minimum-wage,factsheet.html#q156 "What is the minimum wage?"], Government of Manitoba, accessed 12 December 2007.</ref>  In 2005, the Doer government introduced a bill to expand provincial workers' compensation coverage.<ref>Paul Egan, "Compensation plan to cover all workers", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 13 April 2005, A1.</ref>

The Doer government announced in late 2007 that temporary foreign workers and modeling agencies would be included under the ''Employment Standards Act'', to prevent worker exploitation.<ref>[http://www.mfl.mb.ca/esa-chnges.shtml "Legislation to Protect Models and Foreign Workers"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071218153616/http://www.mfl.mb.ca/esa-chnges.shtml |date=18 December 2007 }}, Manitoba Federation of Labour, 21 November 2007.</ref>

===Science and infrastructure===

===Monsanto===
In 1999, the Manitoba government under NDP leadership, began its ongoing relationship with [[Monsanto]], accepting a 12.5 million dollar agreement to bring in its first development centre.<ref>''Manitoba Government Press release'', 10 March 1999.</ref> In 2005, Gary Doer announced a deal to allow Monsanto to build their 42,000 square foot Canadian head office in Manitoba.<ref>"Government of Manitoba Press Release", "Smartpark constructing 7th building at U of M - Set to become new head office for Monsanto in Canada"</ref>

Doer's government introduced a biotechnology training strategy in October 2002, to address a skilled-worker shortage in the industry.<ref>Helen Fallding, "NDP to boost biotech training", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 9 October 2002, A16.</ref>
In early 2003, Doer signed a $160 million deal with the federal government for expansion work on the [[Red River Floodway]].  The floodway expansion was described as the largest infrastructure project in Manitoba history,<ref>Paul Samyn, "Our 'polite' premier gets extra $20M", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 3 April 2003, A3; Daniel Lett, "Floodway deal sealed", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 4 April 2003, A3.</ref> and was started in late 2005.<ref>Helen Fallding, "Doubling Duff's Ditch", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 21 August 2005, B1; Mia Rabson, "Sod turned for $665-M expansion ..Roblin hailed for vision, perseveramce" {{sic}}, ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 24 September 2005, B1.</ref>

Doer took part in discussions in 2007-08 with media mogul [[David Asper]] and officials from other levels of government, regarding the location of a new stadium for the [[Winnipeg Blue Bombers]] [[Canadian football|football]] team.  He was skeptical about Asper's initial plan for a stadium in the Polo Park region of Winnipeg, and was more supportive of an abortive plan to construct the stadium in the economically depressed area of Point Douglas.<ref>Daniel Lett, "Stadium proposal depends on mayor", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 30 June 2008, A1; Bruce Owen, "U of M stadium the last option?", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 22 August 2008, A11.</ref>  Asper eventually chose site in Fort Garry, next to the [[University of Manitoba]].<ref>"Manitoba premier says Canwest's Asper has discussions about new football stadium", ''Canadian Press'', 14 August 2008, 10:32pm; Bartley Kives, "Stadium finds home at U of M", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 13 September 2008, A3.</ref>  The deal was finalized in early 2009, with the province providing $20 million in funding; provincial officials believe that all but $1 million will be recovered before the stadium opens in 2011.<ref>Bartley Kives, "Bombers finally getting a new home", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 2 April 2009.</ref>

In September 2008, Doer and [[Mayor of Winnipeg|Winnipeg Mayor]] [[Sam Katz]] announced $138 million for a [[rapid transit]] plan that will eventually link downtown Winnipeg with the [[University of Manitoba]].<ref>Bartley Kives, "Bus corridor plan rolled out - $138-M first section to run from downtown to Jubilee", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 9 September 2008, B1; Bartley Kives, "City eyes $90-million loan to finance bus corridor - rapid transit", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 7 October 2008, B2.</ref>  In the same month, Doer designated a piece of land in northwest Winnipeg as the site of a future inland port.<ref>"Manitoba designates land in Winnipeg as proposed location of inland port", ''Canadian Press'', 10 September 2008, 9:19pm; Bruce Owen, "Work on Bombers' new digs may start next year", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 26 December 2008, B3.</ref>  The area was given the name CentrePort Canada,<ref>[http://www.centreportcanada.ca CentrePort Canada]</ref> and its first directors were chosen in December 2008.<ref>"Manitoba's inland port announces its first board of directors", eSource Canada Business News Network, 29 December 2008; See also "Harper pledges cash for Manitoba inland port", ''CanWest News Service'', 14 April 2009.</ref>

Doer announced in February 2009 that his government would spend $1 million on special training for northern Manitoba workers, following a global economic downtown that adversely affected the province's forestry and mining sectors.<ref>Bruce Owen, "1-M fund to help North through slump", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 18 February 2009, A4.</ref>  Two months later, he joined with the federal government to announce a $40 million investment in a cold weather aerospace engine testing and research facility in [[Thompson, Manitoba|Thompson]].<ref>Martin Cash, "Test centre for Thompson", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 16 April 2009, B5; Martin Cash, "Engine test site crucial: experts - Thompson is perfect due to its cold weather", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 17 April 2009, B8.</ref>  In early May 2009, the federal and provincial governments announced $116 million for infrastructure renewal in rural and northern communities.<ref>Larry Kusch, "Rural Manitoba gets $116M to build with", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 2 May 2009, A4.</ref>

===Crocus Investment Fund===
In early 2005, the labour-managed [[Crocus Investment Fund]] stopped trading and entered into financial protection.  The Doer government was subsequently accused of having ignored signs of trouble at the fund, and of failing to protect the interests of investors.<ref>Paul Egan, "Auditor to slam Crocus", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 28 May 2005, A1.</ref>  The opposition Progressive Conservatives argued that the government had neglected warnings of financial impropriety, in part because of ideological links between the New Democratic Party and the labour movement.  Doer rejected this charge, observing that the fund had been established by the Filmon government in conjunction with labour leaders.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Tories, NDP trade barbs over being cosy with Crocus", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 2 June 2005, A11.  Both parties were affected by the controversy in 2005.  See "Doer trips, Murray falls" [editorial], ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 28 June 2005, A12.</ref>  He also rejected calls from the opposition for a formal inquiry,<ref>Paul Egan, "Crocus investors sue for $200M", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 13 July 2005, A1; Martin Cash, "PCs announce Crocus team, remove legislative logjam", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 2 May 2006, A3.</ref> and insisted that the province did nothing wrong in the matter.<ref>Martin Cash, "No Crocus error, premier maintains", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 10 May 2006, A10.</ref>

===Federal-provincial relations===
Doer supported the Chrétien government's ''[[Clarity Act]]'' legislation, which required that any future negotiations on provincial secession be preceded by a [[referendum]] with a clearly defined question. The act was opposed by [[Quebec nationalism|Quebec nationalists]], who regarded it as an infringement on their national sovereignty.  In 2004, Doer criticized new Prime Minister [[Paul Martin]] for seeming to undermine the principles of the bill.<ref>Joan Bryden, "PM's failure to defend Dion, Clarity from attacks imperil Western gains: Doer", ''Canadian Press'', 15 February 2004, 15:40; "Martin too wishy-washy on Quebec, says Doer", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 16 February 2004, B1.</ref>  He also criticized Martin's promise to remove the "[[Section Thirty-three of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms|Notwithstanding Clause]]" from the [[Constitution of Canada]] in the [[2006 Canadian federal election|2006 federal election]].<ref>Kevin Rollason, "Doer won't support scrapping clause", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 12 January 2006, A12.</ref>  Doer later criticized Martin's successor, [[Stephen Harper]], for recognizing the [[French-speaking Quebecer|Québécois]] as a nation within Canada in late 2006.  He was quoted as saying, "[t]o me, Canada is one nation, one country. I understand Quebec is unique in terms of language, culture and law, but Canada is one country."<ref>Paul Samyn, "'Nation' talk irks Manitobans", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 23 November 2006, A4.</ref>

Notwithstanding this and other criticisms, a May 2008 article in ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' newspaper described Doer as one of the few premiers to have a good working relationship with [[Conservative Party of Canada|Conservative]] [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Stephen Harper]].<ref>Steven Chase, "PM's sunny relationship with Premier signals change in political landscape", ''Globe and Mail'', 2 May 2008, S3.</ref>  Manitoba signed on to the federal government's Building Canada Fund in late 2008, receiving about $500 million in new infrastructure monies.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Ottawa funnels $500 M to Manitoba", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 5 September 2008, A4.</ref>  Following a global economic downturn in late 2008, Doer called on the federal government to invest in job creation and infrastructure funding.<ref>Erin Anderssen, "Manitoba Premier urges Ottawa to confront recession with job creation", ''Globe and Mail'', 20 October 2008, A4.</ref>  Prime Minister Harper later said that his government would spend more on roads, bridges and other public works.<ref>Brian Laghi, Steven Chase & Rheal Seguin, "PM, provinces agree to spend to stimulate ailing economy", ''Globe and Mail'', 11 November 2008, A1.</ref>

According to journalist [[Chantal Hébert]], Doer played a vital role in convincing other provincial leaders to accept [[Premier of Quebec|Quebec Premier]] [[Jean Charest]]'s plan to create the [[Council of the Federation]] in 2003.<ref>Chantal Hébert, "Charest's coup at Charlottetown", ''Toronto Star'', 14 July 2003, A17.</ref>  In 2008-09, Charest and Doer helped broker an agreement among the premiers to provide for greater labour mobility within Canada.<ref>Andy Blatchford, "Canadian premiers reach agreement to ease labour mobility across provinces", ''Canadian Press'', 17 July 2008, 4:49pm; Steven Chase, "Labour-mobility deal fails to quell skeptics", ''Globe and Mail'', 16 January 2009 (breaking news).</ref>

In early 2007, Doer said that Manitoba would not enter a free trade deal signed between [[Alberta]] and [[British Columbia]]. He instead called for a national trade accord.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Doer favours national trade accord", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 22 February 2007, B2.</ref>  Doer met with other western Canadian premiers in June 2009 to introduce a plan for the collective purchase of prescription drugs.  The premiers indicated that the plan could save taxpayers millions of dollars.<ref>Jonathan Fowlie, "Joint drug-buying pact considered", ''Vancouver Sun'', 19 June 2009, A8.</ref>

In late 2008, the federal Liberal and New Democratic parties announced plans to defeat the Conservatives on a [[motion of no confidence]] and create a [[coalition government]].  The plan was ultimately unsuccessful, and the Conservatives remained in power.  Doer did not take a position on the coalition, and instead called for all parties in the [[House of Commons of Canada]] to work in a cooperative manner.<ref>Jennifer Graham, "Premiers urge federal politicians to work together in best interest of Canada", ''Canadian Press'', 1 December 2008, 7:34pm; Mary Agnes Welch, "Taking a position pointless, says Doer", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 4 December 2008, A5.</ref>

===International relations===
Since his first election in 1999, Doer has been a leading opponent of a water diversion in [[Devils Lake, North Dakota|Devils Lake]], [[North Dakota]] that many regard as posing a serious environmental threat to Manitoba.<ref>Paul Samyn, "Doer taking diversion fight to Washington", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 21 October 1999, A8; "Doer, Lathlin to lead delegation opposing Devil's Lake drainage outlet" [government press release], ''M2 Presswire'', 22 October 1999; "Diversion struggle is uphill, Doer says", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 27 October 1999, A3; Paul Samyn, "Lobby effort scuttles N.D. diversion", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 23 November 1999, A3; "Doer rallies troops to fight Devils Lake diversion plans", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 25 November 1999, A3; James Brooke, "Manitoba, Awash in Its Own Water, Shuns North Dakota's", ''New York Times'', 6 December 1999, p. 8; Douglas Nairne, "Province enlists lawyer to battle N.D.", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 12 January 2000, A4; Douglas Nairne, "In this corner, Doer and Ventura", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 14 January 2000, A3; Ruth Walker, "A rising Devils Lake is causing a flood of concerns", ''Christian Science Monitor'', 6 March 2000, p. 7; Aldo Santin, "Politics stalling Devils Lake diversion funds", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 13 March 2000, A2; David Roberts, "Doer, governor weigh impact of diversion on Lake Winnipeg", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 4 April 2000, A7; "Doer travelling again to fight diversion plan", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 12 May 2000, A4; David Kuxhaus, "Devils Lake project still a threat: Doer", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 11 September 2000, A8; David Kuxhaus, "Would make it easier to build Devils Lake drainage outlet", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 22 January 2001, A7; Paul Samyn, "'Aggressive' fight needed to protect water: Doer to PM", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 2 March 2001, A3; "Doer aims to fight water diversion", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 11 August 2001, A4; "Manitoba leaders team up to fight N.D. water plans", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 12 October 2001, B3; "Premier, Tory chief fight N.D. diversions in D.C.", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 19 July 2002, A15; "Powell rams through N.D. pipeline", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 6 April 2002, A15; "Devils Lake report delay thrills Doer", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 15 August 2002, A11; Daniel Lett, "NDP takes diversion fight to U.S. court", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 23 October 2002, A3; Scott Edmonds, "Manitoba views new U.S. plan for flooded Devils Lake as mixed blessing", ''Canadian Press'', 26 February 2003, 16:56; Mia Rabson, "Dike fight tactics denounced by Doer", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 13 March 2004, A3; Paul Egan, "Minnesota jumps into water fight Joins Manitoba in dispute with N.D. over diversion plan for Devils Lake", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 30 April 2004, A5; Paul Samyn, "Doer targets Devils Lake", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 29 November 2004, A1; Helen Fallding, "Devils Lake outlet nearly finished", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 15 January 2005, A1; Paul Samyn, "Doer to lead Capitol Hill blitz", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 2 April 2005, A8; Paul Samyn, "Devils Lake outlet unstoppable, officials fear", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 6 April 2005, A3; Paul Samyn, "Tough talk on Devils Lake Doer threatens U.S. with lawsuit", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 7 April 2005, A1; Chris Wattie, "U.S. senators reject 'Devils' compromise", ''National Post'', 28 April 2005, A11; "Doer recruiting Great Lakes governors for Devils Lake fight", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 3 May 2005, A5; Mike DeSouza, "Great Lakes mayors unite against water diversion", ''National Post'', 27 May 2005, A4; Paul Samyn, "Devils Lake 'attention' promised; Bush tells PM he's aware of diversion", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 2 June 2005, A12; Paul Samyn, "Doer gets ear of ambassador", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 8 July 2005, A7; Mia Rabson, "Doer set to retaliate over Devils Lake outlet", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 13 June 2007, A1.  Doer himself wrote an editorial piece against the project in 2005.  See Gary Doer, "The Devil to pay", ''National Post'', 17 May 2005, A22.  He had previously traveled to [[Washington, D.C.]] in a bid to put the project on hold.  See "Doer heads to Washington to press beef farmers' case", ''Globe and Mail'', 7 April 2004, A7.</ref>  In 2005, the Canadian and American governments reached a non-binding compromise deal on the project that committed both sides to design an advanced filter to prevent environmental disruption.<ref>Paul Samyn, "Devils Lake deal is done", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 6 August 2005, A1; Alan Freeman, "Devils Lake agreement non-binding, McKenna says", ''Globe and Mail'', 9 August 2005, A4.</ref>  Doer initially described this agreement as a significant improvement over prior arrangements,<ref>Michelle MacAfee, "Devils Lake deal `not 100 per cent perfect,' but Manitoba, Ottawa relieved", ''Canadian Press'', 6 August 2005, 17:16.</ref> but later criticized the North Dakota government for starting the water diversion before the deal was finalized.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Doer rages as water flows", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 16 August 2005, A1; Mia Rabson, "Doer to lobby Washington for better Devils Lake filter", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 11 January 2006, A5; Leah Janzen, "Improved Devils Lake filter to be operating this summer", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 19 January 2006, A7; Mia Rabson, "Doer to discuss water wars with PM", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 21 March 2006, A6; Mia Rabson, "Villain,' says Doer as U.S. opens tap", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 15 April 2006, A3; Paul Samyn, "Devils Lake outlet agreement soon?", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 25 April 2006, A5; "N. Dakota unwilling to wait for lake filter", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 28 April 2006, A5; Steve Lambert, "N. Dakota wants more access to tap outlet at Devils Lake", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 25 May 2006, A7.</ref>  In May 2009, Doer said that Manitoba would invest more than $10 million in drainage improvements if North Dakota would agree to construct a permanent filter on its Devils Lake output.<ref>"Manitoba premier offers deal in cross-border water dispute", ''Canadian Press'', 7 May 2009, 3:30pm; Steve Lambert, "Manitoba premier offers deal in cross-border water dispute", ''Canadian Press'', 7 May 2009, 04:53pm.</ref>  [[North Dakota]] [[Governor of North Dakota|Governor]] [[John Hoeven]] rejected the deal in the same month, arguing that the issues were separate.<ref>"State turns down Manitoba offer in water disputes", ''Globe and Mail'', 9 May 2009, A5.</ref>

Doer has led several international trade delegations from Manitoba, including visits to [[Russia]], [[Germany]], [[Israel]], [[India]], [[People's Republic of China|China]] and [[Philippines|The Philippines]].<ref>Mia Rabson, "Forget trade talks; figure skating is the buzz in Russia", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 16 February 2002, A10; Robert Fife, "Provinces resolve to work together: 'To get the job done'", ''National Post'', 22 February 2002, A6; "Doer going on trade mission to Israel", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 23 October 2002, A5.  In 2007, the province reported that a delegation to India the previous year resulted in over a dozen contracts.  See "Minister, business India-bound", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 6 December 2007, B7; Mia Rabson, "Philippines trip to focus on immigration", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 5 February 2008, A7; "Premiers meet with senior Chinese leaders in Beijing and announce key projects during first-ever Council of the Federation Mission to China", ''Canada NewsWire'', 3 November 2008, 10:00am.</ref>  He also made an historic visit to [[Iceland]] in August 2001; Manitoba has a large Icelandic population, and Doer was the first Manitoba Premier to make an official visit to the country.<ref>Paul Samyn, "Doer leading trade mission to Iceland this month", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 4 August 2001, A5; "Tourism minister visiting England, Scotland, Iceland", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 20 August 2001, A7; Larry Kusch, "Doer's passage to India", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 20 January 2006, B3; "Manitoba gateway to North America: Doer", ''The Press Trust of India Limited'', 13 February 2006; Paul Samyn, "Doer tries to lure Bollywood to Manitoba", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 18 February 2006, A6.</ref>  [[Halldór Ásgrímsson]], the [[Prime Minister of Iceland]], made a follow-up visit to Manitoba in July 2005.<ref>Paul Samyn, "Iceland leader coming to city", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 22 July 2005, A10. [[Geir Haarde]], Asgrimsson's successor, visited Manitoba in 2007.  Nisha Tuli, "Icelandic PM's visit to stress business", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 3 August 2007, B2.</ref>  In May 2008, [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] [[President of Ukraine|President]] [[Viktor Yushchenko]] made an official visit to Manitoba and addressed the provincial legislature.<ref>Steve Lambert, "Warm welcome for Ukrainian president at Manitoba legislature", ''Canadian Press'', 27 May 2008, 4:43pm.</ref>

Doer signed an agreement with the American state of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] in 2004, for increased co-operation between the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] in [[Atlanta]] and the National Virology Lab in Winnipeg.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Doer signs deal to boost city's bid for super lab", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 4 February 2004, A5.</ref>  In the same year, he signed a memorandum of understanding with [[Governor of Minnesota|Minnesota Governor]] [[Tim Pawlenty]] to create a "biomedical corridor" for the promotion of research, capital investment and technology development.<ref>Martin Cash, "Biomedical alliance with Minnesota mapped out", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 9 June 2004, C8.</ref>  In early 2005, Doer and [[Premier of New Brunswick|New Brunswick Premier]] [[Bernard Lord]] traveled on a trade mission to [[Texas]] in what was described as an effort to improve relations between Canada and the United States.<ref>Paul Samyn, "Doer, Lord are a rootin' tootin' tag team in Texas", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 26 January 2005, A1; Paul Samyn, "Texas science labs spark Doer's hopes for trade", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 29 January 2005, A6.</ref>  Later in the year, Doer and [[Jean Charest]] traveled on a trade mission to [[Mexico]].<ref>"Doer, Charest return from trade mission", ''Montreal Gazette'', 14 May 2005, A19.</ref>  In 2006, he appeared at a prominent climate change event with [[Governor of California|California Governor]] [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]].<ref>Paul Samyn, "Doer, not PM basks in California sun", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 22 October 2006, A4.</ref>  In June 2009, Doer took part in discussions to create a "Western Energy Corridor" to allow an easier flow of both renewable energy and fossil fuels among western American states and Canadian provinces.<ref>Jason Fekete", "Canada-U.S. energy corridor idea promoted", ''Victoria Times Colonist'', 15 June 2009, A8.</ref>

Doer has supported Canada's military mission in [[Afghanistan]], despite skepticism about the purpose of the mission from the federal NDP.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Manitoba backs Canada's military", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 8 October 2001, 13; "NDP group withdraws provocative preamble", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 7 September 2006, A9; "Manitoba's army" [editorial], ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 7 February 2008, A10.</ref>  He called for Canada to ban donations to [[Hezbollah]]'s charity wing in 2002,<ref>Daniel Lett, "Stop militants from fund-raising: Doer", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 9 November 2002, A20.</ref> and endorsed Jean Chrétien government's decision to remain out of the [[United States|U.S.]]-led invasion of [[Iraq]] in 2003.<ref>Judy Monchuk, "Klein sends kudos, thanks to ambassador for U.S. war on Iraq", ''Canadian Press'', 21 March 2003, 19:24.</ref>

In 2005, Doer spoke against the American government's plans to require [[passport]]s at Canada–US border crossings.  He argued that the new expense of travel would create a "financial [[Berlin Wall]]" for some families, and instead proposed a security protocol centred around drivers' licenses.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Passport law will create a 'Berlin Wall'", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 2 February 2007, A5.</ref>  In 2007, [[North Dakota]] [[Governor of North Dakota|Governor]] [[John Hoeven]] announced that he was working with Doer to find an alternative approach.<ref>"Hoeven says he's working with Manitoba on visa alternative", ''Associated Press Newswires'', 13 September 2007, 11:03 report.</ref>

In 2008, Doer argued that Canada should "aggressively" defend the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] against criticism from American [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] presidential candidates.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Democrats' NAFTA slap unwise: Doer", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 4 April 2008, A8.</ref>  He later spoke against the [[United States Congress]]'s planned "Buy American" legislation during a business trip to [[Illinois]] and [[Texas]].<ref>Mary Agnes Welch, "Doer to target protectionism on U.S. trip", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 31 January 2009, A3; "Trade, Investment Focus of Western Premiers' Mission to U.S.", ''PR Newswire (US)'', 2 February 2009, 04:24 pm; Campbell Clark, "Obama moves to water down 'Buy American' provisions", ''Globe and Mail'', 4 February 2009, A1.</ref>

Doer signed an agreement in [[Manila]] in February 2008, to permit an easier flow of immigration from The Philippines to Manitoba.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Philippine pact keeps immigration door open", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 9 February 2008, A5; William B. Depasupil, "RP, Canada sign 3rd labor export agreement: At least 10,000 job opportunities await OFWs in Manitoba this year", ''Manila Times'', 9 February 2008.  See also Mia Rabson, "$10,000 gift thrills Manila students", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 12 February 2008, A4; Martin Cash, "Delegation from Philippines promotes products, manpower", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 27 September 2008, B12.</ref>

===Legislative reform===
Doer's government changed the rules of the legislature in 1999, to allow the [[Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba|Speaker of the Assembly]] to be elected by a secret ballot vote of all members. Speakers had previously been appointed by the premier.<ref>Scott Edmonds, "Inuit MLA first elected Speaker in Manitoba", ''Globe and Mail'', 19 November 1999, A27.</ref>

The Doer government announced election spending reforms in June 2000, which were highlighted by a ban on political donations by private corporations and organized labour.<ref>David Roberts, "Manitoba to restrict donations", ''Globe and Mail'', 21 June 2000, A5; Graham Fraser, "Restrictions on donations can see politics transformed", ''Toronto Star'', 25 June 2000, p. 1.</ref>  This measure was opposed by the opposition Progressive Conservatives, and by the right-wing [[Canadian Taxpayers Federation]].<ref>David Kuxhaus, "NDP's planned election-ad limit violates charter: taxpayers' group", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 23 July 2000, A3.</ref>  The reforms came into effect in 2001,<ref>David Kuxhaus, "Parties get set to rebuild war chests", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 4 June 2001, A11; Jeffrey Simpson, "Why Manitoba should be an inspiration to us all", ''Globe and Mail'', 31 May 2002, A21.</ref> and were extended to party leadership contests in June 2002.<ref>Mia Rabson, "NDP to slap donation limits on leadership campaigns", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 28 June 2002, A10.</ref>  Further restrictions were added in 2006.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Law will squeeze party fundraising", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 10 April 2006, A5.</ref>  In June 2009, [[Mayor of Winnipeg|Winnipeg Mayor]] [[Sam Katz]] spoke against Doer's plan to ban union and corporate donations from municipal elections.<ref>Bartley Kives and Bruce Owen, "'Slap in the face to city council' Katz slams NDP's proposed donations ban", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 3 June 2009, B1.</ref>

The Doer government introduced legislation in April 2006 to prevent MLAs from [[crossing the floor]] from one party to another.  Under the terms of this legislation, MLAs who choose to leave their political party are required to sit as independents until the next election, or to resign and seek re-election for another party.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Doer wants to end MLAs crossing floor", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 11 April 2006, A1.</ref>

Doer announced plans in early 2008 to create a [[lobbyist]] registry for Manitoba,<ref>Bruce Owen and Mary Agnes Welch, "Manitoba government announces it will introduce a lobbyist registry", ''Canadian Press'', 28 April 2008, 10:17pm.</ref> as well as introducing fixed election dates, partial public campaign financing, and restrictions on partisan direct mail flyers sent out by MLAs at public expense.<ref>"Manitoba proposes fixed election dates, partial public campaign financing", ''Canadian Press'', 30 April 2008, 4:41pm; Mary Agnes Welch, "Tories assail new election laws", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 2 May 2008, A9.</ref>  The plan for public campaign financing was later abandoned after public opposition.<ref>Mary Agnes Welch, "NDP, Tories won't take public subsidy - Election finance amendments planned", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 8 April 2009, A7.</ref>

In 2009, opposition politicians and some journalists pressured Doer to call a public inquiry into a controversy involving expense claims from the 1999 provincial election.  [[Elections Manitoba]] had determined that some reimbursement claims filed by the Manitoba NDP were unwarranted; in late 2003, the party agreed to repay $76,000 in an out-of-court settlement.  Critics have charged a lack of transparency in the process, and have questioned why Elections Manitoba did not lay charges.  At least one Winnipeg journalist has compared the matter with an expenses scandal faced by the [[Conservative Party of Canada]] following the [[2006 Canadian federal election|2006 federal election]].  Doer has argued that the matter is settled, and that there is no need for an inquiry.<ref>Dan Lett, "Elections watchdog should cough up truth", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 30 June 2009, A5.</ref>

===Popularity===
Doer's government enjoyed an extended honeymoon with voters after the 1999 election.  The NDP consistently led all other parties in public opinion polls from 1999 until 2005, often by wide margins.<ref>Davis Kuxhaus, "Voters seem satisfied with Doer government", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 2 October 2000, A4; Helen Fallding, "Grit support up as NDP, PCs struggle", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 29 December 2000, A3l; "NDP riding high", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 26 March 2001, A1; Aldo Santin, "Growing Liberal support hits 24%: NDP drops 5 per cent, but party still leads Tories", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 17 July 2001, A4; Helen Fallding, "Tories gaining, NDP slipping, survey shows", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 24 December 2001, A11 (the NDP still led this poll, 39% to 32%); Helen Fallding, "Doer? I don't even know her!", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 14 March 2002, A1 [note: actual article title]; Mia Rabson, "NDP, Tories believe poll favours their fortunes", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 29 October 2002, A3; Daniel Lett, "NDP soars, Tories sink in poll", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 26 December 2002, A1 [47-30%]; Mia Rabson, "Election fever Raging at Legislature", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 26 March 2003, A9; Daniel Lett, "NDP still enjoying strong support", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 18 October 2003, A1 [51-28%]; "Nearly half of electorate backs Doer government", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 30 December 2003, A7 [49-26%]; Daniel Lett, "NDP support strong as Tories fall behind", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 26 March 2004, A5 [47-29%]; Daniel Lett, "Tories close in on NDP", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 10 October 2004, A1; Mia Rabson, "Young voters back PCs", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 7 January 2005, A1; Mia Rabson, "Tories hot on heels of the NDP", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 27 March 2005, A1.</ref>  The party's popularity dipped in late 2005, damaged somewhat by questions resulting from the failure of the Crocus Investment Fund.  Polls taken in December 2005 and March 2006 showed the NDP and Progressive Conservatives tied for support.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Tories strong again: poll Same support level as governing NDP", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 18 March 2006, A5.</ref>  In July 2006, the PCs pulled ahead of the NDP for the first time in seven years.<ref>Daniel Lett, "Support for Tories surging", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 6 July 2006, A1.</ref>  The NDP nevertheless recovered to win a convincing majority in the 2007 election, and in July 2008 held a ten-point lead over the Progressive Conservatives in popular support.<ref>Mary Agnes Welch, "Political landscape as flat as the prairie", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 14 July 2008, A4.</ref>  The PCs posted a surprise lead over the NDP in a December 2008 poll, although some local journalists questioned its accuracy.<ref>Dan Lett, "Manitoba Tories stuck in neutral if Doer stays put", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 15 December 2008, A4; "Editorial - An unhealthy split", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 16 December 2008, A10.</ref>  By April 2009, the NDP once again held a ten-point lead.<ref>Lindsey Wiebe, "NDP regains big lead over Tories", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 5 April 2009, A5.</ref>

Doer was rated as Canada's most popular premier in polls taken in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, scoring a 77% rating in March 2006.<ref>Paul Samyn, "Doer must be doing it right", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 7 September 2003, A1; Paul Samyn, "But Doer still Canada's most well-liked politician", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 19 November 2004, A1; Paul Samyn, "Doer nation's most popular premier: poll", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 25 April 2005, A1; Paul Samyn, "How premiers rate", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 5 March 2006, A3.</ref>  His approval rating was 81% in March 2008, making him the second most popular Canadian premier after [[Danny Williams (Canadian politician)|Danny Williams]] of [[Newfoundland and Labrador]].<ref>Mia Rabson, "Canadians' confidence in economy tumbling", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 19 March 2008, A4.</ref>

===Retirement===
[[Image:Barack Obama and Gary Doer.jpg|thumb|right|170px|Doer with [[President of the United States|US President]] [[Barack Obama]] in 2009]]
On 27 August 2009, Doer announced he would not seek re-election in the 2011 election, and on 28 August 2009, he was nominated by Prime Minister [[Stephen Harper]] to succeed [[Michael Wilson (Canadian politician)|Michael Wilson]] as Canadian ambassador to the United States. He was formally sworn into that position on 19 October 2009, and on the same day [[Greg Selinger]] was sworn in as his replacement as Premier of Manitoba. Doer's former constituency assistant [[Matt Wiebe]] subsequently won the by-election to succeed Doer as MLA for Concordia on 2 March 2010.<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/wiebe-wins-concordia-for-ndp-1.883929 "Wiebe wins Concordia for NDP"]. [[cbc.ca]], 2 March 2010.</ref>

==Federal politics==
Doer supported a bid to draft former Manitoba Premier [[Edward Schreyer]] as a candidate in the federal [[New Democratic Party]]'s [[1989 New Democratic Party leadership election|1989 leadership contest]].<ref>Geoffrey York, "Manitoba MLAS want Schreyer to run for federal NDP leadership", ''Globe and Mail'', 18 May 1989, A18.</ref>  When Schreyer declined to run, Doer tried to convince [[Stephen Lewis]] and then [[Bob Rae]] to enter the contest, without success.<ref>Graham Fraser, "Riis promises to support reluctant Lewis", ''Globe and Mail'', 23 June 1989, A5; William Walker, "Rae ready to jump into NDP race", ''Toronto Star'', 4 October 1989, A1.</ref>  He eventually supported [[Audrey McLaughlin]], who was elected on the fourth ballot of the party's leadership convention.<ref>"Most of party's big names supported McLaughlin", ''Toronto Star'', 3 December 1989, A13.</ref>

[[File:Doer Layton.JPG|thumb|left|250x250px|Doer with NDP leader [[Jack Layton]] during the [[2008 Canadian federal election|2008 federal election]].]]There was speculation that Doer would seek the federal NDP leadership in [[1995 New Democratic Party leadership election|1995]], after McLaughlin announced her resignation.<ref>"NDP leadership", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 30 May 1995, A3.</ref>  He declined, and instead gave his support to longtime friend [[Alexa McDonough]], whom he nominated at the leadership convention.<ref>David Roberts, "Nystrom well-placed to be NDP leader", ''Globe and Mail'', 12 October 1995, A1; Dan Lett, "Alexa Reaches Out", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 11 May 1997, B1; Paul Samyn, "NDP Leader McDonough stepping down", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 6 June 2002, A1.</ref> McDonough was chosen as party leader following the first ballot.

Doer opposed the [[New Politics Initiative]] in 2001.<ref>Paul Samyn, "Radicals left on the fringe of NDP", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 24 November 2001, A4.</ref>  In the [[2003 New Democratic Party leadership election|2003 leadership election]], he supported the leadership campaign of [[Bill Blaikie]], whose federal [[Elmwood—Transcona|Winnipeg—Transcona]] riding overlapped with his own provincial division.<ref>Paul Samyn, "Blaikie revs up campaign", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 15 June 2002, A8; David Kuxhaus, "Power matters, says Blaikie", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 18 June 2002, A5; Mia Rabson, "Blaikie strongly backed by Doer", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 7 January 2003, A5.</ref>  Blaikie finished second against [[Jack Layton]].

Doer has disagreed with the federal NDP on some issues. He defended [[Canwest|CanWest Global]]'s takeover of a part of [[Conrad Black]]'s newspaper empire in 2000, even though the arrangement had been criticized by the federal party.<ref>"Doer bashes federal NDP for its knock on news deal", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 11 August 2000, A4.</ref>  He later called for [[Svend Robinson]] to be demoted as Foreign Affairs Critic in 2002, after Robinson announced his support for the [[Palestinian people|Palestinians]] in their conflict with [[Israel]] (official NDP policy was that both sides should seek a peace agreement).  Doer was quoted as saying, "Either he represents the party as a foreign affairs critic or he's removed as foreign affairs critic. And I believe he should be removed".<ref>[[Michael Friscolanti]], "Demote Robinson, NDPers demand", ''National Post'', 18 April 2002, A1; Bruce Cheadle, "Robinson continues to speak out after NDP removes him as critic on Mideast", ''Canadian Press'', 18 April 2002, 13:00.</ref>  He later expressed disappointment that Robinson was allowed to keep his critic's role, albeit with a ban against speaking on Middle East issues.<ref>Jane Taber and [[Michael Friscolanti]], "Robinson censure called 'half measure': Not to speak on Mideast", ''National Post'', 19 April 2002, A13.</ref>

Doer published a ten-point proposal for the future of the federal NDP in June 2002, calling for a focus on health and education as well as fiscal balance, community safety and election finance reform.<ref>Gary Doer, "What NDP should stand for", ''Globe and Mail'', 18 June 2002, A15.</ref>

Doer was considered a possible candidate for the [[2012 New Democratic Party leadership election|2012 leadership election]], but declined to run.<ref>{{cite news|last=Whittington|first=Les|date=13 September 2011|title=Doer says he won't run for NDP leadership|newspaper=Toronto Star|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1053252--doer-says-he-won-t-run-for-ndp-leadership?bn=1|access-date=12 April 2021}}</ref>

==Ideology==
Doer is at the centre of the [[New Democratic Party of Manitoba|New Democratic Party]].<ref>Frances Russell, "Doer's abundance of caution", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 16 November 2001, A12; Allen Mills, "'President Doer' getting free ride as provincial politics whither away", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 3 November 2005, A14.</ref>  He once described his political ideology as follows:

{{blockquote|I don't believe in nationalizing everything in our society, as in [[socialist]] theory. Anybody who calls himself a socialist has to believe in nationalizing almost everything. I see myself as a [[social democrat]]—mixed economy, strong role of the public sector.<ref name="Geoffrey York 1988"/>}}

Doer endorsed [[Tony Blair]]'s approach to leading the [[Great Britain|British]] [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] in 1997,<ref>Dan Lett, "Doer closes in on the do-it stage", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 16 November 1997, A4.</ref> and his own 1999 election platform was frequently compared with Blair's "[[Third Way (centrism)|Third Way]]" of social democracy.<ref>"NDP redraws image for voters", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 16 December 1998, A11.</ref>  Doer has also been compared with former [[Premier of Saskatchewan]] [[Roy Romanow]], who also governed from the centre of the party.  Former NDP MLA [[Cy Gonick]] wrote a critical essay about Doer in 2007, describing him as a "small-l [[Liberalism|liberal]]" without "a socialist bone in his body".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927220319/http://canadiandimension.com/articles/2007/06/28/1190/ Cy Gonick, "Gary Doer's Manitoba"], ''Canadian Dimension'', July/August 2007, accessed 1 September 2007.</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:2023 US-Canada Summit (52807400700).jpg|thumb|Doer at the 2023 US-Canada Summit in Toronto]]
Manitoba Wildlands director, Gaile Whelan Enns, said "He has no real policy legacy." Eric Reder, Manitoba campaign director for the non-profit Wilderness Committee, echoed that assessment. " "The entirety of his term was incremental—little decisions," Reder said.<ref>"Our Tar Sands Man in Ottawa," {{cite web |url=http://maisonneuve.org/pressroom/article/2012/jan/16/our-tar-sands-man-washington/ |title=Maisonneuve &#124; Our Tar-Sands Man in Washington |access-date=16 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120030033/http://maisonneuve.org/pressroom/article/2012/jan/16/our-tar-sands-man-washington/ |archive-date=20 January 2013 }}</ref>

The Manitoba government's relationship with Monsanto lead to the documentary "Seeds of Change," which explored negative aspects of the relationship.<ref>Canadian Dimension, "Seeds of Change Documentary" https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/monsanto-lawyers-lies-and-videotape-seeds-of-censorship-sown-at-university-</ref>

[[Fracking in Canada|Fracking]] for oil increased dramatically under Doer.<ref>"Manitoba Petroleum", http://www.manitoba.ca/iem/petroleum/wwar/index.html</ref>

==Electoral record==
{{2007 Manitoba general election/Concordia}}
{{2003 Manitoba general election/Concordia}}
{{1999 Manitoba general election/Concordia}}
{{1995 Manitoba general election/Concordia}}
{{1990 Manitoba general election/Concordia}}
{{1988 Manitoba general election/Concordia}}
{{1986 Manitoba general election/Concordia}}
All electoral information is taken from [[Elections Manitoba]].  Expenditures refer to candidate election expenses.

==Footnotes==
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==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042829/http://can-am.gc.ca/washington/index.aspx?lang=eng Canadainternational.gc.ca], Ambassador's Biography
* [http://www.lg.gov.mb.ca/awards/order/ordermb10.html Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba]
* {{C-SPAN|1020148}}

{{CA-Ambassadors to the United States}}
{{Doer Ministry}}
{{MBPremiers}}
{{Manitoba NDP Leaders}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doer, Gary}}
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