CANADA: Tory Sweep

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In four by-elections last week, Canadian voters gave their Liberal government one of its sharpest wrist-slappings in 16 years of power. Opposition Tories won all four. The winners:

¶In Prince Edward Island, J. Angus MacLean, 36, farmer and World War II flyer, who broke the P.E.I. tradition by not buying drinks for the voters on election day.

¶In Ontario, Howard William ("Howie") Meeker, 26, right wing on the Toronto Maple Leafs, the third big-time hockey player to hold a seat in this Parliament.

¶In Manitoba, Gordon M. Churchill, 52, schoolteacher turned lawyer, who won the Distinguished Service Order as a World War II lieutenant, colonel.

¶Also in Manitoba, Walter Dinsdale, 35, assistant professor of social economy at Brandon College, who hired a plane equipped with a loudspeaker to harangue prairie voters.

The Tory sweep, a surprise to both government and opposition, clearly signified a protest vote. It was aimed principally at the soaring cost of living (up 10% in the past year), high taxes and credit restrictions. The Liberals still held a top-heavy majority in Parliament (188 seats to 46 for the Tories, 28 for others), but their setback seemed likely to produce policy changes. Among the Ottawa rumors: further steps against inflation; a cabinet shakeup. The government had had a warning that Canadian voters can tire even of the Liberals.