On Nov. 4, 1993, my then-boss, Jean Chretien, was sworn in as prime minister of Canada. He posed for some pictures, met with his cabinet, and then he did two things. They were the first big decisions he made.

He went into his new office and he cancelled a $6-billion helicopter contract. And then he cancelled a deal the Conservative Party had made to privatize Terminals 1 and 2 at Pearson airport. Took a pen, signed the papers. Boom. Gone.

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The cancellation of the helicopter contract, and the cancellation of the 57-year sweetheart deal the Tories had extended to private interests, were two of the main reasons we won the election. The Conservatives who came up with those policies?

They were reduced to two seats.

Elections are decided on lots of different factors, yes. And public opinion can and does change, yes.

But I was there, running Chretien’s war room in 1993. And I know the main reason why we picked up every single seat in the Greater Toronto Area on election day 1993.

We had said we’d tear up the........

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