Yes, that was Glen Murray waving at traffic today

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This article was published 29/04/2011 (5272 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Okay, so maybe south Winnipeg wasn’t buzzing as big as Westminster Abbey — but it was still a mighty busy day on the bottom half of Pembina Highway.

During the morning rush hour, Winnipeg South candidate Terry Duguid enlisted the help of an old friend to burmashave near the corner of Pembina and Bishop Grandin: former Winnipeg mayor Glen Murray, who is in town to door-knock with local Liberal candidates.

Murray, who landed in Winnipeg on Wednesday and will stay to campaign until Sunday, said he believes the Liberals will pick up at least two seats in the city: Winnipeg South, where Duguid is hoping to unseat Tory MP Rod Bruinooge, and St. Boniface, where Raymond Simard is running against incumbent Tory MP Shelley Glover.

Duguid, Simard and Liberal incumbents Anita Neville and Kevin Lamoureux have that “made-in-Manitoba Liberalism,” Murray said.

The former mayor, who had some surprised drivers doing a double-take as he waved to passing traffic, shrugged off the national explosion of NDP support that has become the election’s most buzzed-about story.

“For us in Manitoba, the novelty of (the NDP) isn’t as exciting,” he said, referring to the provincial government. “It’s fairly easy to be popular when it’s an unknown party that (voters) don’t have experience with… We don’t have that kind of orange wave here — it’s not as potent.”

At the same time, just down the street, an outspoken group of protesters gathered in front of Bruinooge’s Pembina Highway headquarters to protest the MP’s stance on abortion rights.

In 2008, Bruinooge was appointed chair of the Conservative pro-life caucus.

Louise May, who helped organize the rally, stood with about 20 others, waving at passing cars and toting signs that read “Voice For Choice, Not For Rod.”

 “We got the word out to people that this issue hasn’t had enough coverage yet,” she said.

 May and friends are also considering organizing a similar event outside other candidates’ campaign HQs this weekend.