As resident of Kingston and the Islands for 49 of my 50 years, I have my doubts that this riding will swing back to the conservatives once Peter Milliken decides to retire. At least not the Conservative Party as it currently exists. Flora (our last Tory MP) was a "Red Tory". Our provincial member for much of that time was Keith Norton -- a "Red Tory" (and openly gay - although he "came out" after he was defeated by a Liberal in 1985). Even in times of Tory majorities provincially and federally, Kingston and the Islands has not been represented by a Tory in 20 years federally and 23 years provincially. Kingston and the Islands now has over 40% public sector employment. That compares to a provincial average in the low to mid 20's, and is even signicantly higher than Ottawa's level. 8 of our 10 largerst employers are public sector. Public sector employees and their spouses and families are hesitant to vote for a governing party that is philosophically opposed to the public sector. The only Tories that can win in Kingston and the Islands must be "Red Tories", and they will need the benefit of a national or provinicial party that is also seen as significantly "progressive" in its philosophy and supportive of the public sector.