It took him four tries, but yesterday evening New Democratic Party leader Gary Doer finally achieved what he set out to do: win a provincial election and become the Premier of Manitoba.

After 11 long years as opposition leader , Doer finally beat Conservative party leader Gary Filmon in yesterday's election.

Filmon has announced that he will now retire from politics.

During the Manitoba election campaign, the NDP spent a lot of time talking about the problems of health care. Yesterday evening Mr. Doer was talking about it again in his victory speech.

He promised to get rid of what has become known as "hallway medicine." Many of Manitoba's hospitals are so crowded that doctors have had to park patient's beds in the corridors.

But last night at least, it was a time to savor victory. Doer's wife Ginny Devine says finally winning feels good.

"It's kind of an emotional experience. It's been a long haul. I'm very happy with the outcome. It was a nail biter with some of those ridings so tight," said Ms. Devine.

The NDP could still add one more seat to the 31 it has won officially. There'll be a recount -- where every vote is counted again to make sure there are no mistakes -- in the suburban Winnipeg riding of Assiniboia, where Tory Linda McIntosh beat the NDP's Jim Rondeau by 3 votes.

The NDP took about 45 per cent of the popular vote last night, the largest share the party has won since Howard Pawley swept Conservative leader Sterling Lyon out of power in 1981.

1. When did finally Doer beat Conservative party leader Gary Filmon in yesterday's election?