Shortly after being sworn in as premier, Doer led an all-party delegation to Ottawa to seek a $1.3 billion financial bailout for western farmers to help mitigate an economic downturn in the sector. He was joined by Saskatchewan Premier Roy Romanow, Progressive Conservative MLA Larry Maguire, and Manitoba Liberal leader Jon Gerrard. The federal government introduced $170 million in funding shortly thereafter, a figure that Doer and Romanow described as "heartless". In February 2000, Romanow and Doer stood with Chrétien to announce their support for a compromise bailout of $400 million.