Latest news with #OntarioProgressiveConservatives
National Post
01-05-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Randall Denley: Attacking Poilievre's Conservatives will come back to bite Doug Ford
Ontario Premier Doug Ford clearly doesn't like federal Conservatives, but did he really sabotage their campaign in the province, as one re-elected Ontario MP recently suggested? Not likely, if you stick to the facts. Article content Article content The unseemly infighting between the leaderships of Ontario Progressive Conservatives and Pierre Poilievre's federal Conservatives boiled over this week, to the credit of neither. Ontario Conservative MP Jamil Jivani took quite a run at Ford after the federal party's election loss Monday. 'When it was our turn to run an election, he couldn't stay out of our business, always getting his criticisms and all his opinions out, distracting our campaign, trying to make it about him, trying to position himself as some kind of political genius that we needed to be taking cues from,' Jivani said. He added that Ford was a 'hype man' for the federal Liberals. Article content Article content On Wednesday, Ford couldn't resist rising to the bait, telling reporters 'Last time I checked, Pierre Poilievre never came out in our (recent provincial) election. (As a) matter of fact, him, or one of his lieutenants, told every one of his members, 'Don't you dare go out and help the (Progressive Conservatives)'. Isn't that ironic?' Article content Article content A reasonable person might make a distinction between not helping and actively, publicly criticizing, and Ford did indulge himself in some sniping at the federal party during the recent national election. So did Ford's adviser, Kory Teneycke. But if that was sabotage, it was highly ineffective. Article content Under Poilievre, the Conservatives gained seats in Ontario and the Liberals lost them in sufficient numbers to prevent their leader Mark Carney from winning a majority. Poilievre even collected a higher percentage of the popular vote than did Ford himself just months ago. Article content Ontario is where the Conservatives held back a seemingly unstoppable Liberal tide, confounding pollsters' predictions of a dismal result in the province. The poll aggregator projected 82 seats for the Liberals in Ontario, and just 37 for the Conservatives. Article content In the end, Poilievre took 53 seats, up from 37 in 2021. The Liberals got 69, down from 78 before. The Conservatives had 43.8 per cent of the vote, just ahead of Ford's 42.97 per cent in the provincial vote. If an incumbent like Ford running against two weak opponents could only get about 43 per cent provincially, that suggests it's the ceiling for conservative politicians in Ontario. Article content Article content The bad blood between federal Conservatives and PCs in Ontario certainly predates Ford and Poilievre. When I was a provincial PC candidate more than a decade ago, federal party types made it abundantly clear that they were the pros and the provincial PCs were inept losers. It seems like not much has changed. But it should.
CBC
10-02-2025
- Politics
- CBC
These Waterloo region voters have their say about what top issues in this Ontario election
With just over two weeks until ballots are cast for the Ontario election, voters are starting to hone in on the key issues affecting them in their ridings. In CBC K-W's second voter panel, hosted Monday on The Morning Edition with Craig Norris, voters from Perth-Wellington and Waterloo gathered to share their views on what matters most to them. For Stratford's Ron Garland and Waterloo's Carol Moogk-Soulis and Rodney Chan, those issues were health care, public transit and social housing. Health care under strain Garland emphasized that a lack of primary care and hospital beds in Perth-Wellington are creating a crisis for his community. "Emergency rooms shut down on a regular basis," said Garland, adding "hospitals are struggling to keep their beds open." Garland said thousands of people in Perth-Wellington don't have access to a primary care provider. "That's a crime, in my opinion." Transit funding For Chan, the key issue in this election is public transportation. He highlighted how essential public transit is for accessing health care, education, work and groceries. "It's a key lifeline for people and it's just been starved of funding for the past few decades in this province," said Chan. The Ontario Progressive Conservatives have promised ambitious GO transit expansion and funding if re-elected, but Chan said big capital spending isn't enough to maintain a higher standard of public transportation. "We see that upper levels of government love to fund big infrastructure projects so they can cut the ribbon, but the key day-to-day operations funding is what is needed to run frequent service, reliable service," he said. He said inter-city transit between Waterloo region, Guelph and Brantford is needed, and "there's currently no frequent direct connection between all of them." The decline of social housing For Moogk-Soulis, the supply of social housing has declined drastically since she used it herself as a student in her youth. Referencing NDP MP Charlie Angus's book A Dangerous Memory, she said she was amazed to read that in Toronto in the 1980s, "between 20,000 and 30,000 social housing units were built per year." "I remember having grown up here, so many social housing programs, projects," she said. "And then they stopped." Moogk-Soulis said that for some people, social housing was a forever home and for others like herself, it's a transitional phase. "We didn't have people living in tents. It makes me very sad to see that," she said. "When did we stop being concerned enough about people to look at the past, look at some of the solutions?" Deciding at the ballot box When asked whether their local candidates were addressing these key issues, the panelists were largely disappointed. Garland said he feels his local Ontario Liberal candidate works with seniors and that she's "definitely advocating for healthcare." Moogk-Soulis noted, "I'm just hearing big things, big things," from the Ontario PCs. She worries they aren't focusing enough on the smaller needs of the community. Chan mentioned that while the NDP, Greens and Liberals have proposed ideas that align well with his ideas of public building and local transit support, the promises remain unproven. On the other hand, Chan said the PCs have the most ambitious vision of building out the broader transit network. When it came down to the decisions the panelists would be making on their ballot, there was less conviction and more uncertainty. Garland said he's decided, Moogk-Soulis said she knows who she will not be voting for, and Chan said it's still a toss up. CBC K-W wants to hear from you in this election What is at stake for you personally as you head to the polls? Fill out our Ontario election survey below:
CBC
10-02-2025
- Politics
- CBC
These Waterloo region voters have their say about what the top issues are this provincial election
Social Sharing With just over two weeks until votes are cast for the Ontario election, voters are starting to hone in on the key issues affecting them in their ridings. In CBC K-W's second voter panel, hosted Monday on The Morning Edition with Craig Norris, voters from Perth-Wellington and Waterloo gathered to share their views on what matters most to them. For Stratford's Ron Garland and Waterloo's Carol Moogk-Soulis and Rodney Chan, those issues were healthcare, public transit and social housing. Healthcare under strain Garland emphasized that a lack of primary care and hospital beds in Perth-Wellington are creating a crisis for his community. "Emergency rooms shut down on a regular basis," said Garland, adding that "hospitals are struggling to keep their beds open." Garland said there are thousands of people in Perth-Wellington who don't have access to a primary care provider. "That's a crime, in my opinion." Transit funding For Chan, the key issue in this election is public transportation. He highlighted how essential public transit is for accessing healthcare, education, work and groceries. "It's a key lifeline for people and it's just been starved of funding for the past few decades in this province," said Chan. The Ontario Progressive Conservatives have promised ambitious GO transit expansion and funding if re-elected, but Chan said that big capital spending isn't enough to maintain a higher standard of public transportation. "We see that upper levels of government love to fund big infrastructure projects so they can cut the ribbon, but the key day-to-day operations funding is what is needed to run frequent service, reliable service," he said. He said that inter-city transit between Waterloo region, Guelph and Brantford is needed, saying, "there's currently no frequent direct connection between all of them." The decline of social housing For Moogk-Soulis, she said the supply of social housing has declined drastically since she used it herself as a student in her youth. Referencing NDP MP Charlie Angus' book A Dangerous Memory, she said that she was amazed to read that in Toronto in the 1980s, "between 20,000 and 30,000 social housing units were built per year." "I remember having grown up here, so many social housing programs, projects," she said. "And then they stopped." Moogk-Soulis said that for some people, social housing was a forever home and for others like herself, it's a transitional phase. "We didn't have people living in tents. It makes me very sad to see that," she said. "When did we stop being concerned enough about people to look at the past, look at some of the solutions?" Deciding at the ballot box When asked whether their local candidates were addressing these key issues, the panelists were largely disappointed. Garland said he feels his local Ontario Liberal candidate works with seniors and that she's "definitely advocating for healthcare." Moogk-Soulis noted, "I'm just hearing big things, big things," from the Ontario PCs. She worries they aren't focusing enough on the smaller needs of the community. Chan mentioned that while the NDP, Greens and Liberals have proposed ideas that align well with his ideas of public building and local transit support, the promises remain unproven. On the other hand, Chan said the PCs have the most ambitious vision of building out the broader transit network. When it came down to the decisions the panelists would be making on their ballot, there was less conviction and more uncertainty. Garland said he's decided, Moogk-Soulis said she knows who she will not be voting for, and Chan said it's still a toss up. CBC K-W wants to hear from you in this election What is at stake for you personally as you head to the polls? Fill out our Ontario election survey below:
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A running list of Ontario election promises in campaign for snap Feb. 27 vote
TORONTO — A running list of election promises announced by the Ontario Progressive Conservatives, NDP, Liberals and Greens in the province's snap election campaign. The vote is set for Feb. 27. Progressive Conservatives Feb. 8 on security: Spend $50 million to expand the Ontario Provincial Police's Joint-Air Support Unit with two new H-135 helicopters to support the Niagara Regional Police and the Windsor Police Service with increased border patrols, security and enforcement. Feb. 7 on transportation: Build a tunnel under Highway 401 from Mississauga in the west to the Markham area in the east, at an unknown cost. Feb. 6 on transit: Seek to build a freight rail bypass along the Highway 407 corridor in Peel Region. Feb. 5 on affordability: Take tolls off Highway 407 East, the provincially owned portion of the highway. Permanently cut the provincial gas tax by 5.7 cents a litre, which the PC government has already done on a temporary basis since July 2022. Feb. 4 on transit: Upload the Ottawa LRT and integrate its operations under provincial transit agency Metrolinx, taking costs off the city's books to the tune of about $4 billion over a few decades. Feb. 3 on tariffs: Spend $10 billion toward support for employers through a six-month deferral of provincially administered taxes on Ontario businesses and $3 billion toward payroll tax and premium relief, $600 million in a fund aimed at attracting investments, and $300 million to expand an Ontario manufacturing tax credit. Jan. 31 on infrastructure: Spend $15 billion over three years to speed up capital projects including widening the Queen Elizabeth Way between Burlington and St. Catharines. Add $5 billion to the Building Ontario Fund. Add $2 billion to the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program and Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund. Add $300 million to the Community Sport and Recreation Fund. Jan. 30 on electric vehicles: Commit to deals with Stellantis and Volkswagen for their battery plants regardless of what happens with U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to impose tariffs and rip up electric vehicle tax credits. Jan. 30 on tariffs: Invest $1 billion in a skills development fund for autoworkers to transition to a different trade and another $100 million for an employment fund to help workers who are vulnerable to trade disputes transition to "in-demand" jobs. Jan. 29 on infrastructure: Spend $1 billion to build a new police college. No further details were provided. NDP Feb. 8 on affordability: Create a monthly grocery rebate for lower- and middle-income Ontarians, linked to inflation, with a family of four able to get up to $122 per month. Create a provincial consumer watchdog office. Establish a Corporate Crime and Competition Bureau. Force large retailers to publicly post when they raise prices more than two per cent in a week. Feb. 7 on health care: Ensure every Ontarian has access to a family doctor by recruiting and supporting 3,500 new doctors, reduce administrative burden on doctors, introduce more family health teams and shorter specialist wait times, and increase the number of internationally trained doctors, at a total cost of $4 billion. Feb. 6 on housing: End a loophole that exempts rental units built after 2018 from rent control. Crack down on renovictions and demovictions. Allow fourplexes as of right in all neighbourhoods and allow midrise apartments along transit corridors as of right. Limit short-term rentals like AirBnB's to primary residences. Build or acquire at least 300,000 affordable rental homes. Feb. 5 on homelessness: End encampments and tackle chronic homelessness by creating 60,000 supportive housing units, having the province pay for shelter costs instead of municipalities and doubling social assistance rates. Feb. 4 on education: Spend an additional $830 million to repair schools. Hire more school staff. Create a universal school food program. Support students with disabilities. Invest in French education. Feb. 3 on tariffs: Implement a federal-provincial income support program, direct agencies to procure locally and create new supply chains for trade-exposed industries. The NDP did not say how much this would cost, only that it would work in lockstep with the federal government to deliver the stimulus. Jan. 27 on affordability: Get rid of tolls for all drivers on Highway 407, on both the government-owned portion and the privately owned part, named the 407 ETR. The party also pledged to buy that part back. Liberals Feb. 8 on accountability: Appoint a special investigator to look into various plans and deals under Doug Ford, including the $612 million cost of speeding up the availability of alcohol in corner stores by one year, the sudden closure of the Ontario Science Centre and the now-reversed Greenbelt land swap, also under RCMP criminal investigation. Feb. 5 on affordability: Double Ontario Disability Support Program benefits. The boost would be pegged to inflation and phased in over two years. Feb. 3 on tariffs: Offer a $150,000 bonus to Canadian doctors and nurses working in the U.S. if they come back here to work, establish a "fight tariff fund" giving Ontario businesses lower interest rates, and eliminate interprovincial trade barriers. Also pledged to phase in rent control. No costing for the plan was included. Jan. 31 on transit: Boost transit safety by hiring 300 special constables, doubling investment in mobile crisis intervention teams, giving transit services an unspecified amount of money for safety equipment such as cameras, and installing platform doors in all Toronto subway stations. Jan. 31 on affordability: Cut middle income tax bracket by 22 per cent and take HST off home heating and hydro bills. Jan. 30 on electric vehicles: Bring back consumer rebates for electric-vehicle purchases in an effort to help slumping sales. Jan. 29 on health care: Give all Ontarians access to a family doctor within four years by significantly expanding the health team network and recruiting thousands of new domestically and internationally trained family doctors. Greens Feb. 7 on affordability: Cut income taxes for people making under $65,000 a year and raise taxes on people in the top tax bracket. Feb. 6 on affordability: Immediately double Ontario Disability Support Program and Ontario Works rates and tie future increases to inflation. Build 310,000 affordable non-profit and co-op homes, including 60,000 supportive homes. Feb. 5 on agriculture: Expand business risk management programs by $150 million annually. Develop local procurement guidelines for public sector food purchases. Create an AgTech Innovation Fund for the food and farming sector. Mandate permanent protection of farmland. Feb. 4 on local priorities: advocate for new hospitals in Huntsville and Bracebridge. Safeguard the watershed and work with Indigenous communities to conserve 30 per cent of natural areas by 2030. Feb. 3 on housing: Allow fourplexes across the province and homes with six units in large cities, and mid-rise buildings of six to 11 storeys on transit corridors and main streets. The Greens also pledged to remove development charges on homes under 2,000 square feet and remove the land transfer tax for first-time homebuyers. Jan. 31 on tariffs: Create a tariff task force, create an investment tax credit, develop a Buy Ontario strategy, create a Protect Ontario Fund for businesses disproportionately impacted, diversify trade partners and work to remove interprovincial trade barriers. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 8, 2025. The Canadian Press
