Doug Ford government confident they'll be re-elected 6 months before vote
Ontario's Progressive Conservatives are expressing confidence that voters will send Doug Ford back to Queen's Park for a second term as premier in 2022.
In exactly six months, voters will have their first chance to voice their feelings about the Ford government's four years in office--deciding whether to stay the course or thrust a new party into government.
Government House Leader Paul Calandra acknowledged the June 2 election, like all elections, will be a referendum on the Ford government's first mandate and whether the party lived up to its promises.
"It is always going to be a referendum on how you did ... I don't expect this election to be any different," Calandra told reporters at Queen's Park.
Despite years of highs and lows and mixed reviews of how the government has handled the pandemic so far, Calandra said the government is feeling confident about its chances in the next election.
"I am very confident that even more Progressive Conservatives will be sitting in that legislature after June 2," Calandra said.
The PC party, which was elected with 40 per cent of the vote in 2018, could face more of a challenge in this election as multiple polls have shrunk their lead over their political adversaries -- the NDP, Liberals and Green Party -- to the single digits.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, who was elected as Official Opposition Leader in 2018, laid out her clear expectations for the next election campaign.
"I'm running for premier," she declared at Queen's Park. "I think people know very well that this next expectation is going to be an extremely important one."
Horwath suggested her election strategy is to remind voters of the government's record over the past four years as a signal of what's to come if the PC government were to receive another mandate.
"The last thing we need coming out of the pandemic, hopefully next year, is a government that's just going to go right back to cutting," Horwath said.
The Ontario Liberals, in contrast, are pledging not to "dwell on the past" and instead focus on how to rebuild the economy after the pandemic as they attempt to dramatically increase their seat count in the Legislature.
The party was trounced from office in 2018, after 15 years in charge, and was reduced to seven seats -- one of the worst showings in party history.
Liberal House Leader John Fraser believes, however, the party can repeat the success of Justin Trudeau's federal Liberals, which was catapulted into government from third place during the 2015 national election.
"Yes, 100 per cent," Fraser said when asked whether the provincial Liberals can leapfrog over other parties. "Just working hard to earn people's trust by talking to them about your plans for the things that are important to you."
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner, whose party made history in 2018 by gaining its first seat in the Ontario Legislature, is more realistic about his party's chances and instead is setting his sights on an increased seat count and provincewide vote totals.
Schreiner expressed some concern about the tone of the next election campaign, given the ramped up rhetoric in the legislature.
"The negative ads that the other parties are already running this far in advance of the election suggests there will be a fair amount of negative campaigning unfortunately."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.