As the Ontario election campaign heads into the home stretch, the Liberals are attempting to lure NDP supporters with fresh attacks against NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and the Tories.
Wynne appeals to NDP base
Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne made a bold appeal to NDP supporters during a campaign stop in Mississauga on Sunday, warning that a vote for Andrea Horwath would be a vote for the Progressive Conservatives.
“You can't stop Tim Hudak by voting NDP in this election," Wynne said at a Liberal rally.
She reminded voters that the NDP have not ruled out supporting Tim Hudak in the event of a coalition government, noting that Horwath could not be trusted to follow through on her campaign promises.
"That is how far the NDP has fallen -- it's not the party that it was," Wynne said. "It's not the party of Jack Layton. It's not the party of Ed Broadbent. It's not the party of Stephen Lewis."
Wynne’s comments came on the same day the Liberals released a new ad aimed at the NDP base.
The ad warns of the Tories plan to cut 100,000 public sector jobs, claiming that a “split vote will only help Hudak’s chances.”
Hudak warns supporters of Liberal attacks
PC Leader Tim Hudak urged supporters to ignore the attacks and scare tactics used by the Liberals to sway voters against him at a stop in St. Catharines.
"In the last few days of this campaign you're going to see a very, very crystal clear difference. You'll see the Liberals trying to frighten you about our plan because they don't want to talk about their record," he said Sunday.
"They're going to demand your vote because they're addicted to power."
Hudak said that while Wynne is busy calling her rivals “desperate” and telling voters what not to vote for, the final days of his campaign will continue to focus on core issues like job creation and taxes.
A recent Ipsos Reid poll for CTV News shows the PCs and Liberals in a dead heat among decided voters, with 35 per cent of the vote.
Horwath says NDP best choice among ‘corrupt and crazy’
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath took aim at both the Tories and the Liberals while hosting a radio show in Toronto on Sunday.
Answering questions from callers, Horwath said voters didn’t need to pick “between corrupt and crazy.”
Horwath has branded the Wynne government as corrupt throughout the campaign, challenging the Liberals to come clean about the details surrounding the controversial cancellation to two Ontario gas plants back in 2011.
She has also attacked the PCs over their plan to create one million jobs across the province in the next eight years, stating that the proposed plan is based on bad math and has “a million mistakes” in it.
“The ideas that Mr. Hudak is bringing don't make any sense and are frankly crazy," she said. "His ideas don't make sense and people tell me they definitely want change."
Horwath said she wasn’t concerned about not receiving an endorsement from any of Ontario’s three major newspapers, telling reporters she will let voters make up their own minds on election day.
Hudak was endorsed by The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Sun and The National Post, while Wynne received an endorsement from the Toronto Star.
With files from The Canadian Press