Liberals, NDP snipe at each other as Ontario election campaign reaches halfway mark

Ontario's Liberal leader is calling New Democrat criticisms of his party's candidates "desperation tactics" that will help the Progressive Conservatives' re-election efforts.

Steven Del Duca refused to comment today when he was asked about allegations raised by the NDP that the Liberal candidate in Chatham-Kent-Leamington was fraudulently registered for next month's election.

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Steven Del Duca refused to comment today when he was asked about allegations raised by the NDP that the Liberal candidate in Chatham-Kent-Leamington was fraudulently registered for next month's election.

Del Duca says he won't engage in "petty back-and-forth" over candidate issues with Andrea Horwath's party, which already raised criticism about other Liberal candidates who were dropped before the nomination deadline.

Horwath says the nomination issue is a serious one that Del Duca should respond to, not frame as an attack against him.

Meanwhile, Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford is standing by a Tory candidate after a published report said he was involved with organizations that published homophobic views.

Ford, who was speaking on NDP turf in Hamilton, says Will Bouma did not write the articles in question.

The revelations about candidates and escalating tensions between the Liberals and NDP come halfway through the province's election campaign.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 17, 2022.