TORONTO -
Pam Taylor may have lost her last electoral bid for Toronto Centre, but the Progressive Conservative byelection candidate says the Liberals' decade-long hold on the riding has slipped since she finished second to George Smitherman in 2007.
The pending 13 per cent harmonized sales tax has made the government less popular since Eric Hoskins held onto the nearby St. Paul's riding for the Liberals in a byelection last fall, said Taylor, who feels the unpopular tax will help her in the Feb. 4 vote.
"Something has changed between September and December... whether it's the fact that many more jobs have been lost or whether people are waking up," she said in an interview.
"I like to think the fact my party had a sit-in (to protest the HST) in the legislature got people's attention."
Toronto Centre has one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the country. There are huge differences in income levels, from the Victorian townhouses of Cabbagetown and the mansions of Rosedale to the public housing of Regent Park and the highrise apartment towers of St. Jamestown, home to wave after wave of new immigrants.
The riding went up for grabs after Smitherman, a former cabinet minister and deputy premier, resigned from provincial politics earlier this month to run for Toronto mayor.
Coming in a very distant second to Smitherman in the last general election didn't scare her away from running in this byelection, said Taylor, a lawyer who has curtailed some of her legal business to concentrate on her community service work.
"I'm the politician who hasn't gone away," she laughs.
Liberal Glen Murray, the former mayor of Winnipeg, is a "parachute candidate" and a virtual unknown in the riding, despite having the advantage of the government's publicity machine and inheriting Smitherman's formidable organization in the riding, said Taylor.
"Notwithstanding what you read in the press, because a lot of that comes from the premier's office, he's relatively unknown," she said.
"So when I go to the door it is very common for me to hear: 'We don't know this guy. We don't know anything about him. Why should we vote for him?"'
The New Democrats are looking for an upset win in Toronto Centre and have pinned their hopes on Cathy Crowe, a well-known street nurse who works with the homeless. Taylor said she's willing to stack her community service in the riding up against Crowe's.
"I have worked with the St. Jamestown community in a very profound way, I've spent a lot of time there, and I haven't seen her," said Taylor.
"What I heard in Regent Park is that she's very active in the homeless community, and with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty ... but not the riding as a whole."
Born in Welland, Ont., Taylor set up her own practice after years of working for TVOntario. She is married and has two sons, one 20 and one 24, both of whom are musicians. Her husband is from France and spoke no English when they were married, giving her a close-up view of the immigrant's experience in Canada, said Taylor.
"I'm certainly aware and sensitive to the immigrant experience, which is also helpful to this riding," she said.
People in the Toronto riding should use the byelection to let the Liberal government know they oppose the harmonized sales tax that kicks in July 1, said Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak.
"This is an opportunity for Toronto Centre residents to send a message that they're sick and tired of paying more in taxes and fees and getting nothing in return," said Hudak.
