I know some people that can’t wait until October 10th. What you say? For those of you politically challenged (which includes myself) that’s the day of the Ontario provincial election. You might not stampede the polls but for political junkies it’s a bit like a small super bowl.
What’s different this time is there is no mystery about it. With a fixed election date the provincial government gave up any advantage the governing party usually has. Premier McGuinty has already rolled up this legislative session. Ontario voters will surely be treated to the longest election campaign on record.
Who’s going to win? I dunno, but something tells me the political winds of change are blowing. That might mean a minority Liberal government, or flip to the Conservatives. Or if the stars are aligning Bob Rae style, Howard Hampton might find himself in the Premier’s chair. With the unofficial campaign now underway, it’ll be a tussle to see who captures the voter’s imagination.
Clearly, the favourite to usurp Dalton McGuinty as Premier will be John Tory. Tory, the former commissioner of the CFL and long time Conservative is gunning hard for the Premier’s job. He has tried to differentiate himself from the former Mike Harris Conservatives by launching a softer, more inclusive platform versus the old common sense revolution. Tory knows McGuinty is vulnerable on a number of fronts. Currently deadlocked in the polls with the Liberals, I expect him to give McGuinty a fight.
I don’t know John Tory. However I have talked to him before. Huh? Ok, let’s set the seen. It was a couple of years ago and your loyal scribe was at a farm rally at Queen’s Park. Farmers were there from across Ontario protesting Liberal agricultural policy. I was a spectator, being a year before local farmers foisted me on their soldiers.
As speaker after speaker came to the podium to extol the transgressions of the McGuinty government I noticed John Tory in the crowd wearing an old Maple Leaf sweater. As time went on I found myself beside him. I chuckled as his indignation grew with every passing moment. Frankly, I didn’t think he knew much about provincial agricultural policy. How would he have a clue? So smelling a quote immediately after the rally I leaned over and said, “what do you think?” He leaned back and said, “great meeting!”
We’ll see. If he gets to his political mountaintop I’ll have the quote of the century. Remarkably, he released his agricultural platform last week and he gave Ontario farmers almost everything they have been asking for. Maybe he really did think it was a great meeting. We’ll see how farm voters react when fall harvest gets here.
The last time I saw Howard Hampton was last October in Wallaceburg. I had been invited along with some local farm leaders to meet with the NDP leader. I’ve always liked Hampton, first seeing him in action as Solicitor General of the Bob Rae government. Hampton faces an up hill battle in Ontario. How does he capture Ontarian’s imagination to make them vote for something other than Liberal or Conservative? It’s a tall order and one Hampton would surely like to break. He would make a good Premier.
Of course none of this will happen if the winds of change don’t blow in October. I’ve never met Dalton McGuinty. However, I’ve always had lots of respect for the man. He won the Liberal leadership after finishing fourth on the first ballot. He actually won in the very wee hours of the morning when almost everybody had gone to bed. He then lost an election to Mike Harris only to survive to win another day. Whether you like McGuinty or not, you have to respect that. Writing him off as the October date gets closer is a non-starter.
McGuinty has surely had his foibles. He told Ontarians he wouldn’t raise their taxes and then he did. The Ontario health tax remains very controversial and his handling of the Ontario electricity grid has been very suspect. His former Minister of Agriculture Steve Peters completely sold out Ontario farmers when he signed the Agricultural Policy Framework with the then Chretien government. Massive farm protests followed. So there have been problems. That’s one reason why some people can’t wait to get to those polls.
Locally, it’ll surely be a horse race. Typically, I’m asked to brief some of the candidates on what’s happening in the world of agricultural economics. Last election I did that for people representing four different political parties and one national leader. We’ll see what happens this time. My own political motivations will always remain private. But get ready Ontario. The upcoming political season will be long and very eventful.