Thursday’s election saw the lowest voter turnout for a provincial vote in eleven years.
Photo of Political Science professor Don Desserud (UPEI)
Only 43 per cent of eligible voters came out to the polls in 2022, despite advance polling numbers being higher than in the 2018 election.
When discussing the numbers, Don Desserud, a Political Science Professor with the University of Prince Edward Island, says the public is losing confidence in the government’s ability to actually solve problems.
“People will say things like, ‘what exactly are you there for?’ and that means that your enthusiasm for voting is diminished a lot as well. Some common thoughts among the public include, are we going to get a better government? Oh well we may not, they are all the same,” added Desserud.
Just 28.66 per cent of those in the Kiiwetinoong riding cast a ballot while the number was 38 per cent in Kenora-Rainy River and almost 43 per cent in both Thunder Bay-Atikokan and Thunder Bay-Superior North.
With files from Katie Nicholls, Mike Ebbeling & Randy Thoms
The Progressive Conservative Party has won a second consecutive majority government.
Doug Ford’s PCs are leading or elected in at least 82 seats in the province. The NDP are leading or elected in 29 and the Liberals in eight.
In a speech at his riding headquarters, Ford said he’s focused on creating opportunities for workers in a variety of sectors, regions and walks of life.
“If you’re a miner in the north who is out of work, I want you to know we’re building that road to the Ring of Fire,” he said. “If you’ve had to worry about your job at the local auto plant, I want you to know we’re investing in the future of Ontario’s auto sector. If you’re a student who wants to work in the tech sector, we will have a job waiting for you. If you’re a newcomer with a degree who can’t get a job in your field, we’ll make sure you can get the credentials you need.”
The party won 76 seats to form a majority government in 2018.
Ford has also been re-elected in his home riding of Etobicoke North.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath won re-election in Hamilton Centre, but she did announce that she will step down as party leader.
Liberal Steven Del Duca could not regain his own riding Vaughan-Woodbridge, losing to PC candidate Michael Tibollo.
The Grits also lost official party status.
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner was re-elected in his Guelph riding with more than 50 per cent of the vote.
“We are proving that Greens are here to stay,” said Schreiner at his riding headquarters. “We are building momentum across this riding and across this province.”
Schreiner won the party’s first-ever seat in Ontario in 2018.
Thunder Bay-Atikokan and Kiiwetinoong will have delayed election results.
Several reports indicate that Elections Ontario is extending voting at 27 locations past 9:00 p.m. Eastern time.
In a statement Thursday, Chief Electoral Officer Greg Essensa said due to a lack of staff in Kiiwetinoong, there is a special directive to allow people to vote even if they are away from their communities.
What will the next government do to support families with Autistic children?
It’s one of many questions on the mind of voters with election day set for Thursday, June 2nd.
Alina Cameron is a mom to a seven year old daughter on the Autism spectrum and shared with Acadia News that there were a few interim funding programs available to families.
“If you had applied by a certain date and had registered for the Ontario Autism Program (OAP), there was a patchwork of little programs that were very targeted to help with certain age groups and certain behaviours,” explained Cameron. “There was also the one-time interim funding, and some families were able to access the funds and use it on therapies. Other families didn’t have access to and for many families, like mine, the funding only covered a small portion of the expenses. But now the program is finished and everyone is waiting.”
Cameron is also involved with the Ontario Autism Coalition as well as the Northern Autism Families group.
The provincial program pledged funds to families if they registered before April 2021 for eligible services and supports.
The amount that a family received was based on the age of the child as of April 1, 2022.
When looking at the platforms for the major parties, Cameron noted the PC Party wants the OAP to remain the same with no mention of it in their platform.
Cameron likes what she’s heard and seen from the other parties, adding “We like that they are willing to work with and build on what exists already. Scrapping the program and starting from scratch would waste more of our children’s time… we don’t have time for that.”
Both the Liberals and NDP have said they will get rid of the current age caps that exist for the OAP, and will make the program truly needs based.
The NDP platform calls for an increase to the budget by $125 million by 2024-2025 and the decision making for the treatment in the hands of clinicians and parents, not bureaucrats.
The Liberal platform doesn’t mention an increase to the budget but does indicate a plan to implement direct billing to families.
The Green Party wants to increase funding and implement the Ultimate Wait Time benchmark for diagnosis and access to services.
Making Highways 11 and 17 a Class 1 highway in Ontario.
That promise coming from Ontario Liberal party leader Steven Del Duca, who made a few stops in Thunder Bay on Sunday to support Thunder Bay-Superior North candidate Shelby Ch’ng and Thunder Bay-Atikokan candidate Robert Barrett.
“What I learned in my time at the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is that we need to do more to support highway and road safety and maintenance throughout the province, including here in and around Thunder Bay, across the North, across the Northwest,” said Del Duca.
“That’s why we’ve made this decision as part of our platform.”
When asked why he didn’t make the move while he was the Minister of Transportation (2004-2018), Del Duca only said he’s running for Premier and not a senior cabinet member.
A Class 1 designation allows snow removal equipment to be deployed as soon as 2.5 centimetres of snow has fallen and also calls for inspections three times every seven days.
Del Duca began the day at Goods & Co on Red River Road, and then had a private meeting with Fort William First Nation Chief Peter Collins.
Liberal leader Steven Del Duca arriving at Goods & Co on Sunday, May 22, 2022
Del Duca, when discussing the Indigenous portfolio, said under an Ontario government, there would be a minister dedicated to Indigenous reconciliation.
“I think it was a horrible mistake on the part of Ford Progressive Conservatives to get rid of that exclusive and stand alone responsibility given how serious the challenges are,” he said.
Del Duca added that the Liberal plan also promises to build new units of off-reserve Indigenous housing and to include more teachings in history classes on topics like the residential school system.
Before heading to Sudbury, the leader also pledged that residents would pay less at the pumps.
“Ontario Liberals, come July 1, will take 5.7 cents a litre off of the gas tax and 5.3 cents a litre off of the fuel tax to give people immediate relief at the pumps,” said Del Duca.
The Ontario PC Party also vowed a 5.7 cents a litre drop in the gas tax on July 1, while the NDP wants to see the price of fuel regulated through the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) on a weekly basis, instead of gas companies.
A promise to regulate the price you pay at the pump.
In a virtual call Friday, NDP leader Andrea Horwath stated that both the PC’s and Liberals want to have short term and unsustainable plans of cutting a portion of gas and fuel taxes.
Horwath is continuing the campaign on Zoom after announcing on Thursday that she had tested positive for COVID-19.
The plan, if her party forms government, would see the regulation happen through the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) on a weekly basis, instead of gas companies deciding the price for buyers, which rolls down to consumers filling up at the pumps.
The Ontario PC’s have vowed to bring in a pump reduction of 5.7 cents a litre for six months, beginning July 1st.
Del Duca’s Liberal plan is to reduce prices by 11 cents per litre on the gas and fuel tax (five cents respectively).
Horwath also addressed the ongoing water crisis in the north as well as the growing housing crisis.
She noted it’s been “a game of ping-pong” from recent provincial governments to the federal government, and back again on who’s responsible for improving living conditions for rural communities.
The NDP leader spoke about being able to provide a level living dignity to those living on First Nation’s communities as well as in the larger urban areas of Ontario’s north.
Advance polls are open this weekend with election day set for Thursday June 2nd.
It’s a vicious circle when the price of gas rises, so does the cost of food and products along with it.
Since there is less than two weeks left until election day on June 2nd, what have the political parties offered to do for Ontario residents to lower the price of groceries and gas?
Progressive Conservative
Nothing specifically noted to lower grocery costs in their platform.
Gas: proposing a six month relief of gas tax at 5.7 cents/L starting July 1st. (they note that there’s already a 4.73 per cent cut that’s already in place after cancelling the former Liberal’s cap & trade program).
Offering a new credit called Low-income Individuals and Families Tax (LIFT) Credit, that is supposed to help individuals and families to have more cash in their pockets in order to pay for groceries.
Liberals
Offering to remove the provincial tax (eight per cent) on prepared foods at grocery stores listed for under $20. ex: prepared roast chickens, fruit/veggie trays…etc.
The HST would be subsidized by a one per cent surtax on Ontario companies that earn more than a billion dollars, as well as introducing a new tax bracket for Ontarians that earn more than $500,000.
Offering to remove the 5.7 cents/L of the gas tax and 5.3 cents/L on the fuel tax.
NDP
While there’s no specific plan to cut taxes or add a specific credit, the party does want to create a provincial food strategy that supports local farmers and the agri-food industry via mentorship, financial advice and loan guarantees.
Wants to regulate the price of gas through the Ontario Energy Board (OEB), which would benefit drivers as well as businesses shipping products
Green Party
Offering to fund the start ups of “community-owned healthy food markets”.
Establish purchasing goals for the provincial government for Ontario produced foods.
Nothing specifically noted to lower grocery costs in their platform.
While this isn’t an exhaustive list of ways that each political party would reduce your price at the pumps or at the grocery store, it is a starting point to aid in your decision making before heading to the polls on Thurs. June 2nd.
Less than 20 days until election day as the four major party leaders sparred for a second time.
Doug Ford of the PC’s, Steven Del Duca of the Liberals, Mike Schreiner of the Green Party and Andrea Horwath of the NDP all faced the same four topics in Toronto, with one question asking if they have any political regrets.
Schreiner said Monday night that his mistake was not running in the riding of Guelph in the 2014 Ontario election.
Ford regretted not running before June of 2018 when he was first elected as the member of provincial parliament for the riding of Etobicoke North.
Del Duca pointed to the Liberal Party result in the election four years ago when they won just seven seats.
Horwath did not give a specific example of a regret, noting they are opportunities to learn and to do better next time.
During the debate, Ford told the audience the PC Party is the only one that will cut through excuses. He added a vote for any of the other three parties will mean the return of licence plate fees as well as an increase to the gas tax and other taxes.
Horwath spent her opening statement talking about bringing back care to long term care, and keeping the profits out of it.
Del Duca delivered the message that the Ford PC’s have walked away from their responsibility to lead Ontario and left voters to fend for themselves.
Schreiner stressed it is now or never to address the climate crisis, urging Ontarians to help stop Doug Ford from paving over the future of the province.
During discussions about healthcare, Ford stressed that if a bad decision was made by his government during the COVID-19 pandemic, he apologized and tried to make things better.
Del Duca pointed to a decision by the government in April of 2021 that led to area playgrounds closing and allowing police to make random stops for not following the stay-at-home order.
“For two and a half years, literally 24/7, I was working on this pandemic,” Ford fired back. “It’s easy to sit back from the sidelines when you didn’t have to make the tough decisions that I had to make and criticize. You have the easiest job in the world.”
During the education portion of the debate, Horwath agreed with Ford that shop class should be back in the public school system, adding that it should not be privatized “so your buddies can make some money off of it.”
Ford responded with, “I’m glad that we agree on the skilled trades, even though the trade unions don’t support Ms. Horwath because they don’t believe in her. They also don’t support the Liberals.”
Doug Ford’s attendance record at Question Period was also highlighted by Steven Del Duca.
“More than 82 per cent of the time set aside for him to respond to the opposition parties, he has been absent,” noted Del Duca. “If you don’t show up to work 82 per cent of the time, I suspect that you don’t promoted and chances are you wouldn’t keep your job.”
Ford responded by pointing to the previous Liberal government who sold Hydro One in 2018.
This 90 minute debate was held a week after the gathering in North Bay.
Election Day is Thursday, June 2nd.
Advance polls will open on Thursday, May 19th.
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