Thomas Walkom

Ontarians have voted to shake things up.

By electing Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives, a strong plurality of voters have signalled that they are no longer satisfied with the centre-left policies promoted by Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals and Andrea Horwath’s New Democrats.

Instead, they are opting for a return to the old-time religion of tax and spending cuts.

In doing so, they have given Ford carte blanche to do virtually anything he wants.

Some of the former Toronto councillor’s pledges are known.

He has promised, for instance, to pull out of the California-Quebec cap and trade system that Wynne’s government joined in order to fight climate change.

And he has promised tax cuts for big and small business as well as middle and upper income individuals.

But what spending cuts he will make to finance these promises remains a mystery.

Ford has said only that he plans to find close to $6 billion a year in so-called efficiencies.

One of his first actions is likely to be a wide-ranging spending review with an eye to finding these efficiencies.

Christine Elliott, a former leadership rival who is expected to be one of the key figures in a Ford cabinet, has already said that any review would take a close look at health-care spending, where she said billions are being squandered.

Ford’s victory also spells the beginning of the end of Ontario’s controversial infatuation with renewable energy. The PC leader has said he won’t sign any more wind and solar contracts and will try to renegotiate those that already exist.

He has said he will fight any attempt by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government to levy a carbon tax on Ontario. Trudeau has said he would impose such a tax on any province that does not have its own plan for battling climate change.

Toward the end of her mandate, Wynne put in place a series of leftish social policies, including free pharmacare for those under 25 and free post-secondary tuition for low-income students.

It’s not clear if Ford will back any of these.

Nor is it clear whether he’ll cancel modest new measures the Liberals put in place to help precarious workers.

The Tories have said they will scupper plans to raise the minimum wage from $14 to $15 per hour next January.

They have also signalled plans roll