Hudak takes his leave
A fixture at Queen’s Park since 1995 and former party leader, local MPP headed for the private sector
And just like that, it was over. Tim Hudak said goodbye to public life.
Hudak, 48, announced he would resign as MPP for Niagara West– Glanbrook on Sept. 16 to become chief executive of the Ontario Real Estate Association, an industry lobby group that represents about 64,000 people who sell homes in the province.
“It’s one of those moments in life when a great opportunity has come along, and you seize it,” he said. “I am in the happy circumstance where I am in one job I love, and I’m leaving for another job I know I’m going to like — and I am ready for it.
“As a leader you have to be a generalist, so I am looking forward to doing a deep dive into this. I think, at heart, I am a policy geek.”
He wouldn’t say how much he will earn in his new job, but quipped the private sector pays “much better” than the public sector.
Two years ago, people were wondering how long Hudak would stay in politics after resigning as the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. He held that position for almost six years.
Hudak took the demotion at Queen’s Park in stride, and in some ways seemed liberated by being out of the leadership straitjacket that forced him to stay rigidly on message 24 hours a day.
He wasn’t afraid to put himself front and centre on some hot-button issues, especially the sharing economy and Uber and AirBnb. He also sponsored a private member’s bill to opening up liquor laws for small distilleries.
He even laughed once in a while.
Hudak said he will miss the rush and unpredictable nature of politics.
“As a politician, you can end up talking about any issue at any time,”
In the riding, people know me as Tim, but the toughest job in the province is the leader of the opposition.” Tim Hudak
he said. “Something may emerge, and you have to go and figure out how you are going to approach it and what your potential solutions are. A fascinating part of the job was the finding out about the daily news and responding to it. I’m going to miss that.”
His run as party leader was a position no one from Niagara has reached, provincially or federally.
St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley had a stint as interim leader of the Liberals and leader of the opposition for about a year starting in 1991. Robert K. Welch ran for the 1971 Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership but lost to Bill Davis. That’s about it.
Bradley said he wasn’t surprised by Hudak’s decision to leave politics, but the timing caught him offguard.
“Tim has always had a lot of interests, and having been the leader and having stepped down out of the limelight — so to speak — I can understand why he would consider something different,” Bradley said. “Plus he has two young daughters and a wife, and they no doubt want to see more of him.
“On the other hand, he has been involved in public life almost his whole life, so it must have been a challenging decision to make.”
In private, Hudak comes across as a guy with whom you could enjoy a beer. He obviously loves family — his wife Deb Hutton and his daughters. His basement has a full-sized arcade version of Space Invaders, a pool table and stacks of vintage vinyl records. His likes professional wrestling and had season tickets for the Buffalo Bills.
That regular guy image was more apparent in his riding than on the campaign trail or at Queen’s Park.
“In the riding, people know me as Tim, but the toughest job in the province is the leader of the opposition,” he said. “Your job is to hold the government to account, so you come across as negative and complaining. It is a bit of a trap.”
Premier Kathleen Wynne has six months after Hudak officially resigns his seat to call a byelection in the Niagara West– Glanbrook riding. His final day is Sept. 16.
Hudak became an MPP in 1995 as part of Mike Harris’s Common Sense Revolution and met his wifeto-be at the legislature (she was chief of staff for Mike Harris, and Hudak has said she ended up having to ask him out).
Hudak ended up winning six consecutive elections, and became party leader in 2009, then led the Tories to defeat in two very winnable elections. Ontarians were sick of the ruling Liberals, but the Progressive Conservatives couldn’t break through. There were missteps along the way. When you lose, they are magnified. When you win, they are forgotten.
He said the second loss to Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals hurt.
“Election night, we thought we were going to win,” he said. “We had our polls that said we were going to win. A lot of media was at our Grimsby (campaign) site.
“There was a period of decompression after I resigned as party leader. You are used to making 20 decisions before 8 a.m. every morning and hitting the road and being on the stage with the bright lights.
“I’m sure others have experienced it as well. Your body is used to a certainpace.Suddenly,youstopmoving, and you feel a bit of withdrawal.”
On the campaign trail, Hudak may end up being remembered for his 2014 election promise to eliminate 100,000 positions in the public sector, while at the same time saying he was going to get the economy going and create one million jobs (his campaign bus was dubbed the MillionJobs Express).
The policy may have made sense to a hard-core economist, but the average citizen couldn’t reconcile the contradictory ideas.
His political reputation for being tough and, some say, nasty didn’t help.
“People also see most of their images of the opposition leader out of Queen’s Park,” Hudak said. “That’s not the best venue. It’s angry people yelling at each other in a dark room. I also had about $20 million in negative ads over five years. If you spend that much money, you could make Mother Teresa questionable.
“I intentionally chose to be the serious leader with a serious plan to get us out of debt and start creating jobs again.
“If I came across as too light hearted or talking about video games, there is always the risk it undermines the role I had set myself up for strategically, which was the man with the plan to turn the province around.”
Hudak said he intends to continue a sideline he has taken up, his radio show — though he will have new employers in the fall and they will obviously have a say. The Tim Hudak Show is on Toronto radio station Newstalk 1010, Ottawa’s CFRA and Niagara’s CKTB and appears to be a success — though the Sunday night time slot isn’t the most coveted, he said with a laugh.
On the radio, he talks about political issues — it’ in his DNA — but will quickly switch gears to touch on the offbeat and esoteric, whether it’s zombies or the best barbecue techniques.
“I’ve always enjoyed radio,” he said. “It’s energizing to get calls and texts on topics in real time.
“There are two major differences between radio and politics. In public life, I was accustomed and comfortable talking to crowds of people from 2,000 to 10.
“On the radio, you are talking to a vast emptiness. It’s just you and a microphone and you wonder if anyone is listening.
“The second part is being in the driver’s seat. It is very different than when you are a guest. The logistics of making sure your show is organized, that you hit the commercial breaks, that you are asking your guest the question and thinking ahead to what your next question is going to be and making sure you cover your topic in the time you have left. I love it.”
Bradley gave credit to Hudak for never wavering on his political ideals. He never pandered, and it made him enemies along the way.
“He didn’t go for political expediency,” Bradley said. “He was consistent in saying here is the problem — and here is what I believe are the solutions. I didn’t agree with him, but you always knew exactly where he stood.
“Tim didn’t just jump on the first bandwagon that came along.”