Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives win majority in Ontario
TORONTO — Doug Ford rode a populist wave to power in Ontario on Thursday, capturing a Progressive Conservative majority by harnessing voters’ economic anxiety and anger with a scandal-plagued Liberal government.
The Tory leader’s election promises were in stark contrast to the other left-leaning major parties and included income tax cuts, scrapping the Liberals’ updated sex-ed curriculum and strongly opposing a carbon tax.
Ford also rolled out several pledges designed with populist appeal in mind, from cutting gas prices by 10 cents a litre to introducing buck-a-beer to cutting power bills.
“A new day has dawned in Ontario — a day of opportunity, a day of prosperity and a day of growth,” he told a crowd chanting his name.
The Liberals saw a stunning collapse after leading the province for the past 15 years and capturing a majority government just four years ago. Premier Kathleen Wynne, who narrowly hung on to her seat, resigned as Liberal leader and all but a handful of the staunchest Liberal ridings fell.
Wynne, who had predicted her party’s loss last weekend, said resigning was the right thing to do .“There is another generation and I am passing the torch to that generation,” she told a crowd of supporters at a north Toronto gallery after the Progressive Conservatives won a majority.
The NDP under Andrea Horwath will form the Opposition, marking a turnaround for a party consistently stuck in third place since Bob Rae’s New Democratic government was defeated in 1995.
“Millions of people voted for change for the better,” an upbeat Horwath told a crowd gathered at the Hamilton Convention Centre after the Progressive Conservatives won a majority. “We have won more seats than we have in a generation.”
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner captured the party’s first-ever seat in Ontario.
The American-born politician handily won in his Guelph riding with 45 per cent of the vote, ushering in what he hopes is a new era for his party.
“If we look at the success of Green parties in other provinces, it always starts with one leader being elected,” he said, pointing to British Columbia and Prince Edward Island as examples.
As of 10 p.m. PDT Thursday, the PCs had either captured or were leading in 76 ridings, the NDP 39, the Liberals seven and the Greens one. One seat was considered too close to call.
Ford is a newcomer to provincial politics, having captured the party leadership three months ago. He beat out establishment favourite Christine Elliott after former leader Patrick Brown stepped down over sexual misconduct allegations that he denies.
“My friends, together in 88 short days we achieved the impossible,” Ford said. “We united our party and united our province and this is your victory.”
Under Ford, the Progressive Conservatives recaptured the province they have not led since 2003, overcoming the failings of the past three elections that saw them unable to defeat the Liberals.
But Ford’s campaign certainly wasn’t immune to controversy. He dismissed allegations that he was involved in selling bogus Progressive Conservative party memberships, a candidate was dropped following accusations he was involved in an alleged theft of customer data at a toll highway operator, and Ford was frequently accused of failing to be transparent by dodging calls to release a fully costed platform.
With about one week left in the campaign, the party published a list of promises and their price tags, but didn’t indicate how they would pay for them, what size of deficits they would run or for exactly how long.
Then in the waning days of the election, Ford family drama — that laid mostly dormant in the public sphere since the death of his brother, former Toronto mayor Rob Ford — burst onto the scene with a lawsuit from Rob Ford’s widow alleging Doug Ford mishandled his brother’s estate and destroyed the value of the family business.