CAMPAIGN NOTEBOOK

PETERSON RUNS INTO HORWATH

David Peterson was a surprise visitor at Andrea Horwath’s campaign stop in Stratford on Tuesday.

Peterson, who sits on the board of the Stratford Festival, just happened to be walking by when he spotted the NDP leader’s campaign bus.

She hopped out to give him a warm hug.

Asked who is going to win next week, the former Liberal premier wouldn’t speculate. “I have no idea,” he said. “Things are still shifting around and I think a lot of people are thinking about strategic voting in the long term.”

... BUT DON’T CALL ME LATE FOR DINNER

Doug Ford arrived at a retirement home in Port Colborne a bit later than the residents were expecting him.

Reporters had been given an itinerary that said the Progressive Conservative leader would arrive at 10:45 a.m., while one retiree said she was told the event would start at 11 a.m. By that time, the crowd had already filled the available seats as even more people stood toward the back of the room.

But when the clock hit 11:15 a.m. and Ford still hadn’t arrived, one woman got up to announce that it was too close to lunch and she wasn’t staying.

He eventually got there at about 11:25 a.m., shaking hands to a warm round of applause — and one man who yelled, “You’re late.” Twice.

Ford was joined by Niagara Centre candidate April Jeffs, a former mayor of the Township of Wainfleet, who did not address the crowd. t

PREHISTORIC, IN SOCIAL-MEDIA TERMS

Like Ford, Horwath, has been taking a lot of heat for the social media transgressions of some of her party’s candidates.

“When I was 20, there’s things I probably did that I regret,” she told journalists in Brantford.

“Do you want to tell us now?” shot back a Star reporter.

“No. It’s not on Facebook, though,” she replied with a grin. “There wasn’t Facebook when I was 20. Phew!”

YOU’RE NUMBER ONE

You can flip the bird at someone openly, or with stealth.

A motorist on the Queen Elizabeth Way through Oakville chose the latter Tuesday as the media bus for Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne was passing.

The driver had his hand out the open window with his middle finger extended — gripping the roof of his pickup truck.

Subtle.