Wynne, Horwath take aim at Ford in first debate ahead of election
TORONTO — Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath are both taking aim at Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford in the first debate ahead of the June provincial election.
Wynne and Horwath both warned that Ford, who polls suggest is the front-runner, will bring cuts to public services if he is elected premier.
Ford, meanwhile, hammered home his key messages of finding efficiencies in the provincial budget and “respecting the taxpayers.”
He repeated the phrases when both Horwath and Wynne used their questions during a leaderto-leader portion to ask Ford exactly what he would cut.
Ford didn’t provide specifics, but he has promised to cut four per cent from the budget.
The debate sets the stage for the race that officially begins on Wednesday, though the parties have been unofficially campaigning for weeks.
Ford used the debate to announce that he would commit $5 billion more than what has already been allocated to build a regional transportation system, including subways, relief lines, and two-way GO Transit to Niagara Falls.
Experts said the debate was likely to be a showdown between Wynne, who has been premier since 2013, and Ford, who was elected Tory leader in March.
University of Toronto professor Nelson Wiseman said debating two seasoned politicians like Wynne and Horwath would provide new challenges for Ford, who is a former Toronto city councillor and was elected party leader in March.
Horwath has led the NDP since 2009, and is trying to move it out of third-party status by promising free child care for low-income families and full dental coverage for all Ontarians.
The election takes place June 7.