Bumpy ride ahead in ‘one of the most volatile elections’

How fitting that there’s a political party called None Of The Above in this election.

It’s true — in Kitchener Centre, you can vote for Chris Carr, a software developer, if you’re fed up with the other candidates and don’t know where to turn.

Party leader Greg Vezina told me 42 candidates are running across Ontario. The party supports basic grassroots democracy measures like voter referenda, the right to recall a representative and candidates appointed by the party members, not the leader.

Started in 2014, None Of The Above is “the fastest growing party in the history of Ontario,” said Vezina.

Makes sense, as voters see the lacklustre choices before them, and are blasted by negative advertising.

In the past week, major polls show the New Democratic Party tied with the Progressive Conservatives. The Liberals trail far behind.

But support for the NDP under leader Andrea Horwath is not as firm as that for the Tories under

Doug Ford, said Sean Simpson, vice-president of Ipsos Public Affairs.

In a poll of 1,000 Ontario residents from May 18 to 21, commissioned by Global News, Ipsos found that two-thirds of Progressive Conservative supporters are absolutely certain of their vote choice. But only three of 10 NDP supporters are certain of theirs.

Of those favouring the NDP, nearly half are doing so to stop another party from winning. Only 54 per cent say it’s because they actually like the party.

“The NDP vote and the surge is not because of a love-in with Andrea Horwath,” even though she is very popular, said Simpson. “It’s a reaction to the other options available.”

“There’s still room for (the NDP) either to grow their support or have their support flee en

masse.”

Simpson said “this is one of the most volatile elections that we’ve measured,” with one in four Ontarians planning to vote for a different party than they did in the 2014 election.

That volatility is probably responsible for some of the mudslinging we’ve seen lately. Conservatives and New Democrats are mostly the targets. Liberals are dishing it out, but not being targeted.

Just Thursday, Fitz Vanderpool, NDP candidate in Kitchener South-Hespeler, had to apologize after the Liberals accused him of not supporting gay marriage in 2006, when he ran for Kitchener city council and was endorsed by Campaign Life.

Vanderpool said: “I want to be very clear now — I completely support marriage equality for everyone, including same-sex couples.”

Further afield, Liberal campaign co-chair Deb Matthews

released a 2016 recording she said featured Ford trying to sell “bogus memberships” to help secure the nomination of a PC candidate in Etobicoke Centre.

In the recording, Ford is heard telling people it won’t cost them anything to sign up. That’s against party rules.

For his part, Ford said the issue “went through the appeals process and was totally dismissed.”

The Progressive Conservatives have also singled out some NDP candidates for what they describe as radical views, including Laura Kaminker of Mississauga who refuses to wear a poppy on Remembrance Day, calling it “an annual ritual of war glorification.”

Hang onto your seats, folks. Two weeks is a long time in politics, and a bumpy, grumpy ride will make it seem even longer.

None of the above, indeed.