The election campaign that wasn’t
Welcome to the new Ontario, folks. The 2022 provincial election is over and in the coming days we can all look ahead to the incoming government and where it might lead us. But, before that happens, we should cast our eyes back on the election campaign that led to Thursday’s vote. That’s because it was arguably the dullest, most lacklustre and dispiriting campaign in the province’s history.
Some people called it the campaign that never was, and no wonder. It’s not just that there seemed to be far fewer election signs on people’s lawns than in the past, that there seemed to be precious little political buzz revving voters up, or that there were fewer vigorous public debates addressing the big issues facing us. Many voters seemed not just unenthusiastic about their options; they seemed downright detached.
Admittedly, such impressions are a bit subjective. But the most recent Ipsos poll reveals that only 39 per cent of those surveyed strongly agreed they had a great deal of interest in election news and information. And 53 per cent wished they had different party leaders to choose from.
Sean Simpson, senior vice-president for Ipsos Public Affairs and Corporate Reputation, was also surprised by what just happened, or rather didn’t. “Yes — it does seem like this was the election that never was,” he said earlier this week. “I’m a pollster and barely know there’s an election happening!” Other experts offered similar views. “Here we are, coming out of the biggest health crisis our generation has seen, international conflict, inflation, housing prices, gas prices — it’s sort of just a perfect storm of disruptions,” said Andrea Lawlor, a political scientist at King’s University College at Western University. “But the campaigns seem to have plodded along on a relatively even course.”
Why such a letdown? It wasn’t for the lack of big issues or clear alternatives. For instance, the Liberals, New Democrats and Greens all advocated ending private ownership of long-term-care homes — something conspicuously absent from the Progressive Conservative agenda. As for the Tories, they wanted to move forward with Highway 413 — a controversial project the other three parties wanted to axe.
Perhaps the enormity of some of the promises being made — and the past experience of seeing so many campaign promises broken — fuelled voter skepticism. When the NDP pledged to finance and built at least 250,000 affordable and non-market rental homes, the Tories and Liberals upped the ante with a promise to get 1.5 million new homes built. But where, if not out of thin air, would all these expensive dwellings have come from? People who voted with their eyes open likely had their doubts. Or perhaps, as some have suggested, voters were so fatigued by the two-year COVID-19 pandemic they simply couldn’t muster the energy it takes to become informed and involved at this time.
The public’s lack of excitement about the party leaders may also explain voter disengagement. Ipsos VP Simpson said Ontario elections are more about leaders than policies, which are often far more complex. With a majority of voters unenthused about the leaders “many would rather just stay home,” he said.
We have other suspicions. The Progressive Conservatives waged what amounted to a rope-a-dope campaign. Tory candidates often went AWOL from public forums. PC Leader Doug Ford deliberately kept a low profile and often avoided questions from pesky reporters — making a harder target for the other parties to take a swing at. And there were just two televised debates by the party leaders in the entire campaign — crucial forums that attracted relatively few viewers. Meanwhile, the mass media universe in which voters seek information is more fragmented than ever. Many voters who did cast a ballot on Thursday likely made up their minds by entering the social media echo chamber that regurgitated and reaffirmed already held views. Why tune in to a TV debate if Twitter or YouTube have already answered your questions?
With the election over, some people will consider such worries to be no more than water under a bridge. But if you value our democracy you should be concerned. If you believe free, fair elections are the cornerstone of that democracy and that vigorous campaigns keep this cornerstone solid, you should demand a better election campaign before Ontario votes again.