Local Ontario PC voters played part in Ford win
Two Windsor–Essex ridings likely played a big role in helping new Ontario PC Leader Doug Ford’s route to victory in a chaotic leadership race that ended Saturday night.
The ridings — Windsor-Tecumseh and Essex — were the only ones in the province to place social conservative activist Tanya Granic Allen at the top of the heap in the first round of voting. Christine Elliott had a narrow lead overall after the first ballot, but after Granic Allen’s name was withdrawn, Ford jumped into a 1,258-point electoral vote lead over Elliott.
“Ford got 80 per cent of her (Granic Allen’s) vote,” said local Conservative organizer and political podcaster Paul Synnott. He said Caroline Mulroney’s vote went 75 per cent to Elliott, and once Mulroney’s name was dropped for the third ballot, Ford came out the winner by a margin of 6,202 to 6,049 — 153 electoral votes.
Synnott said if Elliott had been able to attract 80 per cent of Mulroney ’s vote, she would be the new leader.
Between Granic Allen and Mulroney voters across the province, 1,300 of them did not place a second choice in the ranked-ballot system.
With the messy party campaign over, attention quickly turned Monday to the June 7 provincial vote.
Last month a poll found Windsor was the most likely Canadian city to succumb to the lure of populist politics, but is it really possible that any of the three local NDP orange ridings could go Tory blue?
“Why not? Anything is possible, as we’ve seen over the last few years,” said University of Windsor political science professor Lydia Miljan.
“It’s not just Ontario PCs, I think starting with Brexit, the Trump thing, there seems to be in a lot of western democracies a real dissatisfaction with politics as usual, and there seems to be an uprising of discontent against perceived elitism. And I think Doug Ford is just the latest in a series of politicians who has been able to tap into that.” Miljan said if Ford and his candidates are smart, they will dangle the carrot of having a seat at the cabinet table, something Windsor hasn’t had since the days of Dwight Duncan and Sandra Pupatello. “I think if the Conservatives play it right, what they are going to pitch here is do you want to be in or do you want to be out?” said Miljan. “Do you want to yet again be in opposition, or do you want a seat at the table? We have a chance of being in power and with your support you’ll have someone at the table.” Synnott agreed. He said a riding like Essex, which was held federally by Conservatives from 2004 to 2015, might be winnable.
“I may not have been a personal supporter of Jeff Watson when he was MP here, but at the end of the day it helps to have that person in government to push your issues,” Synnott said.
“Nobody likes to admit it but that’s how politics often works.” Chris Lewis, the only declared candidate for the Essex PC nomination, welcomed Niagara WestGlanbrook MPP Sam Oosterhoff for a youth-focused event on Monday at Vernon’s Tap and Grill in Kingsville.
“I’m happy that our party finally has a leader, has direction,” said Lewis.
“This has been a very difficult last few weeks, so to speak, but the truth of the matter is that at the end of the day the folks of Essex and the folks of Ontario still know that the way of the Wynne party, the Liberal party, is not working. “We’ve got new direction, we’ve got a breath of fresh air, and we’re excited to move forward.”