With the 2011 Ontario provincial election mere weeks away, all the major parties are honing their focus on the most competitive ridings in the province. While some of these battleground ridings are attracting attention from politicians and commentators alike, the following ridings are somehow slipping under radar, despite their potential Election Day interest.
Ontario election
Andrea Horwath: The rabble interview
After a strong performance in the Ontario leaders' debate last week, provincial NDP leader Andrea Horwath has kept up momentum by traveling around the province, letting voters know that her party represents change for Ontarians. She told rabble.ca in an interview on Sunday about what shape some of those changes will take.
Meg Borthwick: Ontario NDP support went up in the polls immediately following the debate. It must be very gratifying to know that you stand on your own, that this has not a whole lot to do with increasing support at the federal level.
Bill Davis and Progressive Conservatives from a bygone era
A few years ago, around the time of another Ontario election, the actor and director Sarah Polley was flying home to Toronto from Los Angeles. She found herself seated beside a nice-looking, pleasant, older fellow who clearly recognized her. They chatted amiably. He seemed especially interested in her political views, which were known to be leftish. He urged her to consider supporting Ontario's then PC leader John Tory, whose quality the man said he would vouch for.
CCPA comparison of three Ontario election platforms
Hugh Mackenzie of the CCPA has prepared a comprehensive comparison of the election platforms of the three major parties in Ontario's election. It reveals an enormous fiscal "hole" in the Conservative platform that will inevitably result in dramatic reductions in public spending if that party wins the October 6 election.
The report, released yesterday, added up the value of the campaign promises (for tax cuts and new spending programs) made by the three parties, and compared those to their corresponding plans to pay for those promises.
Progressive public policy in the Ontario election
We will probably be parsing who won Tuesday's leaders' debate until provincial election day. But thank Ford, it looks like progressives have a good shot at winning, one way or another.
Hudak has lost momentum, and it certainly appears that the Liberals, alone or with the NDP, will form the next government and the NDP will likely double its seat count.
But as we head to the polls, the irony is that whenever lefties gather these days, someone asks whether it's the NDP or the Liberals who are the most progressive party running in this election.