Doug Ford makes formal request for Ontario election on June 2
It's election time in Ontario.
Lt.-Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell dissolved the legislature Tuesday afternoon following a request from Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford, formally clearing the way for her to issue the writs Wednesday morning for the June 2 vote.
Ford, whose Conservatives ended an almost-15-year Liberal dynasty in 2018, will face questions on the hustings about Ontario's response to the pandemic, his plan for economic recovery, and the soaring cost of living as families struggle with rising fuel and grocery bills.
Concerns about a health-care system and nursing homes ravaged by the coronavirus and staff burnout will dominate debate over the coming month.
Climate change, largely ignored during the public heath crisis, is also expected to be a hot topic.
Feeling good," the premier told reporters on the way in.
This election is about one simple thing. Either the people of this province are going to choose to go backwards ... or they're going to choose prosperity, getting things built, bridges, roads and highways like we're doing," he added, turning the tables on rivals who accuse him of taking Ontario backwards" by scrapping a cap and trade system and ending electric vehicle rebates after taking power.
Ford will campaign in the Greater Toronto Area this week, promoting construction of the Milton-to-Vaughan Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass. He is holding a rally in his Etobicoke North riding Wednesday night, and is bullish about the Tories' re-election chances.
Our government is bringing good jobs back to Ontario's workers," the Tory leader said Monday in Windsor, where he announced $1 billion in automotive investments for the border city and Brampton with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Since we took office less than four years ago, Ontario has added over 500,000 new manufacturing jobs," said Ford, adding that he, Trudeau and municipal leaders have worked so well together throughout the pandemic" over the past two years.
Once the election is over, they expect us to work together. The people expect us to get done, we're getting it done and the people will decide on June 2."
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said COVID-19, which has killed almost 13,000 Ontarians since March 2020, has exposed cracks in the province's social safety net and underscored the need for change at Queen's Park.
For me, this election is ... about hope, hope that we can actually fix the things that matter most to people," Horwath told reporters in Don Mills on Tuesday.
People are telling me that they're really concerned ... the cost of everything is going through the roof, our health-care system is in crisis, the cost of housing is completely unaffordable," she said.
Job number one is to defeat Doug Ford ... then start to fix the things that are broken that have been broken for a long time."
Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca, who is trying to rebuild a party that fell from a majority government four years ago to lacking official status in the legislature, said his challenge is to convince voters that the Grits are ready to govern again.
It's about earning trust and earning confidence," the cabinet minister under former premier Kathleen Wynne told reporters in Newmarket, where he revealed a climate plan that includes cutting carbon pollution in half by 2030 and tightening" emission performance standards for industries.
Del Duca defended a key point in that plan - the buck-a-ride, provincewide" transit fare promise that has come under criticism for heavy subsidies that include reducing the cost of long GO Transit trips to $1, potentially resulting in overcrowding.
I want the ridership to grow," he said, noting use of public transit is down because of the pandemic. People will realize over time that there are many really incredible options for public transit."
Green Leader Mike Schreiner slammed the Liberal climate plan as watered down, short on details" and pledged to double the size of the Greenbelt protected lands.
Schreiner, who was kicking off his campaign with supporters Tuesday night in Huntsville, will be touring Ontario in an electric vehicle and will be in Toronto and Caledon on Wednesday before wrapping up the day with a rally in Guelph, which he has represented in the legislature since 2018.
There will be two leaders' debates - one on Northern Ontario issues next Tuesday afternoon in North Bay, and another on May 16 - when the party leaders gather in the TVO studios for a 6:30 p.m. televised event.
It will be the fourth round of election debates for Horwath, who was elected NDP leader in 2009, and the first for Del Duca, as they take on Ford, who is hoping a recent spate of announcements to drive the auto industry into the electric vehicle age and on hospital expansions will pay dividends at the ballot box.
At dissolution, there were 67 Tory MPPs, 38 New Democrats, seven Liberals, six Independents, one Green, one New Blue, one Ontario Party, and three vacancies in the 124-member legislature.
According to The Signal, the Star's poll aggregator, if the election had been held Tuesday, the Tories would win 68 seats, the Liberals would win 37 seats, the NDP would win 18 seats, and the Greens one.
Advance polls, which have doubled to 10 days from five in 2018, will be open in all ridings from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. from May 19 through May 28.
On June 2, more than 7,000 polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Voters can download Elections Ontario's free mobile app for information at the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
Robert Benzie is the Star's Queen's Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie
Rob Ferguson is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @robferguson1
Kristin Rushowy is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @krushowy