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2014 Ontario Provincial Election

This thread has probably become a catch-all for political provincial news.

Regardless, it's important to be informed of these things because political corruption or even incompetence means that money that could be spent elsewhere is spent fixing mistakes, and that people are hurt (economically, physically) by services that aren't delivered.
 
I don't know if we need the Ontario version of the Saskatchewan Party necessarily. If the Ontario PCs could get their act together to present themselves as competent managers who can right the sinking ship, rather than Tea Party North, I think they would have the next election in hand. I think Patrick Brown learned a lot from Harper, who worked hard at smoothing the rough edges of the Conservatives in Ottawa in order to supplant the Liberals as the natural governing party (although Harper himself didn't always follow his own script), and is aiming to do that in Queen's Park. But parts of the membership are not necessarily going along, and are nominating homophobic little sh*ts in Niagara region.
 
I don't know if we need the Ontario version of the Saskatchewan Party necessarily. If the Ontario PCs could get their act together to present themselves as competent managers who can right the sinking ship, rather than Tea Party North, I think they would have the next election in hand. I think Patrick Brown learned a lot from Harper, who worked hard at smoothing the rough edges of the Conservatives in Ottawa in order to supplant the Liberals as the natural governing party (although Harper himself didn't always follow his own script), and is aiming to do that in Queen's Park. But parts of the membership are not necessarily going along, and are nominating homophobic little sh*ts in Niagara region.

Well, middle of the road Red Toryism is the natural governing attitude of Ontario for most of the last century since the Second World War (and arguably, the wish of the electorate so far in this one as well) - no matter what the party is they have to heed this reality.

AoD
 
I don't know if we need the Ontario version of the Saskatchewan Party necessarily. If the Ontario PCs could get their act together to present themselves as competent managers who can right the sinking ship, rather than Tea Party North, I think they would have the next election in hand.
Well, middle of the road Red Toryism is the natural governing attitude of Ontario for most of the last century since the Second World War (and arguably, the wish of the electorate so far in this one as well) - no matter what the party is they have to heed this reality.

AoD
I agree on both points. If the parties we had actually reflected what this province want, they would have the election in the bag. It is not a radical shift for any of them to go in this direction either.

I think maybe an "Ontarians Party" as an alternative choice would still not be a bad idea. Having a greater diversity of choice, especially when we are discontent with our existing choices, would be great.
 
Is this a potential solution for the Ontario Liberals?

But what if the Liberal brand is so damaged, she needs to do more? Another reader, not a Liberal but a former MPP and business executive who respects Wynne’s political smarts, suggested the following, much bolder prescription, focusing laser-like on the economy:

  • Yes, a cut in the land transfer tax for first time homebuyers gets implemented this week, but this observer’s view was, it’s not a dramatic enough cut — a maximum of $4,000 — to make a difference economically or politically. He suggests cutting the tax by half to spur on even more housing development across the province.
  • Delay implementing the cap and trade scheme until unemployment drops to 5 per cent. The latest from Statistics Canada suggests Ontario’s jobless rate is at 6.3 per cent, so we’re not far off. It’s also possible too many Ontarians think the cap and trade tax increases will render business less competitive and harm job creation prospects.
  • Delay balancing the budget by another couple of years and subsidize electricity prices. True, the 8 per cent provincial portion of the HST came off hydro bills this week, but this emailer thought that wouldn’t be enough to get people’s attention. And given that the government has already cancelled the “Clean Energy Benefit” cutting electricity prices by 10 per cent, the net effect is actually a 2 per cent increase.
  • Get the premier to focus on economic development, job creation, and pocketbook issues, not social justice issues such as legislation protecting rights for transgender people.
On that last point, I have heard even many Liberals express fears that Wynne’s deep-seated concern for social justice issues may very well be genuine, but has the unwanted consequence of alienating many voters who feel scapegoated for social inequities. We just saw south of the border what can happen when, as CNN commentator Van Jones described it, white voters can stage a “whitelash.”

http://tvo.org/blog/current-affairs/how-ontarios-premier-can-get-her-groove-back
 
before I looked, I would have said the unemployment rate in Ontario has never gotten to 5%. 6.3% may seem close to 5% but the lower it gets the harder the next drop of even .1% is to achieve.....turns out since 1976 the unemployment rate has hit, or gotten lower, than 5% in 3 years.

http://www.stats.gov.nl.ca/statistics/Labour/PDF/UnempRate.pdf
 
Really feels like the big announcement that will begin setting the tone for the 2018 Provincial Election.

Time to close this thread and open "2018 Ontario Provincial Election"?
 
Looks like there has been a rebound in support for the Ontario Liberals. Today's minimum wage announcement will likely bolster these numbers in the next few weeks.



http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamil...latest-ontario-politics-poll-fisher-1.4123113
yeah, it's amazing what spending $45B to reduce people's hydro bills by $24B will do for your popularity ;) That 25% hydro cut was simply a vote buying exercise......similarly the $20B promise to link Windsor-London-KW to Toronto....and the nice little bump in the minimum wage from $11.40 to $15 (a 32% increase in about 18 months).

I will say one thing for this government....they really value people....there is no money they won't spend to buy their votes.
 
Patrick Brown and the PCs are definitely giving Minnan Wong the 'star candidate' treatment. I've seen him pop up at two high profile events with Brown by his side.
 
I will say one thing for this government....they really value people....there is no money they won't spend to buy their votes.

I'm still disappointed. They aren't even efficient at vote buying! Look at the dollars per poll % gained ratio!
 
The electoral game: What would Ontario results look like under a different voting system?
Electors were once again cheated by first-past-the-post, Fair Vote Canada says

See link.

voting-simulation-01.png

voting-simulation-02.png

voting-simulation-03.png

voting-simulation-04.png
 
Funny how dismantling the FPTP system only ever comes up as an issue when a conservative government is elected in.

As if 15 years of doing things one way didn't need a change. :rolleyes:
 

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