Momentum lost, Doug Ford is reduced to promising Ontario One-Buck Beer

Submitted by Geoffrey Stevens on Mon, 05/28/2018 - 08:20

If desire for change is the most potent force in politics these days, momentum is the most unpredictable one.

No one can predict when momentum will begin to build, how far it will go, or when it will end.

Heading into Sunday night’s leaders’ debate, it was clear that momentum in the Ontario election had shifted, dramatically, from the Progressive Conservatives to the New Democrats. But no one could predict whether the momentum would be enough to carry Andrea Horwath into office, or whether it would stall or even shift again before June 7.

Does Andrea Horwath have enough momentum to stop Doug Ford?

Submitted by Geoffrey Stevens on Tue, 05/22/2018 - 09:57

The majority government that Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservatives expect – and think they deserve – is slipping away as the June 7 Ontario election campaign enters its final leg.

With the Victoria Day milestone behind them, all three parties will be campaigning frantically – the Tories to win the majority they were confident they had safely locked up; the New Democrats to grab the balance of power; the Liberals to survive.

Does Doug Ford know about Walkerton?

Submitted by Geoffrey Stevens on Wed, 05/16/2018 - 07:50

Is there an Honest Broker in the Progressive Conservative party of Ontario?

If so, please take Doug Ford aside, sit him down, and suggest he hush up while you explain some of the facts of political life, Ontario style.

Be patient, Honest Broker. Ford is new and a bit brash. He won’t like it when you recall what happened two decades ago when the province was won by a leader wedded to a platform of rooting out so much waste at Queen’s Park that he could simultaneously slash taxes and eliminate the deficit without, as that leader promised, touching any basic services.

What if the driver of that white van had been a terrorist?

Submitted by Geoffrey Stevens on Wed, 05/02/2018 - 08:33

“Thank God, it wasn’t a Muslim.”

That, as veteran journalist and broadcaster Michael Enright told his “Sunday Edition” listeners on CBC radio yesterday, was among his first reactions as the shock and horror of the mass murder on Yonge St. in North York wore off.

By all accounts, the driver of the white rental van that jumped the curb last Monday and ran down dozens of pedestrians – killing 10 and injuring at least 16 – was a lone wolf, a mentally unstable man who may have suffered from delusions of persecution by women who had rejected his advances.

Ready or not, Ontario – here comes your Doug Ford government

Submitted by Geoffrey Stevens on Fri, 04/27/2018 - 14:14

The June 7 election in Ontario can be reduced to one simple question.

Are normally cautious Ontario voters so tired or fed up with Kathleen Wynne and her Liberals that they are ready to gamble on Doug Ford, the closest thing to a Donald Trump that Canada has produced?

The answer appears to be a resounding Yes.

Why Donald Trump will be a factor in Canadian elections

Submitted by Geoffrey Stevens on Mon, 04/09/2018 - 12:33

Donald Trump is the wild card – the joker, if you like – in Canadian politics this season.

In Ontario, heading to the polls on June 7, Trump is a prominent feature in Premier Kathleen Wynne’s struggle for survival. Her success or failure will rest in part on her ability to persuade Ontarians that Doug Ford, the new Progressive Conservative leader, is another Trump – ill-informed, unprincipled, ignorant in the ways of the province and harbouring a social conservative agenda that would appall moderate voters, if only they knew.

Unfulfilled expectations are Trudeau’s Achilles heel

Submitted by Geoffrey Stevens on Mon, 03/26/2018 - 09:49

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?" – Robert Browning.

That may be a viable proposition in poetry, Mr. Browning, but it does not work in politics, where a reach that exceeds one’s grasp means expectations have been created but left unfulfilled.

Just ask Justin Trudeau. Unfulfilled expectations are his Achilles’ heel as he struggles to raise the Liberal government out of its midterm slump.

Kathleen Wynne’s search for a path to survival runs through Doug Ford

Submitted by Geoffrey Stevens on Mon, 03/19/2018 - 08:50

There’s an air of unreality about Ontario politics these days.

At Queen’s Park, Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals are pretending it is business as usual. A new session of the Legislature begins at noon on Monday with the reading of the Speech from Throne, and Finance Minister Charles Sousa will follow with his 2018 budget on March 28.

How Kathleen Wynne can use Donald Trump to fend off Doug Ford

Submitted by Geoffrey Stevens on Mon, 03/12/2018 - 10:02

In a demonstration of organizational incompetence seldom seen in Canadian politics, the Ontario Progressive Conservatives found a way on Saturday to deny their leadership to candidate Christine Elliott, who both won the popular vote and carried a majority of the province’s 124 ridings.

Instead, Doug Ford, older brother of Toronto’s late mayor Rob Ford, was declared the winner under the party’s absurdly complicated and error-riven system of “electoral points,” which was heavily loaded in favour of ridings where the party has few members.

Opinion-Policy Nexus is a forum of opinion and commentary on topics related to public opinion and public policy. Views expressed in any blog entry are those of the author and do not reflect LISPOP's positions.

Authors

  • Ailsa Henderson
  • Andre Perrella
  • Anna Esselment
  • Anthony Piscitelli
  • Barry Kay
  • Ben Margulies
  • Christopher Alcantara
  • Christopher Cochrane
  • Geoffrey Stevens
  • Jason Roy
  • Jorg Broschek
  • Loren King
  • Manuel Riemer
  • Nikolaos Liodakis
  • Robert Williams
  • Simon Kiss
  • Timothy Gravelle
  • Zachary Spicer

Categories

Search

Search form