Doug Ford’s failure to recognize the “All politics is local” adage is likely to cost him an attorney general when they count the ballots in Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte on June 2.
Putting that out-of-town carpetbagger in our riding was a bad move to begin with and our morning line says we should not be surprised that, without a majority of conservatives elected, Mr. Ford will be unable to form a sustainable government. It was an assessment of this election in Ontario that surprised some people. You can write it off as an honest attempt to help get Doug Ford’s mitts out of the cookie jar, if you wish, yet there is little doubt that his meanness far exceeds that of conservative Mike Harris at the turn of the century. Ending the Ford regime is the outcome that Ontario needs.
And this riding is good news. The change here in Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte is that the liberal candidate is the three-term mayor of Barrie. In all my years in Barrie, I have never seen so many liberal signs. This is not a riding where signs mean much but Mayor Lehman is a strong campaigner and he has knocked on thousands of doors in his lifetime. And his campaign teams are reporting a good reception.
I expect this riding is going to the liberal candidate. It will be another liberal gain from the conservatives.
And I hear the same is happening in Toronto, London, Ottawa and Niagara Falls. I’m not getting the reports that I used to get from Leamington and Windsor but I am always hopeful for that part of Ontario.
And I have no problem with a Liberal and NDP deal. It is the kind of partnership the NDP needs to focus on. We have to make sure that highway 413 never happens. At the same time, we need the Bradford Bypass. We will have some strong voices in the caucus to keep the province’s plan for the bypass to happen with out causing any damage to the environment of the Holland Marsh. (In fact, it will speed the trucking of produce from the Marsh to Ontario markets.) Many of the new overpasses on Highway 400 are already in place to handle the traffic on summer weekends, as well as year-round.
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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry
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