There was a bit of concern watching Wynne’s Whigs turning out to help in the federal by-election in Toronto-Centre recently. It was obvious at that stage that Liberal candidate Chrystia Freeland was a clear winner. The only thing left to do was to make sure the vote turned out on November 25. So why did Wynne and her friends show up to help two days before the vote?
That was a major push to bring out the provincial organization in Toronto and according to reports, there were about 300 people at the Queen Street campaign headquarters early on the Saturday morning before the voting. They were, in a way, marking their territory. Whether they meant a few more votes on Monday was immaterial compared to the psychological value of the show of force.
Federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau was there and Premier Kathleen Wynne hung close to him for the benefit of the photographers and videographers. If he had coattails, she would have just tied herself to them. The quid pro quo will be that he will be expected to support her in the provincial election that could be in the next four or five months.
The exchange would be quite fair if Wynne’s Whigs and Trudeau’s Liberals were from the same political party. We certainly hope not. Wynne’s Whigs are liberals in name only. Their provincial party is anti-democratic, right-wing, reactionary and closed-minded. They only borrow the name Liberal to appear contemporary.
The provincial party is far behind Justin Trudeau who has freed federal riding associations from being controlled by the party. It looks as though he is successfully challenging the party across Canada to come up with policies that can meet the needs of the middle class across Canada instead of just business. He is also taking a pro-active role in issues and showing the party and voters that he can listen and learn.
Premier Wynne and her Treasurer have already proved that they have nothing positive to contribute to the people of Ontario. They close their minds and when pressed will form a commission to look into what they should do. The only reality that keeps the Wynne government in power is the paucity of leadership among the Ontario Tories and New Democrats. Collectively, the three Ontario party leaders could not find a tree in a forest.
Justin Trudeau will just have to justify the Ontario situation with the realization that politics makes for very strange bedfellows.
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Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry
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