Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday June 5, 2018
Wynne acknowledges election is lost, urges voters to ensure NDP or PC minority
An emotional Kathleen Wynne on Saturday acknowledged that she will no longer be premier after the June 7 election and encouraged voters to elect Liberal candidates to prevent the NDP or PCs from securing a majority.
The 11th-hour move comes as Wynne and her Liberals try to save the party from electoral decimation next Thursday.
“Even though I won’t be leading this province as premier, I care deeply about how it will be led,” the Liberal leader said during a campaign stop in Toronto.
“People want change, but by and large they’re confident about where Ontario stands and where Ontario is headed. For this reason — I heard this over and over again — many voters are worried about handing a blank cheque to either Doug Ford or the NDP,” she continued.
She added that voters don’t trust Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford and are concerned that an NDP government “will approach the responsibility of running Ontario’s economy with a plan that is risky and unrealistic.”
The only way to keep the province’s next government on a “short leash,” Wynne said, is to send as many Liberals to the Ontario Legislature as possible.
“The more Liberal MPPs we send to Queens Park on June 7, the less likely it becomes that either Doug Ford or the NDP will be able to form a majority government,” Wynne said.
The Liberal leader has, until today, been defiant in the face of daunting poll numbers that suggest the Grits could lose official party status after the vote. In Ontario, parties need at least eight seats in the legislature to be formally recognized. (Source: CBC)