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Friday April 29, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday April 29, 2022

How Doug Ford’s budget sets the tone for his Ontario PC election campaign

For a guy who came to power in 2018 on a promise to rein in the size and cost of government, Ontario Premier Doug Ford is heading into his 2022 election campaign with a completely different pitch. 

May 23, 2019

That pitch can be seen in the Ontario budget tabled Thursday by Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, a budget that he described as “Premier Ford’s vision.” 

That “vision” is in reality less a provincial budget than it is a Progressive Conservative election platform. In case there’s any doubt, Bethlenfalvy recited the PC campaign slogan “Get it done” no less than 10 times during his budget speech. 

Also, minutes after the speech wrapped, the legislature was adjourned until well after the June 2 election, so the budget won’t pass unless the PCs win a majority. 

Beyond the sloganeering, the budget’s tone and messaging appear crafted to assure Ontario voters that Ford and the PCs are not just willing to spend the money that’s needed on crucial government services, but actually eager to spend it, to the extent of actually forecasting a deficit higher than in each of the past two pandemic years. 

It also appears to be an attempt to persuade voters that Ford has been changed by the COVID-19 pandemic and that cutting government spending is no longer a big concern for the PCs.

Thursday September 5, 2019

September 5, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday September 5, 2019

Can Jagmeet Singh and the NDP bounce back?

To take the full measure of the unprecedented plight of the New Democratic Party less than 50 days before the Oct. 21 federal vote consider the following:

February 27, 2019

* For the first time in decades the NDP will not be mounting a campaign tour on par with that of the Liberals and the Conservatives. Jagmeet Singh’s party is too poor to charter a dedicated plane this year.

That may come as a relief to many cash-strapped media organizations. They are effectively being spared having to decide to downsize their coverage of the NDP tour the better to devote shrinking resources to those of the two leading contenders for power.

* In what would also be a first in years, it looks like the party may not be able to field candidates across the board. What is virtually certain is that the NDP will start the campaign with less than a full slate.

The dearth of nominated candidates extends beyond regions like Atlantic Canada where the party did poorly in the last election. In Quebec, where the NDP elected its largest provincial contingent in the past two elections, more than half of the 78 ridings are still without a standard-bearer.

March 31, 2018

To come late to the battle in a competitive election (whose date is anything but a surprise) is the equivalent of fighting with one’s hand tied behind one’s back.

* Only four years after the federal New Democrats launched their most credible bid for government, they are fighting an uphill battle to hang on to third place and official party status in the next Parliament

In Quebec, the Bloc Québécois has overtaken its former NDP nemesis. On average, BQ support province-wide is three times higher than that of the New Democrats. The latter are running a distant fifth behind the Green party.

In New Brunswick,  more than a dozen former NDP candidates and organizers voted with their feet and moved over to Elizabeth May’s party earlier this week.

October 24, 2017

When it comes to apportioning blame for the predicament the party finds itself in, it is easy to point the finger at  Singh’s uncertain performance as leader or to attribute it to some latent racism inspired by the fact that he wears a turban.

Singh’s first years as leader have featured more misses than hits. His transition from the Ontario scene to Parliament Hill has not been particularly smooth. And yes, it is almost certainly hard for some voters to identify with a turban-wearing leader.

But many of the elements of the perfect storm that threatens to engulf the NDP in the upcoming election either predate his arrival at the helm or would have plagued any leader. (Continued, Toronto Star) 

 

Tuesday January 7, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday January 7, 2019

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says Trudeau delaying Burnaby South by-election for political gain

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has delayed calling a by-election for the federal British Columbia riding of Burnaby South because Mr. Trudeau is “afraid” of how the governing Liberals might fare in the race.

Mr. Singh, who has been leading the NDP without a seat since October, 2017, has been anxious to run in the B.C. riding in hopes of winning a seat in the House of Commons before the next federal election, and he says Mr. Trudeau has been dragging his heels on the issue for political gain.

“I think that they’re afraid of facing the electorate, they’re afraid of facing the people of Burnaby South, facing their record. Their record is going to be on trial,” he said in a telephone interview from the riding on Monday.

Mr. Singh said delaying the by-election call is not in the interest of people in Burnaby South – so it’s likely in Mr. Trudeau’s own political interest.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said that Mr. Trudeau had months to take action on this “and failed to do so,” in a statement e-mailed to The Globe and Mail.

“Canadians deserve representation in the House of Commons now, not when it is convenient for the Prime Minister’s political agenda,” said Mr. Scheer, adding that Mr. Trudeau has chosen to “play politics” with Canadians, calling it unacceptable.

Meanwhile the Prime Minister’s Office is rebuffing criticism from both Mr. Singh and Mr. Scheer.

“As the PM has said previously, the by-elections in Burnaby South, Outremont and York-Simcoe will be called in January with a February voting day. The Nanaimo-Ladysmith by-election will be called in due course,” said Prime Minister’s Office spokesman Matt Pascuzzo.

When asked if Mr. Trudeau would call a by-election for Nanaimo-Ladysmith at the same time as the other by-elections, Mr. Pascuzzo said there are provisions in the Elections Act regarding the calling of by-elections and the Prime Minister will abide by those provisions.

According to Elections Canada, the Chief Electoral Officer received a notice of vacancy Monday for the riding of Nanaimo-Ladysmith (with the resignation of NDP MP Sheila Malcolmson, who is running in a provincial by-election). The earliest the writ can be issued for the by-election is Jan. 18, 2019, which means a by-election could be held, at the earliest, on Monday, Feb. 25. The writ must be issued, at the latest, by July 6, 2019. (Source: Globe & Mail) 

 

Tuesday June 5, 2018

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) 

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Thursday February 1, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday February 1, 2018

With Doug Ford joining PC leadership race, all bets are off

Your mom’s basement is a rather inauspicious venue to announce your ambition to become premier of Ontario, but anybody who underestimates Doug Ford’s chances to win the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party leadership does so at their peril.

October 30, 2014

Ford declared his candidacy on Monday to lead a party in deep turmoil following the resignation of leader Patrick Brown over allegations of sexual misconduct.

Ford is quickly trying to position himself as the populist choice in the race, the outsider, railing against the elites.

“Folks, make no mistake about it,” he said in his short statement from the basement of his mother’s Etobicoke house. “The elites of this party, the ones who have shut out the grassroots, do not want me in this race. But I’m here to give a voice to the hard-working taxpayers of this province, people who have been ignored for far too long.”

Ford’s message might just resonate with a good chunk of the PC membership. And don’t forget Ford’s message already has proven popular with no small number of people in Toronto.

When he stepped into the shoes of his better-known brother Rob Ford to run for mayor in 2014, he came second but won 20 of the city’s 44 wards. He trounced John Tory in Etobicoke, Scarborough and North York, the key parts of Toronto that the PCs must swing their way to form a majority provincial government. It`s not a stretch to think he could replicate that success in the 905, the crucial battleground of Ontario politics, and of course in traditional Tory strongholds too. (Continued: CBC) 

Here’s Doug Ford viewing the cartoon during an interview with Cynthia Mulligan, political reporter with CityNews Toronto on March 12, 2018, the Monday after the weekend vote which declared him leader of Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party: 


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