The Ontario election is a step closer to formally being announced on Tuesday, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford set for an afternoon meeting with the Lieutenant-Governor to recommend the dissolution of provincial parliament.
Elizabeth Dowdeswell is likely to accept the Premier’s request, and the writs for the provincial election in Canada’s most populous province can then be signed.
The election will be held on June 2, with Mr. Ford aiming to lead his Progressive Conservatives to a second consecutive majority government since they won the 2018 election, and ended 15 years of Liberal government.
There are 124 seats in the Ontario legislature. As dissolution looms, the Progressive Conservatives have 67, the NDP 38 and the Ontario Liberals have seven. There’s one member of the Green Party of Ontario, one of the New Blue Party of Ontario, one of the Ontario Party, and six Independents. There are three vacant seats.
Politicians have already been unofficially campaigning for weeks, with two out of the three major parties having already released their platforms.
Reporter’s Comment, Queen’s Park Reporter Jeff Gray– “And we’re off. Ontario’s election campaign, informally under way for months, starts with PC Leader Doug Ford out in front, according to most polls, despite the punishing two-year pandemic and widespread angst over runaway housing prices and spiking inflation. Mr. Ford has a slogan, “Get It Done,” and is campaigning as a doer who will build new highways and expand hospitals.
“Despite spending four years as Leader of the Opposition, Andrea Horwath and her NDP are in third place in those same polls, behind Steven Del Duca’s Liberals, although this could be what pollsters call vote-parking, an echo of the federal Liberals’ popularity in the province.
“Ontario’s Liberals, almost completely wiped out in 2018 with the defeat of the unpopular Kathleen Wynne, now have just a month to introduce the relatively unknown Mr. Del Duca to voters. So far, their campaign has relied on headline-grabbers: This week he pledged to temporarily cut all transit fares to $1. (Story here.)
“While health care remains a key issue during the pandemic, all the parties so far appear focused on spending promises and pledges aimed at saving voters’ money – not at relitigating Mr. Ford’s handling of COVID-19. That may reflect the electorate’s fatigue with the pandemic and perhaps the realization that Ontario fared better when measured against the death and infection rates of many other places.”
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS ASKED NOT TO COMMENT ON U.S. ABORTION RULING – The Conservative caucus was ordered Tuesday not to talk about the explosive draft U.S. Supreme Court decision, which suggests the court will overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion. Story here. There’s a Globe and Mail explainer here on what’s happening to Roe v. Wade and U.S. abortion rights.
MPS CONSIDERING UKRAINE VISIT – MPs on a parliamentary committee are eyeing a visit to war-torn Ukraine to demonstrate support for Kyiv even as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remains mum on when he might follow the lead of European and U.S. politicians in journeying to the Ukrainian capital. Story here.
OPPOSITION SEEKS REVENUE LEADER’S TESTIMONY – The Conservative Party and the NDP are calling on Canada Revenue Agency Commissioner Bob Hamilton to testify before a parliamentary committee after a massive disclosure of sensitive internal documents revealed numerous allegations of wrongdoing at a CRA division responsible for ensuring multinational companies pay appropriate levels of Canadian tax. Story here.
ELECTORAL REFORM DEBATE IN QUEBEC The debate over electoral reform has resurfaced in Quebec, with opposition parties raising alarm over projections indicating the ruling Coalition Avenir Quebec could walk away with 100 of the province’s 125 seats next October. Story here.
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
CLARK TO MODERATE TORY LEADERSHIP DEBATE – Former journalist Tom Clark will moderate the first official debate in the Conservative leadership race, set for May 11 in Edmonton. Mr. Clark served as chief political correspondent for Global News until 2017 and is currently the chair of Global Public Affairs, a strategic and communications consultancy. The two-hour debate will begin at 6 p.m. MT at the Edmonton Convention Centre. According to a party media release, questions are not shared with the candidates ahead of time. The second official party debate is scheduled for May 25 in Montreal.
SIX QUALIFIED TO RUN; THREE DISQUALIFIED IN LEADERSHIP RACE – The Conservatives cleared six candidates to run in the party’s leadership race but disqualified three others, who all said they had met the fundraising and nomination requirements to make it to the final ballot. Story here.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, May 3 accessible here.
GG TO VISIT QUEBEC – Governor-General Mary Simon is heading to Quebec this week for her first official visit to the province. She will be in Quebec City on Wednesday, with an agenda of meetings that includes J. Michel Doyon, the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, as well as Quebec Premier François Legault, François Paradis, president of the National Assembly of Quebec, Indigenous leaders and Quebec Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade, leader of the official opposition.
CSIS DIRECTOR TO PARTICIPATE IN VIRTUAL EVENT – The director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service will be speaking to the issue of protecting national security in partnership with Canadians this week. David Vigneault will be participating in the virtual event organized by the Institute of Asian Research at the University of British Columbia. Mr. Vigneault, CSIS director since 2017, is taking about, according to the university, “a discussion on the imperatives of diversity and partnerships in protecting national security, and the organization’s ongoing transformation.” The event is scheduled for May 4 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. PT. There are details here.
THE DECIBEL
On Tuesday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, The Globe’s mining reporter Niall McGee talks about the carbon footprints of electric vehicles as governments announced $1-billion in funding this week for building electric vehicles in Ontario – just the latest investment from government into the industry that hopes to do away with gas-powered engines, and replace them with batteries. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Private meetings in the National Capital Region, and then the Prime Minister and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau attended the national funeral of Guy Lafleur. The Prime Minister delivered a brief statement prior to the service at the Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet attended the funeral of Guy Lafleur in Montreal.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and NDP MP Taylor Bachrach spoke on Parliament Hill about the NDP proposal to change the voting age to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote, and Mr. Singh and NDP MP Gord Johns met with the Canadian Mental Health Association. Mr. Singh attended the World Press Freedom Canada Annual Awards Luncheon, participated in Question Period and was scheduled to attend the Vote at 16 reception hosted by Mr. Bachrach and Children First Canada.
No schedule released for other party leaders.
OPINION
André Picard (The Globe and Mail)on why every Canadian should have a primary care medical home: “Today, about 15 per cent of Canadians do not have a family doctor, the same percentage as in the late 1990s – and since. These patients end up in walk-in clinics and emergency rooms, with no continuity of care. The reality is that this festering problem is, fundamentally, a structural one. The single most important feature of a healthy health care system is a strong base of primary care. If you don’t have a solid foundation, everything you pile on top of it, including emergency departments, surgery and long-term care, is going to be shaky. And that’s what we have in Canada today: A health system that seems to be crumbling slowly before our eyes. It’s near impossible to get a family doctor. In overflowing ERs, hallway medicine is the norm. Surgical backlogs stretch months and years. Need mental health care? Forget about it. Good luck getting home care. Or a bed in long-term care. The solution isn’t throwing more money into an inefficient system in a knee-jerk fashion, especially at election time.”
David Shribman (The Globe and Mail) on how the Supreme Court draft decision to overturn Roe v. Wade signals new phase of fractious American politics with vast implications: “The leaking of a draft Supreme Court ruling that would overturn protections for abortion set in motion a new phase of fractious American politics that has vast, formidable and unpredictable implications in a country already riven by wide divides. By reversing Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court would signal a fundamental shift in American social policy and would recast the lives of women, shape the profile of the Congress that will take form after the midterm congressional elections and thrust the high court into prominence it has not possessed since 1954, perhaps since 1857.”
Ethan Lou (Contributed to The Globe and Mail)on how Pierre Poilievre has a point on central-bank digital currencies: “Mr. Poilievre’s aversion to a central-bank digital currency, whatever the source of it, should be taken seriously. For when considering a central-bank digital currency, there’s a lot more than monetary policy or financial technology that needs to be taken into account. Our government should look at the trends elsewhere and ask itself: Is this the sort of society we want to become?”
Rachel Pulfer (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how journalists are essential in bringing Russian abuses to light: “Lives are at stake, and Canada must act with an urgency that is currently lacking. Canada needs to do concrete work to realize the Media Freedom Coalition’s promise of emergency visas for journalists and expedite visa processing to meet the urgent need of the times. Separately, Canada needs to step up to offer proper financial support at appropriate scale for independent Russian-language and Ukrainian-language journalists. This would empower these journalists to fight Russian disinformation and misinformation in Ukraine and access international media networks to better share their stories on a continuing basis.”
Robert Danisch (The Conversation)on why Doug Ford will, once again, win the Ontario election: “If a politician or a political party believes voters cast ballots in favour of policy positions laid out in a party platform, then they badly misunderstand persuasion and what it takes to motivate a voter. All of the resources that the NDP and the Liberal Party pour into the details and the rationales of their policy positions are misguided if the assumption is that these platforms will result in votes.”
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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
