Scheer won’t vote in Ontario election nor campaign with Doug Ford, his office says

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Andrew Scheer won’t be voting in the Ontario election and is no longer planning to campaign with Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford due to scheduling conflicts, the federal Conservative Party Leader’s office says.

Mr. Scheer – who grew up in Ottawa and moved into Stornoway, the residence in the capital city of the Leader of the Official Opposition, after winning party leadership last May – has represented the Saskatchewan riding of Regina-Qu’Appelle since 2004.

“He’s from Saskatchewan and he won’t be voting in the Ontario election,” said Jake Enwright, Mr. Scheer’s outgoing director of media relations.

Mr. Scheer had previously planned to attend at least one campaign event with Mr. Ford during the campaign. In May, Mr. Scheer’s office told The Globe and Mail that Mr. Scheer “will work with Mr. Ford to help defeat Justin Trudeau and Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals.”

Now, with 10 days left before the June 7 election, Mr. Enwright said Mr. Scheer currently has no plans to help out on Mr. Ford’s campaign.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to confirm any events to date for Mr. Scheer, and we are kind of running out of time,” Mr. Enwright said, noting Mr. Scheer will be travelling to the East Coast later this week.

Mr. Ford was riding high in the polls last month when Mr. Scheer’s office said he would join the PC Leader on the campaign trail. Since then, most polls have the PCs tied with or trailing NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

When asked if that had anything to do with the change in plans, Mr. Enwright said, “No, not at all.”

Mr. Enwright said Mr. Scheer still supports Mr. Ford, “100 per cent.”

In a tweet on Monday, former Prime Minister Stephen Harper posted a photo with Mr. Scheer calling him “Canada’s next Conservative Prime Minister.”

“Great seeing Andrew in Toronto, we both agree we must first get the job done in Ontario with Conservative Premier @fordnation!” Mr. Harper wrote.

On the campaign trail on Monday, Mr. Ford again promised a costed platform explaining how he plans to pay for billions in promised spending and tax cuts would be released within days.

“We’re very clear that we’re going to be responsible, our plan is going to be modest, we won’t balance the first year or the second year, but the third or fourth year, we look forward to balancing the books and making sure that we’re prosperous in this province,” Mr. Ford said.

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Throughout his bid to become premier, the Tory Leader has said he will find $6-billion in savings through efficiencies to offset his planned spending. He has promised to reduce personal-income taxes, while also cutting the corporate-tax rate and the gasoline tax. Economist Don Drummond calculated in a paper released last week that Mr. Ford has promised $8.1-billion in new spending or lower taxes, $2.1-billion more than the savings he has said he will find.

During the province’s final televised debate on Sunday, Mr. Ford faced questions from his two opponents about when he would release a fully costed plan. Ms. Horwath’s platform was released in April and the party soon had to correct a $1.4-billion error in its calculations. Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne’s plan was released on Saturday and was largely based on her government’s spring budget.

Caroline Mulroney, one of Mr. Ford’s star candidates and a former leadership hopeful, said that while the PC Party has promised to release a full platform before Ontarians head to the polls on June 7, an “honest” accounting of the party’s promises would only come after Election Day.

A number of Tory candidates said on Monday that the party has yet to release its platform because they still have yet to deliver all their spending announcements.

Meanwhile, other federal leaders are casting ballots in the election.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who represents the Montreal riding of Papineau, voted last week in the riding of Ottawa-Vanier. Mr. Trudeau has steered clear of campaigning with Ms. Wynne.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has campaigned in almost a dozen ridings in the Greater Toronto area, including attending a rally with Ms. Horwath last week in Brampton, Ont., northwest of Toronto.

Mr. Singh, who currently does not have a seat in Parliament, was first elected as an MPP to the Bramalea-Gore-Malton riding in 2011 and again in 2014, before quitting last October after winning the federal party leadership.

Mr. Singh will be voting in the riding of Mississauga-Malton, his office said.

“Unlike the other two leaders, he’s been very visible and very active in this provincial campaign,” Mr. Singh’s spokesman, James Smith, said.