Fighting the Ontario election on pocketbook issues

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The shape of the upcoming election in Ontario has become clearer, with the launch of a campaign by the McGuinty government to turn its policy achievements into pocketbook values for voters.

The governing Liberals released a progress report on Wednesday, highlighting a series of initiatives, ranging from property tax credits for seniors to full-day kindergarten for four- and five-year-olds, that they say make life more affordable for Ontario families.

The report sets the stage for a three-way fight over easing the lot of families during the campaign for the Oct. 6 election. Both the Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats have framed their campaign platforms in pocketbook terms.

"It's nonsense to suggest that we haven't been sensitive to pocketbook issues," Finance Minister Dwight Duncan told The Globe and Mail's editorial board on Wednesday.

The Liberals, he said, have a "pretty good" track record on helping families cope with strained financial resources. But he acknowledged that they need to do a better job explaining those achievements.

At a time when simple messages appear to resonate with voters - Toronto Mayor Rob Ford sailed to victory in the 2010 municipal election by promising to cut waste and stop the gravy train - it will be a challenge for Liberals to campaign on their record, Mr. Duncan said. That record, he added, consists of striking the right balance between making improvements to health care and education and handing out the largest income-tax cuts in the province's history.

"It's a complicated piece of public policy," Mr. Duncan said. "And it doesn't lend itself to the sort of 10-second sound bites that are common here in the City of Toronto."

At a news conference later on Wednesday, Mr. Duncan attempted to turn a series of policies unveiled by the Liberals during their nearly eight years in power into sound bites.

Standing at an easel that contained a list of 10 Liberal initiatives in point form, he wrote down how much Ontarians are saving a year on each one: income tax cuts - $355 on the first $37,000 in earnings; children's activity tax credit - $50; rebate on residential electricity bills - $150; full-day kindergarten - up to $6,500 in savings on child-care costs.

"We are going to be talking more and more about this because the opposition simply aren't telling the truth," Mr. Duncan told reporters. "The opposition parties are misleading people by suggesting that family finances in Ontario are experiencing challenges because of our policies."

The Progressive Conservatives have dubbed Premier Dalton McGuinty "The Taxman" for introducing in 2010 the harmonized sales tax that has led to higher prices on haircuts, gym memberships and other consumer services, as well as the annual health premium in 2004.

Tory Leader Tim Hudak has made $3.5-billion in tax relief measures the centrepiece of his campaign platform and has also promised to remove the provincial portion of the HST from residential electricity bills.

"People don't need history lessons," Tory MPP Bob Bailey told reporters on Wednesday. "People told us they want a break on energy, they want a break on taxes."

New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath told reporters that the McGuinty government is responsible for making life less affordable for Ontarians. She has promised relief for drivers at the pump by slashing in half the provincial portion of the HST on gas prices.

"No matter where I go," Ms. Horwath said, "people are telling me that they're feeling the pinch, that they're feeling the squeeze."

Mr. Duncan told The Globe he is not worried that the Liberals are trailing the Tories in public-opinion polls. He said the Tories were also leading in the polls before the provincial elections in 2003 and 2007, but the Liberals ended up winning back-to-back majorities.

"We were at this point four years ago," he said. "Everyone said we're done and the health premium is going to kill us."