Campaign signs for candidates in the Parry Sound–Muskoka riding in the Ontario election, outside Parry Sound, Ont., on May 28.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
Southwestern Ontario took centre stage during the final weekend of the election campaign as the parties continue to fight for support in battleground ridings.
The region west of the GTA, with more than 20 seats, has offered up many tight three-way races in previous provincial elections.
All four major party leaders paid visits to area ridings on Sunday to try and lock up votes for the June 2 election. Ten days of advance voting wrapped up on Saturday.
Wondering who to vote for in Ontario's June 2 election? The PC, NDP and Liberal platforms
For Doug Ford and the PCs, the party is hoping to build on the momentum gained in the 2018 election where it won the seats of Cambridge and Brantford–Brant from the Liberals. After weeks of labour-focused announcements early on, Mr. Ford’s campaign has largely made the shift to public rallies in areas of the province where the party is trying to gain seats.
Mr. Ford was in London on Sunday where the party got shut out during the 2018 election, finishing second to the NDP in all three ridings. He made previous rally stops in Kitchener and Hamilton and is slated to hold two more in Durham and Toronto before election day.
In front of a crowd chanting the campaign slogan “Get It Done,” Mr. Ford touted the PC plan to relocate the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board head office from Toronto to London and bring “thousands of jobs” to the region. (The Tories haven’t released the estimated number of jobs.)
The current WSIB office in Toronto is about 600,000 square feet and costs the province more than $30-million annually.
Mr. Ford also championed the party’s plan to improve frequency of GO Train service between London and Toronto, which launched as a pilot program last fall, through a cost of $160-million.
“We have the team, we have the vision, we have the plan and we have the momentum. It’s time to paint London blue in ‘22,” he said to a roar from supporters waving “Ford” signs behind him
Meanwhile, the Liberal Party held a rally of its own in Scarborough Sunday afternoon, featuring supporters waving “Stop Doug” paper stop signs.
Leader Steven Del Duca touted the Liberals as the only party that could stop the PCs from getting re-elected, the same strategy that Ms. Horwath and the NDP have deployed throughout the campaign, having won 40 seats in the past election while the Liberals were reduced to seven.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Del Duca made a campaign stop in Windsor and announced his party’s plan to launch an independent review of electricity supply in the region if elected. The pledge follows concerns about the ability to provide enough power for the operations of a potential $2.5-billion LG Chem plant.
The issue was first raised by Invest WindsorEssex, but the organization has since reversed its position and said the region has enough power to accommodate the plant and will continue to pursue the opportunity.
“Ontario Liberals will fix Windsor’s electricity shortage, get to the bottom of what happened with LG Chem and reveal the true state of the region’s energy supply so investors have the confidence they deserve,” Mr. Del Duca said.
Ms. Horwath started the day in the NDP-held riding of Essex, which is expected to be closely contested this time around with MPP Taras Natyshak not seeking re-election. Alongside Windsor-area candidates, the party leader spoke about the NDP’s plan if elected to improve the province’s home-care system by spending $1-billion and hiring 30,000 nurses and 10,000 PSWs.
“Home is the happiest, healthiest place for our parents and grandparents and by investing in home care everywhere, we can protect older Ontarians’ quality of life,” she said.
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner also paid a visit to southwestern Ontario Sunday in the communities of Waterloo and his riding of Guelph after making another trip to the northern riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka Saturday. Mr. Schreiner sees the PC stronghold as one of the party’s best chances to win another seat with candidate Matt Richter, who secured 20 per cent of the vote in 2018.
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Dustin Cook