Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne did the unheard of today. With five days left in the provincial election campaign, Wynne admitted she will not be re-elected.
It has been obvious to everyone that Wynne's Liberals were going to lose after 15 years in power with she at the helm for the past five plus years. Wynne has been the most unpopular politician in Canada for some time now. But to hear her say it was rather extraordinary.
Of course, there is self-interest and self-preservation there. She urged voters to elect enough Liberals to force the Tories or the NDP to form a minority government with the Liberals. Wynne wants to be a kingmaker or queenmaker.
The king in question would be Tory leader Doug Ford, the older brother of the late Toronto Mayor Rob Ford (infamous for smoking crack and other deeds) while the queen would be NDP leader Andrea Horwath.
Ford won the Tory leadership race back in March after the downfall of his predecessor Patrick Brown in the midst of sexual misconduct allegations. Ford was heavily favored to win the election. However, Ford comes off to many as a Donald Trump Lite figure although opinion is divided on the subject.
But this has allowed Horwath to emerge as a viable alternative. For many voters, her relatively sunny disposition was a nice contrast to the dour Wynne and the angry Ford. This has resulted a surge in the polls for the NDP. It would seem many Ontarians either don't know, don't care or have forgotten the last NDP government of Bob Rae. The NDP shocked the entire Canadian political landscape with its stunning election win in September 1990 after the then Liberal government of David Peterson called an early election. But governing proved too heavy a task for the NDP and they would be ousted in favor of the Tories after a single term in office. Will the NDP earn another chance to govern Canada's largest province?
From a personal standpoint, I'm not sure what I would do if I were still living in Ontario. I know I wouldn't vote Liberal and I wouldn't vote NDP. The question for me is whether I could vote for Ford. The Trumpian bluster is a turn off, but Ford hasn't had a Gonzalo Curiel, John McCain or a "grab them by the pussy" moment either. He doesn't have his late younger brother's personal demons. Ford has been short on specifics. But then again how many politicians make detailed promises only to be unable or unwilling to keep them?
All things considered, Trump's nonsense and the nonsense of the Left down here is enough to keep me depressed for the rest of the decade at the very minimum. Perhaps looking at my old stomping grounds will prove a momentary respite. We'll see what happens the evening of June 7th.
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