“My friends, the 2022 campaign starts today, starts now.”
This was the message from Premier Doug Ford in his keynote address at the Ontario Progressive Conservative policy convention in Niagara Falls on Feb. 22.
While the statement may seem fair enough given the gathering’s focus was party platform development for the 2022 election, it nonetheless highlights a disturbing trend in today’s politics: the never-ending campaign.
If the campaign truly “starts today,” more than two years out from the next provincial election, then what of the business of governing? Will campaigning detract from that focus? Will it influence decision-making?
Sadly, citizens may notice little difference. Partisan politicking is a full-time job these days, especially among governing party members, who gallingly are able to campaign on the taxpayers’ dime for much of their mandate.
Ontario MPPs returned to Toronto on Feb. 18 from a winter break that began on Dec. 12. That “break” was from a shorter-than-usual six week fall session of parliament that began late, as Ford’s government extended the summer break until late October in a move many believe was designed to allow an unpopular premier and his Progressive Conservatives to avoid the spotlight during last summer’s federal election campaign.
To be clear, MPPs are not on holiday just because parliament is not in session. There is important work to be done and meetings to be attended to in their ridings. However, there’s also plenty of time to cut ribbons, attend fairs and community events and partake in the kind of general glad-handing normally associated with elections. While people seem generally pleased to see their MPs and MPPs available for such routine ceremonial functions, you would think voters would occasionally like to hear their representatives have something more important to do.
One of the great features of Canadian elections is that the actual campaigns are confined to short periods, a matter of weeks, ostensibly allowing for a focus on current issues – although of late the writ period seems too easily sidetracked into the personal flaws and historical misdeeds of the various candidates on offer.
Our system of quickly ripping off the electoral bandage contrasts with the U.S., where their primary (party leadership) politicking begins two years out and the actual voting is strung out over months, followed by a months-long general election campaign. Little wonder people lose interest to the point a man who more closely resembles a Bond villain than a dignitary was able to win the presidency.
Ironically, the current U.S. president, has extended the campaign circuit circus even longer. Donald Trump filed his re-election papers on inauguration day and it’s debatable whether he has since spent more time mangling the nation’s business or holding campaign rallies and vacationing at his own resorts. Down south, the campaign now literally never ends.
The Ford government may indeed need to campaign long and hard given its propensity for “own goals” like the new “stealth” license plates which can’t be detected under certain lighting conditions.
Interestingly, government officials were still defending the decision to introduce the new Tory blue plates even after conceding they would have to be recalled.
“The entire caucus was consulted on this and all of us thought it would be an important thing to do to highlight the new government … a government of progress, growth and prosperity,” said government house leader Paul Calanda in a Feb. 24 statement to reporters at Queen’s Park.
So even though the crying need for new license plates had generated few if any barroom rants or coffee shop discussions that we know of, every member of the Tory caucus thought, at some time prior to the April 2019 announcement of the planned change, “it would be an important thing to do to highlight the new government.”
Hmmm? Perhaps the campaign actually began a long time ago.
One hopeful sign that citizens, at least here in Ontario, aren’t pleased with being sucked into the perpetual campaign cycle appeared just days after Ford’s campaign kickoff announcement.
Trending on Twitter on Feb. 25 was the hashtag #VoteFordOut2022.
