There is little doubt to us that this provincial election will be examined by political operatives for years to come.
In 2014, shameless corruption was rewarded out of complete self-interest and the Conservatives blew an election that was theirs to win.
Both ridings in Wellington re-elected their incumbent Conservative members. Ted Arnott in Wellington-Halton Hills and Randy Pettapiece in Perth-Wellington were returned to Queen’s Park handily.
This speaks to the hard work of both MPPs this past term. For Arnott, it represents decades of consistent service to residents here.
Polling suggested the race was very tight across Ontario, but in the final days voters settled in to support the Liberals, even though roughly 70 per cent of voters polled were ready for a change.
Regrettably, the change proposed by the Tim Hudak Conservatives was too radical. His math didn’t work for his Million Jobs platform. He promised government job cuts of 100,000 in the civil service and wage freezes for public sector workers.
It is simply incredible to think a few announcements in the early hours of this campaign could so easily implode hopes for a change in government, considering Hudak only had to show up and confirm he had no affiliation with Dalton McGuinty. Nothing else needed to be said.
We cannot think of a government in recent memory so in need of replacement than the McGuinty-Wynne Liberals. Instead, Wynne was rewarded with a majority, four-year mandate.
While money wasted is much like crying over spilled milk, the McGuinty crew has piddled away a small fortune. Between the gas plant scandal, ORNGE, e-Health and dozens of other costly pursuits, that government squandered billions. In a case like the gas plant cancellations, enough money was wasted to build either two large hospitals, or 1,000 good-sized bridges, or pay to hire 13,000 more assistants at schools.
It is this reality which had several friends calling, emailing and railing against the decision of voters. The more hot-under-the-collar ones were suggesting a move out of province was in order.
Although the election is over, the challenges facing Ontario have not gone away.
Deficit budgets remain in the forecast. Debt continues to accumulate. Our status as a have-not province is becoming entrenched, which for some of us with a bit of pride really hurts. Ontario used to drive the country’s economy – now we are a net taker from others under the federal equalization program.
Public sector unions continue to demand more of the public purse, with little regard for the financial impact on working families who struggle to pay their bills and build a future for their families.
It remains a curiosity to us that little thought is given to that point, prompting us to question the motives of union leadership seemingly bent on leveraging their monopoly to a tipping point where private options have to be considered just to remain solvent.
Another item of concern this past election cycle was the conduct of the Ontario Provincial Police Association (OPPA). Potential wage freezes and Hudak’s unwillingness to promise concessions to the OPPA, prior to this election, led to their anti-Hudak campaign.
Taxpayer-purchased uniforms and equipment were used in the activist commercials, drawing the ire of OPP brass. Surely times have not changed so much that the moral compass of the OPPA feels it their right to react with tones resembling third-world politics when things aren’t all going their way.
Having met Premier Wynne, albeit briefly, we suspect her majority win this election will be taken in stride, and not as an endorsement of past Liberal conduct.
Her best asset was her opponents, making this a case study for political science classes everywhere.
