An hour-by-hour guide to campaign kick-off
Location, location, location
ABOVE THE FOLD
Welcome to the campaign trail. E-Day is February 27.
If you’re reading this newsletter, you probably watched the Premier visit Lieutenant Governor EDITH DUMONT’s chambers at the Leg where he asked her to dissolve Parliament, effectively kicking off the campaign. Here are the big takeaways and under-the-radar moments. Plus: how the leaders are spending Day 1 on the hustings.
On his way into the LG’s suite, DOUG FORD told reporters he’d be (pointedly) launching his campaign today in Windsor, a border city. “We’re going to protect Ontario,” he said. I first told you about the slogan yesterday.
That tracks: Ford’s rationale for triggering a snap vote more than a year early is to get a fresh mandate to deal with DONALD TRUMP’s tariff threat, which could become a reality on Saturday. (Ford opined on the matter in the Post.)
To that end, Ford acknowledged Cabinet got a peek at his tariff-fighting plan, but didn’t give away any specifics. “We do have a strong economic action plan, which will be rolling out over the next 28 days” of the campaign, Ford said at an earlier announcement re: the Ring of Fire (more on that momentarily).
Ford has been flirting with the notion of a snap vote since last spring, and his political rivals have denounced his early election gambit as self-serving and unnecessary in chaotic times.
Catchphrase alert! NDP Leader MARIT STILES said it’s time to “turn the page on Doug Ford,” which, ahem, has a slogan-y ring to it.
“Ford thinks that he can call an early election to escape his record of failure on housing, health care, education and affordability. We won’t let him,” Stiles said.
Expect Ford’s rivals to keep up that kind of talk in the run-up to E-Day. According to recent issues polling from Leger, Trump’s tariffs rank relatively low on voters’ radars compared to cost of living and health care, particularly access to a doctor. More Oppo fodder: Housing starts are tanking, big time.
Over in the Liberals’ corner, BONNIE CROMBIE put us out of our misery and revealed that she’ll run in Mississauga East-Cooksville, held by ex-PC minister KALEED RASHEED, who resigned amid the Greenbelt scandal. It’s seen as a slam dunk compared to the other Mississauga ridings and was a tight race in 2022.
And the rest: The PCs have locked in all 124 candidates. The other parties are slowly but surely catching up. Who’s who.
WHERE THE LEADERS ARE AT
Location, location, location: Where the party leaders choose to spend these early days of the campaign can shed some light on the regions they’re gunning for most.
PCs…10 a.m.: DOUG FORD is leaning into his Captain Canada role in Windsor, where he’ll hold a press conference, sit down with Unifor Local 444, and meet workers at manufacturing co. Harbour Technologies.
Why Windsor: It’s territory the PCs picked up from the NDP in 2022, and they’re looking to poach even more seats this time around.
NDP…10 a.m.: Flanked by candidates and supporters, MARIT STILES will make a splashy debut at Daniels Spectrum, a community centre in the Regent Park neighbourhood. That’s in Toronto Centre, repped by KRISTYN WONG-TAM.
6 p.m.: Stiles will cut the ribbon on FAISAL HASSAN’s campaign office in York South-Weston. The former MPP for the riding is hoping to make a comeback after losing to the PCs by about 800 votes in the last round.
Running through the Six: Toronto is crucial territory for New Democrats if they want to hold on to Official Opposition status. York South-Weston was a close call in 2022, ditto Toronto-St. Paul’s, where Stiles was on the weekend for incumbent JILL ANDREW’s nomination.
Grits…10 a.m.: BONNIE CROMBIE is in Barrie talking health care alongside star candidate ROSE ZACHARIAS (Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte), a physician, former president of the Ontario Medical Association, and the party’s MPP co-campaign chair for 2025.
A theory on Barrie: As I noted earlier this week, that riding was their tightest race in 2022. The Liberals came 296 votes shy of beating PC DOUG DOWNEY. Their strong showing was owed in large part to a heavyweight contender: ex-mayor JEFF LEHMAN.
3 p.m.: Crombie then heads to Markham-Stouffville to door-knock with candidate KELLY DUNN.
Greens…10 a.m.: Green MIKE SCHREINER kicks off the day in the Media Studio, before trekking to some of his party’s target ridings. The Greens say they’ll run a full slate, but they tend to pour resources into the ridings where they have the best shot.
12:15 p.m.: Naturally, Schreiner will be on his home turf in Guelph alongside a candidate from another target seat, BRONWYNNE WILTON in Wellington-Halton Hills. (They’re also pushing for Parry Sound-Muskoka, Dufferin-Caledon and Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound.)
6:30 p.m.: Schreiner and caucus-mate AISLINN CLANCY will rally the troops in Kitchener Centre.
WATCHDOG WEIGHS IN — 11:30 a.m.: After signing the writs with the Lieutenant Governor, Chief Electoral Officer GREG ESSENSA will be in the Media Studio to talk election readiness. Spoiler alert: Essensa has warned that the “likelihood that Ontarians will encounter false or misleading information in the upcoming election is almost certain” — but it may be too late to implement his recommendations this time around. Go deeper.