And the PCs #1 target seat is...
Plus: Mystery government bill incoming
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ABOVE THE FOLD
Another one bites the dust: PC ROBIN MARTIN isn’t running again — and it’s put Eglinton-Lawrence into play.
Martin, the two-term MPP for the riding, said Friday that she’s making the announcement now “to allow time for the local riding association and the Ontario PC Party to nominate a candidate” — fuelling even more speculation that an early election could be around the corner.
Incumbents tend to get a leg-up on the ticket, but with Martin sitting out the next election, the riding is considered much more competitive.
It was already a close call in 2022: Martin eked out a narrow win with just 524 more votes than the Liberal contender.
So, naturally, the Tories have pulled no punches when it comes to star Liberal challenger VINCE GASPARRO. The spiciest public jabs have come from PC pollster NICK KOUVALIS, who is running the party’s target seat program and says Eglinton-Lawrence “is the #1 top target seat as far as I’m concerned.”
Poll watch: That might also explain why the Tories have been going so hard against Gasparro on bike lanes in particular. “Over 50% of Toronto residents want the bike lanes removed from University, Yonge and Bloor West. This is why BONNIE CROMBIE, MARIT STILES and OLIVIA CHOW are tip toeing around this issue,” Kouvalis contended on X. “Ford PCs have 37-40% ballot support in the City of Toronto consistently week over week.”
The PCs are now on the hunt for their own star candidate in the hopes of hanging on to the seat, and one insider assures me they’ll give Gasparro a run for his money. “Vince thought he could beat Robin. Now he has to face our star.”
For his part, Gasparro — former principal secretary to then-mayor JOHN TORY — says he’s focused on constituents while the PCs obsess over his candidacy. The Liberal Party’s @BonnieHQ account was more sassy:
Go deeper: The PCs anti-bike-lane crusade also boxes Crombie into a corner. And it’s a big deal in DOUG FORD’s neck of the woods.
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HAPPENING TODAY
9 a.m.: GRAHAM McGREGOR, who is acting as Citizenship and Multiculturalism Minister while MICHAEL FORD is on leave, is up in Toronto with LAURA SMITH, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Social Services; LYNN McCLELLAN, Vice President of The Royal Canadian Legion Ontario Command; Brigadier-General JULIAN CHAPMAN, Director of Wounded Warriors; and Lieutenant-Commander ROB FRANCIS of The Vimy Foundation.
In the Media Studio…
9 a.m.: Unifor’s energy sector workers will launch their “Keep it in the Pipe” campaign aimed at curbing Canada’s methane emissions.
9:30 a.m.: NDP Leader MARIT STILES is in the Media Studio to talk about her solution for “tumbling housing starts.” Spoiler alert: Stiles will move a motion this afternoon on the matter.
10 a.m.: Greens AISLINN CLANCY and MIKE SCHREINER will tease their forthcoming private member’s bill re: “targeting oil and gas greed.”
FUNDRAISING WATCH — 6 p.m.: Back-to-back fundraisers from the PCs tonight, featuring NATALIA KUSENDOVA-BASHTA and MATT RAE in Toronto for $1,000 a pop.
ON THE ORDER PAPER
First up: MPPs get right into it with Question Period shortly after 10:15 a.m.
PC House Leader STEVE CLARK teased a mystery government bill that’s headed for the Clerk’s table this afternoon. Could it be more about Peel Region’s messy breakup? Something on Municipal Affairs Minister PAUL CALANDRA’s long-awaited code of conduct for bad-behaving civic councillors? A watered-down version of Solicitor General MICHAEL KERZNER’s move to take more control over police board appointments? Transportation Minister PRABMEET SARKARIA’s stiffer penalties for carjackers? (More on that momentarily.) We’ll find out around 1 p.m.
Then, it’s Oppo Motion Day #2. NDP Leader MARIT STILES will force a vote on her party’s pitch to create Homes Ontario, a provincial builder that will oversee the construction of 250,000 new and affordable homes over a decade. Reminder: Motions are non-binding but carry symbolic weight.
Later on: Bill 216, the Ford government’s mini-budget implementation legislation, goes for another round of second-reading debate.
ON THE COMMITTEE CIRCUIT
12:30 p.m.: Public Accounts meets behind closed doors to draft reports on the Auditor General’s audits of urban flood risk and tourism support programs.
1 p.m.: A straggler in the Summer of Estimates’ studies: Seniors and Accessibility Minister RAYMOND CHO will be the opening act for hearings on his Ministry’s spending, followed by a bunch of bureaucrats. Full lineup.
COCKTAIL CHATTER
Conceivable Dreams is putting on a breakfast reception in the Dining Room. The Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario takes over for lunch. Later on, the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies is hosting in Room 228.
Speaker TED ARNOTT bestows his annual book award in a ceremony on the Grand Staircase, followed by an evening reception in the Dining Room. Get the shortlist.
CANDIDATE TRACKER
A couple more incumbents have re-upped with the Tories: PRABMEET SARKARIA (Brampton South) and LORNE COE (Whitby). And the rest.
CLIPPINGS
— STEALING SARKARIA’S THUNDER: “The Ontario government proposed new penalties around fraudulent vehicle identification numbers (VINs) on Friday — including a fine of up to $100,000 and six months in jail if convicted — on the same day Toronto police said they've laid hundreds of charges in an ongoing investigation into fraudulent VINs that implicates some ServiceOntario employees.” CBC reports. There’s also changes coming to crack down on car rallies, via Global.
— WATCHDOG WANTED: Also from Global: “Ontario’s integrity commissioner, whose scathing report into the Ford government’s handling of the Greenbelt led to resignations and reversals, is set to retire in a matter of months, capping off an eight-year term as the province’s ethics watchdog. J. DAVID WAKE, who previously served as Associate Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice before being appointed as the integrity commissioner by Queen’s Park in 2016, is poised to step away from the role in January.”