ABOVE THE FOLD
All parties at Queen’s Park are making their pitch to municipalities at AMO — but first, I’ve got another hint that an early election may be around the corner.
First in Observer — CAMPAIGN SCHOOL — A little birdie tells me the PCs are planning to hold “campaign management training” for local organizers and riding associations on October 5. I got my hands on the email from PC Party president MICHAEL DIAMOND.
“It’s a chance for you to have individuals who will likely assume key campaign roles in the next election learn the fundamentals of running a successful local campaign, including campaign planning and budgeting, volunteer recruitment and management, voter identification and GOTV [Get Out the Vote].” The full-day training session goes down at the Sheraton Hotel in Richmond Hill.
It’s another clue that we could be headed for a snap vote in Ontario.
It also tracks with what Tory sources previously told me: That the PCs will start ramping up their candidate nominations in the fall. They could do what they’ve done in the past and nominate their incumbents en masse, but they’d still have dozens of new contenders to pick in ridings they don’t hold. That process could take some weeks, making a late November or early December election (as the latest scuttlebutt goes) unlikely. My pet theory is still Spring 2025, but the vibe among provincial circles is that it could be sooner.