ABOVE THE FOLD
First in Observer — LEADERS’ LEDGERS — Another day, another pile of receipts to parse. Today, I’m peeling back the curtain on the party leaders’ local campaigns. Their candidate returns offer a closer look at how the folks at the top spend when it comes to their backyard battles.
PC captain DOUG FORD handily held on to Etobicoke North, the heart of Ford Nation. His campaign dropped $7,910 on Knocks, a canvassing service, and logged a $14K transfer of inventory — mostly signs — into the local effort. Ford also forked out $3,690 at Posticino on the Queensway, one of his go-to spots. All told, he spent $74,684 — well shy of the $123,542 spending cap set by Chief Electoral Officer GREG ESSENSA.
NDP Leader MARIT STILES hung on to her Davenport seat with some help close to home — her daughter MAHALA BERGER-STILES was on the payroll for $4,800, making her the second-highest paid worker after campaign manager NANCI MORRISON at $14,333. The campaign also cut a $400 cheque to the federal NDP’s Davenport riding association for office supplies and racked up a $2,490 tab at Brass Taps on College. Total spend: $74,823, far under the $136,245 cap.
Liberal Leader BONNIE CROMBIE ran (and lost) in Mississauga East–Cooksville, making her the only leader without a seat. She kept it in the family, cutting her son JONATHAN CROMBIE a $2,000 cheque for campaign services, and tapped Bellwether Technologies (the company founded by Mainstreet’s QUITO MAGGI) for $18,080 worth of voter contact. Crombie banked a cool $50,000 from party HQ but didn’t send a dime back to the central campaign — and while she burned through $74,311 in expenses, that’s barely half of the $141,107 limit. That last figure arguably matters more for Crombie, the only non-incumbent leader trying to flip a seat.
The Greens’ MIKE SCHREINER shelled out more than any other leader on his local bid in Guelph — $104,204 of a $190K limit — in keeping with the GPO’s strategy of pouring resources into winnable ridings. His payroll featured some familiar names: GILLIAN MAURICE ($9,240), who also sits on the federal riding association, and ROB RAMAGE ($7,063), who ran Schreiner’s campaign and was the strategist behind now–Toronto councillor DIANNE SAXE’s 2022 provincial run in University–Rosedale.
Go deeper: Catch up on the PCs’ and Liberals’ elections returns.
If you’re itching to know what your boss pocketed, how your rival burned through their cash, or just want to snoop on a particular riding — hit reply. Plenty more receipts to come, and I’m taking requests: sabrina@qpobserver.ca.
HAPPENING TODAY
DOUG FORD’s FRIDAY — The Premier is set to host the family of the father of three who was killed by the same driver that sideswiped Ford earlier this year. According to Global News, ANDREW CRISTILLO’s family is pushing for changes to traffic laws that would indefinitely suspend scofflaw motorists until trial.
10:45 a.m.: BFF TOUR — Housing Minister ROB FLACK is up in Chatham alongside Mayor DARRIN CANNIFF.
11 a.m.: Long-Term Care Minister NATALIA KUSENDOVA-BASHTA is in Brampton.
6 p.m.: Liberal Leader BONNIE CROMBIE continues her summer barbecue circuit, tonight in Thunder Bay. Think of it as a pre-game for card-carrying Grits who can’t wait for Monday, when the party releases its hotly anticipated campaign debrief.
FUNDRAISING WATCH — 10 a.m. on Sunday: Education Minister PAUL CALANDRA is hosting a breakfast-and-bagels event in Thornhill. Tickets go for $500 a pop. Invite.
For your calendar: Premier DOUG FORD will address the Empire Club over lunch on October 14, about a week before the House reconvenes. The theme: “Delivering Our Plan to Protect Ontario”. The moderator: BEN MULRONEY. RSVP.
CLIPPINGS
— OFFICE SPACE: “The Ford government has launched a review of its office space to work out if it needs to lease more buildings to accommodate a full-time return to work for tens of thousands of civil servants.” Global’s got the skinny.
— POLL WATCH: Speaking of Premier DOUG FORD ordering all Ontario civil servants back to the office full‑time by January, a new Angus Reid poll shows Canadians are split on the matter. Just 45 per cent support a full return for federal public servants, while nearly as many (43 per cent) oppose it — and, perhaps unsurprisingly, public sector employees lean firmly against: 53 per cent oppose the shift, 36 per cent support it. By the numbers.
— STRIKE WATCH: “Thousands of workers at Ontario’s public colleges are now one week away from walking off the job, as attempts to reach a last-minute deal continue.” Global News reports.
— IT’S A DEAL (BARELY): “An arbitrator has awarded Ontario's hospital nurses pay increases of 5.25 per cent over two years, in a new contract their union calls disappointing,” given persistent staffing crises and lack of guaranteed nurse-to-patient ratios. CP has the details.
Oppo reacts: Liberal critic (and nurse) TYLER WATT called it a “huge loss” that safe staffing ratios were rejected, warning Ford’s underfunding leaves “nurses unsafe and patients at risk”
The NDP’s FRANCE GÉLINAS and JAMIE WEST echoed the call, noting “hospitals are increasingly dependent on expensive private staffing agencies” and staff ratios are essential to retention and better care.
— SHOT IN THE ARM: Dr. KIERAN MOORE, “Ontario’s top doctor, is calling for a national immunization schedule and registry to address gaps exposed by the resurgence of measles in Canada — but first, he says, his own province needs a centralized digital vaccine system.” CP reports.
— SAVE THE WHALES ALREADY: “Another beluga whale and a harbour seal have died at Marineland, and those deaths have caught the attention of Premier DOUG FORD, The Canadian Press has learned.”
— ONE YEAR LATER: The Convenience Industry Council of Canada is toasting the first anniversary of alcohol sales in convenience stores, touting a 12 per cent bump in overall sales and a 33 per cent spike on long weekends. But while consumers are buying in, retailers say the distribution system is still a headache — multiple orders a week, extra paperwork, and frequent stockouts. CICC is pressing the Ford government for fixes this fall, using the Premier’s favourite word: efficiencies.
— TRAGEDY IN VAUGHAN: FORD used the fatal shooting of ALEEM FAROOQI during a home invasion to double down on calls for stronger self-defence laws. The case hit closer to home for Minister STEPHEN LECCE, who posted about recently meeting Farooqi, his constituent.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
IN PO — ALEX RACICOT has joined DOUG FORD’s office as senior public appointments adviser…BARBARA MOTTRAM is strategic comms director…DEBBIE OSSKE is now director of operations and team coordinator. For inside baseball fans: The Premier’s Office is now up to date on Info-Go, but devoted readers will already know who’s who thanks to my previous staffer scoops. Catch up.
STAFFING UP — ALESSIA IAFANO is now a policy adviser to Education Minister PAUL CALANDRA.
BEYOND THE BUBBLE I — JOE SEGAL is on the move. After nearly a decade in the Lieutenant Governor’s office and 12 years at Queen’s Park, he’s joining Elections Ontario later this month as manager of corporate affairs. Segal got the full Queen’s Park send-off at the Duke of York last night (if you know, you know).
BEYOND THE BUBBLE II — PATRICE BARNES, the former PC MPP for Ajax, is shifting gears but not going far — she’s signed on with Counsel Public Affairs as a Senior Advisor on their Ontario team.
NOTABLE GIG — BLAIR HAINS, chief of staff to Finance Minister PETER BETHLENFALVY, is chair of the upcoming PC Party convention. He’s seen as a rising star in Ford’s inner circle — a seasoned Queen’s Park hand and a party operator with campaign chops. Definitely one to watch as convention buzz kicks up.
🥳 HAPPY BIRTHDAY: NDPer DOLY BEGUM (Scarborough Southwest)…Ex-PC staffer, now-director of policy at Enterprise MITCH HEIMPEL.
🍽️ LUNCH SPECIAL: Lamb shepherd's pie with garden salad.
⏳ COUNTDOWN: T-minus 7 days until the Liberal AGM in Toronto…14 days until the NDP convention in Niagara Falls…45 days until the House reconvenes…147 days until the PC convention in Toronto.