Let's talk about the debate
Winners, losers and wisecrackers
Presented by your future Galentine’s date night
ABOVE THE FOLD
About last night: DOUG FORD mostly managed to stick to his talking points while taking flak about his government’s record. BONNIE CROMBIE and MARIT STILES tried to raise their profiles, differentiate their parties from each other, and present themselves as premier-in-waiting. There was plenty of mudslinging and zingers, too.
Here’s how the debate is shaking out for each camp.
The PCs have been sitting pretty in the polls throughout the campaign, so the one thing Ford had to do last night was not blow it. That meant staying on message — namely tariffs and economic uncertainty — and not getting thrown off by his rivals — something that happened during Friday’s Northern-themed debate.
It seems the weekend of debate prep paid off. Despite his opponents’ attempts to get under his skin, Ford was relatively measured on Monday. He pitched himself as the best candidate to “protect Ontario” — especially when it comes to DONALD TRUMP and pocketbook issues.
His kryptonite: the Greenbelt. Ford fumbled a question that touched on the land swap scandal, which the RCMP is investigating. “I think I was pretty clear. I said I was, and then I wasn’t, and then I went ahead and did it,” Ford said of his flip-flop.
Crombie came the closest to knocking Ford off his game. Ford repeatedly singled out the Liberal leader, trashing her record as a three-term Mississauga mayor and claiming she’ll raise taxes.
For Crombie, the stakes were arguably the highest. Unlike Stiles, who has a seat in the Legislature, Ontarians haven’t seen Crombie perform in Question Period. Not only was it a chance for the rookie-ish Liberal leader to introduce herself to folks beyond the 905, it was also an opportunity to do damage control for those multi-million-dollar attack ads the PCs have been running for months.
As such, Crombie hammered Ford on health care, which has been the centrepiece of the Liberals’ campaign. She also got personal and talked about her father’s struggle with addiction and her fears that her future grandchildren won’t have the same opportunities under a Ford-run Ontario. She pitched herself as a different kind of Liberal while trying to shake off the baggage of past Grit rulers.
It seems to be working for her, for better or worse: Crombie captured the most attention and dominated Google searches during the debate.
That’s especially bad news for Stiles and the NDP, which are battling it out with the Grits for the anti-Ford vote.
Stiles’s job on debate night was two-fold: hold Ford’s feet to the fire while positioning herself — rather than Crombie — as the credible alternative for premier. Perhaps unsurprisingly then, Stiles seemed more measured than Crombie at times.
But she still got in her jabs, saying hallway health care was “invented by the previous Liberal government” and “Ford and his government have poured gasoline all over it.”
The unknown known: The NDP has been floundering in the polls as the Grits gain steam, and part of the problem for Stiles is that she’s relatively unknown. But those that do know her, tend to like her.
Case in point: PC pollster NICK KOUVALIS noted a small bump in NDP support following Stiles’s primetime performance. That’s still not enough to catch the PCs, which are holding steady at a comfortable 45 per cent.
Long shot’s long shot: Green captain MIKE SCHREINER was true to form and on his A-game, which is arguably easier to do as the fourth-place party leader. Schreiner focused on his target seats and the fact his party is so far the only one with a fully-costed platform.
Notably, Schreiner poked holes in Stiles’s plan to address homelessness, which includes a new agency called Homes Ontario. Schreiner said he isn’t a fan of creating another level of bureaucracy and would rather flow the money straight to providers.
Zoom out: While the debate was heavy on provincial policy — something that’s been lacking as Ford tries to make the ballot-box question about U.S. relations — there wasn’t much meat on the bone. The leaders mostly reiterated previous pledges, with no new information on how they’d pay for them.
Knockout punches and one-liners…
“You had to hire a Liberal”: Crombie to Ford when he name-checked JANE PHILPOTT, who’s chairing the government’s new primary care action team…
Stiles took a shot at Crombie for raking in $25,000 in donations from “private health care insiders” — which plays into the NDP’s criticism that the Liberal captain is Ford-lite…
Crombie clapped back that Stiles promises “everything to everyone” and the “NDP thinks money grows on trees”…
“I want to build things — but only things that make sense”: Schreiner digs at Ford’s costly plans to tunnel under the 401 and revamp Ontario Place…
“The economy would go down quicker than the Canadian bobsled downhill”: Ford on his opponents’ fiscal prowess…
Another zinger from Crombie: “Doug, a fantasy tunnel. How dumb is that?”
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WHERE THE LEADERS ARE AT
UPDATE: Ford’s event was delayed, then cancelled, due to the situation at Pearson.
PCs…10 a.m.: DOUG FORD is up in Sault Ste. Marie. He’ll also visit with the Ontario Pipe Trades Council Local 900 then trek to Sudbury to sit down with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1687.
What reporters want to talk about: Ford skipped out on post-debate scrums, again (but he’s got plenty of time for U.S. media). Journalists have been itching to ask him about “Sparky,” that now-deleted partisan ad about the Washington trip, and more.
NDP…10 a.m.: MARIT STILES is making an announcement in downtown Toronto. 6:30 p.m.: She’ll also rally the troops at the NDP’s “Momentum Rally” in the city’s west end.
Liberals…11 a.m.: BONNIE CROMBIE makes an announcement in Hamilton. 12:40 p.m.: Crombie heads to her home turf in Mississauga for a photo-op with a local biz.
Greens…3 p.m.: MIKE SCHREINER is hanging out in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound with local candidate and councillor JOEL LOUGHEAD. The pair will make an announcement then head out for an evening of canvassing.
FUNDRAISING WATCH
Busy night for the big blue fundraising machine: The PCs are putting on six big-ticket events, in Dorchester, Barrie, Ancaster, Whitby, Newmarket and Vaughan.
In Liberal land: A $200-cocktail reception in Spadina-Fort York…A $50-pizza-party in Carleton.
CLIPPINGS
— DEBATE DEBRIEF: Much ink is being spilled on the leaders’ debate, including play-by-plays from the Star and CTV News. In the opinion pages: Sun columnist Brian Lilley crowns Ford the winner, just by surviving a three-on-one attack…Star scribe Martin Regg Cohn is glad we’re talking about what matters most — and it’s about time.
— MORE CANDIDATE CONTROVERSIES: The Grits continue to face questions over their candidate vetting process that failed to catch controversial posts — and which the Tories’ oppo research team has been all too happy to dig up.
The latest: “On Monday, a social media post surfaced from VIRESH BANSAL, the Liberal candidate for Oshawa. ‘You can thank India for cleaning trash people,’ he wrote. ‘Ask your gay friend @JustinTrudeau to do the same.’” The Liberals are standing by their roster and pointing the finger back at the PCs. Global News reports.
In case you missed it: Elections Ontario has a handy searchable list of all the candidates.
— AD WATCH: The PCs and Liberals put out duelling ads during the weekend’s hockey game. The NDP, meanwhile, took over the Star’s website with wraparound ads during last night’s debate.