Lisa MacLeod's wild ride

Final stretch in Bay of Quinte

ABOVE THE FOLD

BYELECTION WATCH — The Tories are going hard in their bastion of Bay of Quinte as byelection day approaches.

While you were weekending, PC staffers, volunteers and organizers loaded up into buses and pounded the pavement with candidate and councillor TYLER ALLSOPP, in order to get a lock on the riding where public-opinion polls peg the ruling party in a dead heat with the third-place Liberals.

While it’s not unusual for the Tories send busloads of canvassers in a byelection, several PC insiders say they’re feeling the pressure to hang on to their stronghold as the Grits gain steam with popular local candidate SEAN KELLY, a morning radio show host and councillor.

Case in point, perhaps: Heavyweight front-benchers, including Premier DOUG FORD himself, have also been out door-knocking, while Ministers make a string of good-news announcements for the region.

That said, one high-ranking PC source scoffed at the latest Liaison poll that puts the parties in a statistical tie — …