Readers' hot takes: 'What a waste'
And MPPs reflect
ABOVE THE FOLD
Politicians across the aisle are putting down their partisan swords and paying respects to those who have sacrificed for our freedoms. I’ve got the rundown on how MPPs are marking the occasion.
Plus, spicy reaction to my scoop on byelection payouts is pouring in, Toronto Mayor OLIVIA CHOW is gearing up for a (long-shot) battle over bike lanes, a bunch of new candidates have joined the ticket and Ottawa politicians are going at it. Let’s dig in.
LEST WE FORGET — The Legislature’s annual Remembrance Day ceremony on the South Lawn will feature a familiar face: RICHARD ROHMER, Canada’s oldest and highest-ranking 100-year-old honorary lieutenant-general, who “is looking forward to once again ‘speaking for the troops,’” TVO’s Steve Paikin writes.
DOUG FORD will be on hand for the event, which starts at 10:45 a.m. at the Veterans’ Memorial. Before that, the Premier will be at the Sunnybrook Veterans Centre bright and early, where veterans and residents will wake up to 30,000 flags planted outside their window. It’s part of Operation Raise a Flag, which raises money to help veterans access quality-of-life amenities.
A military mom and MPP reflects: For New Democrat JENNIE STEVENS, Remembrance Day is personal and political. Catch up on my earlier interview with the Opposition’s Veterans critic, whose son is an active service member. Read on.
Stevens is hosting party leader MARIT STILES on her home turf in St. Catharines today. The pair will take part in a ceremony at the local cenotaph, visit the area legions and tour the Canadian Military Heritage Museum in Brantford.
CASH CLASH — Y’all had plenty to say about my scoop on the byelection payouts for Milton and Lambton-Kent-Middlesex. Here are the hot takes from readers:
The “numbers are very telling,” texted one Conservative insider. “Two very different machines…One is a story of spending money on the things that will actually win a campaign and the other is spending money on your friends who tell you they can win. It’s getting more and more challenging to find people willing to consistently door knock. But any good campaign manager will tell you it comes down to GOTV.”
A Liberal clapped back: “DOUG FORD’s PCs seemingly can’t attract campaign volunteers in rural Ontario or the GTA, two supposed strongholds. They also spent over $45K on PAID canvassers in 2 byelections…No wonder they’re extending the per-vote subsidy,” tweeted organizer THERESA LUBOWITZ.
Read between the lines: “In any campaign, raising money is often the biggest challenge. Knowing how to spend it is even more important,” said past school trustee and longtime Liberal supporter NOKHA DAKROUB.
Even the Greens got in on the Grit-bashing: “The OLP campaign in Milton spent close to $30K on ‘voter ID and contact services’, and an additional $15K for basically a consultant to run the campaign…What a waste of dough,” posted KYLE HUTTON, who ran for the Greens in Milton.
CANDIDATE TRACKER — More contenders for the next election…
Fresh and familiar faces for the Grits: REG NIGANOBE (Algoma-Manitoulin — where ex-NDP, now-Independent MICHAEL MANTHA first told me he’s running again)…PAUL SAGUIL (Willowdale)…GILLIAN VIVONA (King-Vaughan)…RON FOX (Brantford-Brant).
In the PCs corner, a couple of comebacks: ANDREA KHANJIN (Barrie-Innisfil) and VIC FEDELI (Nipissing).
Get to know the rest of the roster with our TRACKER.
HAPPENING TODAY (OR NOT)
THE HOUSE IS OUT. Ditto committees (at least until Wednesday). It’s constit week! MPPs are back in their ridings for the constituency break and will be back at it November 18. Expect a flurry of activity when they return on November 18 as there will only be four sitting weeks to go before the House is scheduled to rise for the winter recess — and at the rate the PCs are zipping through their legislative agenda, many are already musing about whether they could recess even earlier.
CLIPPINGS
— L-MAC ATTACK: Outgoing veteran PC MPP LISA MacLEOD (Nepean) went fisticuffs with local Ottawa politicians over the weekend: Round I…Round II…In another instance, MacLeod said she has “nothing to gain” and “nothing to lose” — and that she’ll be leaving politics on February 28. Cue early election speculation. Clip.
— PHILPOTT SPILLS: TVO’s Matt Gurney has a one-on-one with JANE PHILPOTT that covers everything from her new gig as Premier DOUG FORD’s primary care fixer, crossing the political aisle and what it’s going to take to address the family doctor shortage in Ontario. Recall: Philpott, former federal Liberal Health minister, was featured at the provincial Grits’ convention and rumour was that Philpott could be considering a return to politics. That’s pretty much kaput now that Ford snatched her up.
Political insiders had plenty to say about that: “BONNIE [CROMBIE]’s campaign team flew way too close to the sun courting someone with a history of not being loyal to party leaders. They thought they could score some cheap points and distance themselves from [PM JUSTIN] TRUDEAU only to get burned the same way.” Catch up on my scoop.
— BIKE-LANE BLOWBACK: OLIVIA CHOW is straddling a fine line when it comes to the battle with Queen’s Park over bike lanes. On the one hand, the mayor has managed to keep the peace with Queen’s Park for the most part, scoring a solid “New Deal” in which two very expensive and crumbling highways were re-uploaded in exchange for the city giving up its fight over Ontario Place. On the other hand…
“DOUG FORD’s plan to tear up Toronto bike lanes has Mayor OLIVIA CHOW looking for options to fight provincial ‘overreach’ in city affairs…she’s consulting with staff ‘to review the city’s options.’ She said recommendations will come forward before the start of council’s meeting on Nov. 13.” The Star has more on that.
But details are scant and fuelling skepticism: Municipalities are creatures of the province, so it isn’t exactly clear what levers Chow can pull, if any, to stop Ford’s anti-bike-lane crusade.
— TRUMP CARD: Thanks to DONALD TRUMP, DOUG FORD now has an excuse to pull the trigger on an early election.
TVO’s John Michael McGrath makes the case: “I don’t know what Ford will tell the public when that happens, but I do know that he’d be on totally solid factual ground if he said that Trump’s second term represented a comprehensive change in Ontario’s circumstances — after all, our largest trading partner could threaten massive economic dislocation that the province would have to mount a serious response to. He’d also be able to say, with reason, that he’s the only party leader at Queen’s Park who dealt with the chaos of Trump’s first term and that, if voters re-elect his party, they’ll know what they’ll be getting for the full four years of Trump’s second term.”
— BEGIN AGAIN: TAYLOR SWIFT’s big show has reignited the debate over ticket resale caps. To wit: “Ontario’s previous Liberal government brought forward a law that would have capped ticket resale prices at 50 per cent above the original face value, but the now-ruling Progressive Conservatives turfed the regulations, calling them ‘unenforceable.’” Have at it.