Ray Ferraro Acclaimed as PC Candidate in Guelph

It what was already a busy political day in Guelph when an announcement from Progressive Conservative headquarters offered one more surprise: Ray Ferraro is one of 11 candidates acclaimed across Ontario today to complete their province-wide slate.

Dorgo Makes a Case for Himself as PC Nominee

Steven Dorgo is at his most animated when talking about the possibilities of Diyode, Guelph's "do-it-yourself" community workshop. Dorgo says life is about more than you're job, it's about unwinding from that work stress, indulging your creative instincts, and using your hands to make stuff. It's something he thinks that the present provincial government hasn't taken into account, which is one of the reasons why he wants to run for office... as the PC candidate.

Former PC Nominee Mooney Becomes Ontario Alliance Candidate

Famously last summer, Thomas Mooney decided that he couldn't run for the local candidacy of the Progressive Conservative Party due to the old leadership of Patrick Brown. It turns out, even under new leadership, he doesn't want to be the face of the PCs in Guelph and has instead found a new party to run for. Quite literally.

How Did Guelph PCs Vote for the Leader?

Doug Ford is the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. No matter how you feel about that development, it happened, and now the starting line-up for 2018 Provincial Election is set. But before moving on, let's take another look back. How did Guelph members of the PC Party vote in their highly contentious leadership campaign?

Election Moves: Schreiner's Weekend. New Liberal Named. Elliott Coming to Guelph?

The provincial election is about 100 days away, but that hasn't stopped what's been a very busy Friday on the Queen's Park beat so far as Guelph is concerned.

PC Nominee Drops Out Over Party Politics

Last month, Green Party Mike Schreiner became the first person to be made a candidate for Guelph's seat in the 2018 provincial election, but now the local Progressive Conservative party is making news. Not for putting forward a candidate, but for loosing one.

#ONelxn14 - Everything in its Right Place?

Huh. Well, that was weird. Any reasonable estimate of last night's election results foretold another minority government, it was just a question of under who and how much of a majority. Nope. The Liberals, who we were all supposed to be sick and tired of, now return to Queen's Park with a majority government, beating all reasonable expectations about the election's outcome with Kathleen Wynne now the Premier of a political secure government. Tim Hudak, leader of the Progressive Conservatives, is stepping down after the complete and utter failure in his own mandate to unseat a besieged and unpopular government. And Andrea Horwath, despite her bold and risky campaign strategy, managed to come out quits with the same number of seats coming out as she had going in. But was it all worth it? And what happens now?

Guelph Politicast #3.5 - Anthony MacDonald, Progressive Conservatives

"It's the economy, stupid." That was once of the three messages that Democratic strategist James Carville created for Bill Clinton's 1992 Presidential Campaign, and it worked. "It's the economy, stupid," might as well be on Anthony MacDonald's campaign signs because if there's a four word message from our interview, I think that is it. According to the Progressive Conservative candidate, and I quote, "there's nothing more important than the economy." The question is though, will Guelph think that MacDonald is the right man for the job and send him to Queen's Park as its Member of Provincial Parliament?

"Oh, Tim...": A Tough Start for Hudak

Tim Hudak is the Premier in waiting, but only because he's the opposition leader in a campaign against a tired and scandal plagued government. Frankly, Hudak should be kicking Kathleen Wynne's butt so hard that the grandchildren of the Premier's grandchildren should be feeling it. But he isn't. Despite gas plants, eHealth, Ornge, debt, and more than a decade in power, Hudak still can't, as they say, seal the deal with the electorate, running in what's basically a dead heat with the Liberals. And more to the point, he seems incapable of swinging voters his way because he seemingly can't campaign in a competent manner.

Do By-Election Results Point to Spring Election?

Guessing whether or not if there's going to be an election if the government's in a minority position is a fool's game. In 2008, Stephen Harper decided at summer's end that the opposition parties were just too intractable to work with, and pulled the plug. In 2011, the House fell suddenly in the spring as the government cabinet was found in contempt of parliament. Here in Ontario, pretty much all last year, the Magic 8 balls were out as people supposed that within weeks of Kathleen Wynne's election as leader of the Liberals there would be an election. Not that there might be an election. But Wynne's been Premier for a year now, and with another pair of by-elections behind us the 8-balls are out again. Could they yield different results this time?

The Problem with Hudak?

The knives are out! At least that's how the Toronto Sun is putting it, and it kind of sounds a bit like something Arnold Schwarzenegger might yell at a squad of bad guys before he, himself, takes out the knives.

But the knives in this instance have Tim Hudak's name written all over them. Apparently some upstarts, and not-so-upstart members, of the Ontario Tory membership feel that a showing of one out of five in last week's by-elections is reason enough to say "Sayonara" to the leadership of Hudak. It's an interesting question: with the Liberal government under perpetual seige, is the one thing keeping the Ontario PCs from seizing power at Queen's Park Tim Hudak? As a wise man once said, "Short answer yes, with an if; long answer no, with a but..."

Local PCs Bringing Special Guest Elliott

Barely a month since Kathleen Wynne took over at the Premier's office many have thought that an election taking place in the immediate future was off the table. Or is it.

Call it good outreach, call it anticipation for an election call, call it a good time at Delainey's, but the local Progress Conservative riding association will be hosting health critic Christine Elliott on Friday over the lunch hour, according to a press release sent out by riding association president Greg Schirk.

Read the full press release below to learn more.

The Passing of King Ralph

Anyway you dice it, the legacy of Ralph Klein will be in essence divisive, but on the surface one can't help but admire the man who sadly passed away yesterday at the age 70. He helped usher in a new era of western Canadian leadership and was one of Alberta's strongest and most steadfast spokespeople. That, naturally, sometimes got him into trouble in the short term, but Klein's impact as Calgary mayor, Alberta premier and leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservatives will be long felt.

Radar Love?

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair announced today that he was endorsing the idea of bringing back photo radar cameras for busy Toronto intersections. Call it a blast from the past, as the older amongst you may remember the year 1994 and the Bob Rae government's 11 month experiment with the technology, which, unbeknownst to them at the time, was one of the last straws the Ontario NDP levied on the back of the people of the province before being replaced by Mike Harris' PCs in 1995.

But in the here and now, Blair's justifications are squarely fiscal: with Toronto City Council unwilling to consider increased funding for policing in the 2013 budget, Blair says that placing the devices at key intersections will free up officers to perform other duties rather than standing on a street corner and issuing citations. It's a smart way to frame it considering that the photo radar experiment in the 90s was characterized by opponents as a blatant tax grab. And although some are ready to paint photo radar 2.0 in a similar light, there's another reason photo radar might be a good idea: drivers are crazy.

Setting the Table for the Provincial Election

Obviously, when Premier Dalton McGuinty prorogued Parliament and announced his retirement about a month ago, many figured it was only a matter of time until all the people of the province of Ontario would be going to the polls. As a result, it seems there have been a number of moves in our area the in the last week to get our local line-up of candidates from major parties ready to go. And yes, there have been a few surprises.

Fife Beats Bludgeon

Catherine Fife's not so surprising surprise victory in Kitchener-Waterloo Thursday night opened a can of "Who-knows-what?" in terms of what's going to happen next in Ontario. It really feels like we're at a kind of crossroads, a Choose Your Own Adventure-like fork in the road that could take us to strange new worlds, somewhere passively dull, or a complete disaster that's as cataclysmic as it is unexpected. But it probably won't be that bad.

Yes, Fife, and by proxy Andrea Horwath and the NDP, do surely deserve praise and kudos for the victory, but how much of it was dissatisfaction with the Liberals, how much of it was the uncertainty of Hudak's leadership of the PCs, and how much of it is blowback from McGuinty's seemingly ill-advised attempt to make Ontario's teachers the villains of our dire financial straits. 

But let's break the results down by party:

A Great Week for Politics

It occurred to me today that this is a great week for the politically observant, filled with many interesting stories from all sectors of politics: the local, the provincial, the national and the international. Let's look at the big four this week:

By-Election Showdown in K-W

Rarely does so much ride on one seat. Hyperbole? Perhaps. But each of Ontario's three major parties have something to prove, and something to lose, when voters in the riding of Kitchener-Waterloo go to the polls later this fall.

On the one hand, the Liberals are one seat away from a majority. With it, Premier Dalton McGuinty buys himself three years of not having to negotiate with the opposition, Tim Hudak's Conservatives keep a seat currently sitting in their column and stick it to McGuinty as the heir apparent, and Andrea Horwath's NDP gets to add fuel to that orange crush that's sweeping the nation. But what do the odds look like for any of these contenders? 

MacDonald Wants to Be PC for Guelph

Coming up on one year since the election of Dalton McGuinty's minority government, perhaps it's timely that we get renewed interest in people running in the eventual provincial election. To wit, the Progressive Conservatives of Guelph have a new name to mull over to represent them in that election when it comes, Anthony MacDonald.

Hudak's Coming to Town

I guess the fact that the government didn't fall last week isn't dissuading Tim Hudak from doing a campaign style swing through the province, and this Thursday, he'll be in Guelph for a townhall. 

Kidding aside though, it should be fun. I can't remember the last time a party leader was in town for a public meeting (at least in a non-election context).

Here's the press release I received this afternoon from the Guelph Provincial Progressive Conservative Association (GPPCA)