By all accounts, the final results of the federal election will be a muddled minority at best. There are no shortage of scenarios being floated as to who can, should or will be able to command the confidence of the House of Commons. No matter the outcome, it means Canadians are likely to head back to the polls withing the next 24 or 30 months - at best. Whoever forms government will parade their platform priorities in the first throne speech. But how will that affect the biggest issue facing thi...
Oct 19, 2019•29 min
Justin Trudeau barely gets through a stump speech or a Q&A with media without mentioning Doug Ford's name multiple times. He accuses the Ontario premier of taking care of his rich pals and cutting essential services intended to support the most vulnerable. Trudeau says a Scheer government in Ottawa would do the same or worse. The strategy is fairly transparent. The Liberals are not only linking Andrew Scheer to an unpopular premier, they're baiting Ford to engage in the federal campaign. But...
Oct 15, 2019•26 min
Well that escalated in a hurry. CUPE represents some 55 thousand education workers across the province and has been in contract negotiations with the province over the past few weeks. It appeared they were close to a deal on Sunday, September 29th, but the union walked away from the negotiations saying they would commence a work to rule on September 30. Two days later, union leadership announced plans for a full scale strike unless there is a deal by 12:01 AM on Monday, October 6th. That sent he...
Oct 05, 2019•24 min
Climate change was the front and centre subject of discussion this week. It was punctuated by the Climate Strike marches in cities around the world - a movement led by Greta Thunberg. In the throes of a federal election campaign, the climate agenda was commandeered by citizens who don't have a vote. Education is also the focus of attention On The Ledge with news that CUPE representing some 55,000 educational workers in the province are preparing a work to rule campaign.
Sep 29, 2019•27 min
The federal election campaign has consumed all of the political oxygen since the Governor General officially dissolved parliament on September 11. The Liberal strategy out of the gate was to equate Conservative Leader to Doug Ford - characterized as the service-slashing Premier of Ontario who cares little about the little guy. A vote for Scheer is a vote that threatens everything from healthcare to affordable housing. How has that strategy played out? How could it be related to the midweek bombs...
Sep 22, 2019•28 min
If the medium is the message, then Premier Doug Ford's anti-carbon tax message isn't sticking. The government mandated anti-federal carbon tax labels that adorn gas pumps across the province are peeling off; reporting in the Toronto Star suggests they've got the wrong adhesive. First problem is, the glue is intended for indoor use; the second issue is the glue was meant to adhere to metal (the gas pump coverings are vinyl). The labels may not stick but the irony is sticking to the premier, whose...
Sep 13, 2019•25 min
Students got back to class this week in Ontario with little or no drama on the labour front. But it was clear, before the week was over, that the Doug Ford Tories will be facing push back from unions representing workers in the education sector. CUPE is the first to light a slow burn fuse, putting the province on notice. The union represents some 55 thousand education workers across the province and has requested a "no board notice" which starts the clock ticking down to job action that could be...
Sep 07, 2019•27 min
Here we are making the turn into the autumn. The kids are heading back to class this week without much of the drama that had been anticipated. There have been dire prognostications of an all out war between the teachers' unions and the Doug Ford government. Any hints of labour unrest remain in the background - for now. So, it's business as usual, extra-curriculars and athletics move forward as planned. We're joined this week by Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner. Mike outlines his plans f...
Sep 01, 2019•34 min
Dean French left the Premier's Office at Queen's Park about two months ago and, by accident or design, the tone and approach of the Doug Ford government has shifted significantly. That tone was front and centre this past week at the annual AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario) meeting in Ottawa. It wasn't a love-in by any stretch of the imagination. Local governments are still struggling with Queen's Park's decision to cut funding for municipal services including public health and child...
Aug 25, 2019•37 min
This week ON THE LEDGE welcomes Melissa Lantsman as a guest contributor. Melissa’s a VP at Hill and Knowlton and was also a war room strategist for the Ontario PC party during the 2018 provincial campaign. All the talk in Toronto was about the spike in gun violence this week. The region averaged more than 2 shootings a day in a 7 day stretch. That has prompted Ontario Premier Doug Ford to reiterate his law and order commitment to the Toronto Police Service in the form of $25 million. Ford and To...
Aug 11, 2019•27 min
Premier Doug Ford took to Ontario News Now, (the PC party’s social media “news” channel), to endorse Pelee Island wines. The move sparked an immediate, if not kneejerk, response from critics who called for a boycott of the Niagara region winery. While the boycott may have been overboard, the premier faces legitimate complaints that he and his ministers give preferred treatment to those who cut big cheques for the party. Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney floated the idea of selling naming...
Aug 04, 2019•28 min
This is a special edition of On The Ledge – the Ontario Politics Podcast. In this episode, we highlight the latest developments in the Ontario Autism Plan. For those of you who’ve been listening to the podcast for a while you will know that the autism file has been one of the most difficult for both the previous Liberal government and the current Progressive Conservatives. Candidate Doug Ford made the campaign promise to take care of all the Autism families on Ontario. He told them they would ne...
Jul 30, 2019•28 min
In this episode, co-hosts John Wright, Keith Leslie and Dave Trafford remember former Ontario cabinet minister David Caplan. Caplan died following a fire in his North York home on July 24th, 2019. Caplan had served in a number of portfolios, including Minister of Health, in Premier Dalton McGuinty's government at Queen's Park. Otherwise, it was a fairly quiet week for the Doug Ford government. Normally, quiet wouldn't be newsworthy but, as noted in this space over the past few months, quiet week...
Jul 28, 2019•31 min
It was a pretty good week for the Ford Folks at Queen's Park. The Ontario Progressive Conservatives have had a hard time avoiding bad news headlines, particularly since the legislature rose for a five month break. But this past week resembled something close to normal. Premier Ford took some criticism for failing to attend meetings with Canada's indigenous leaders at the First Ministers' gathering in Saskatchewan but that might have been the biggest negative critics could mount. On the other han...
Jul 15, 2019•22 min
Another off week for the Ontario legislature and another off the rails week for the Ford government. Newly appointed Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports Lisa MacLeod made headlines this week after an encounter with Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk. Melnyk tells the Ottawa SUN that MacLeod accosted him at the June 29th Rolling Stones concert in Burls Creek, just north of Barrie. He claims the Minister's opening line was "Do you know who I am?" and proceeded with a profanity filled rant abo...
Jul 06, 2019•23 min
The Ontario Court of Appeal has shot down the Ford government's challenge of the federal carbon tax. The premier expected the decision and is committed to taking the issue all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. But that news was blown off the front page by another ignition of the Autism file at Queen's Park. A Tory backbencher report says the Ford government deliberately spread misinformation about the autism funding model.
Jul 01, 2019•28 min
One week after the Doug Ford government celebrated its first year since since winning a sweeping majority in Ontario and reducing the governing Liberals to less than party status, the premier didn't just shuffle his cabinet - he blew it up and rebuilt it. Doug Ford fired/demoted some of his key front benchers. Barely a couple of months after tabling his first (and only, it seems) provincial budget, Vic Fedeli lost his job as the Finance Minister - demoted to a lesser portfolio as Minister of Eco...
Jun 29, 2019•28 min
We are in the legislative interregnum in Ontario. The session ended a week ago and now the focus turns to the reset phase for Doug Ford's government. Slipping polls, poor approvals and a budget that was neither rolled out nor received as expected are putting pressure on the rookie premier to shuffle his cabinet. And then there's the toxic culture being described in the Premier's inner circle. The Toronto Star's Rob Benzie reports Ford's Chief of Staff Dean French habitually berates caucus member...
Jun 16, 2019•25 min
This week mark's the first anniversary of Doug Ford's election as Premier of Ontario. And for all the tumult we've seen, the ON THE LEDGE crew gave the PC government a "B" for it's first twelve months on the job.The premier held a session ending news conference with his entire cabinet in attendance and Ford made it clear they'll be busy during the four month recess from the legislature. John Wright, Keith Leslie and Dave Trafford are joined in episode by Amanda Galbraith - a Principal at Navigat...
Jun 08, 2019•24 min
Coming off a constituency week and it would appear the Ford PC's in Ontario got an earful about their planned cuts to municipal service budgets across the province. To put it into football parlance, the Premier staged a hurry up offence on Monday morning - calling an unscheduled news conference to tell the media his government LISTENED and has decided to defer the budget cuts until next year. Did the Premier blink? This week we're joined by CTV Toronto's Queen's Park Bureau Chief Colin D'Mello.
Jun 01, 2019•22 min
It was a week away from the LEDGE for MPPs in Ontario who were spending time in their constituencies. But while they were away the pollsters decided to play. At least four polls were published during constituency week with varying results. But the overriding message is Ontarians are pushing back against Premier Doug Ford and his across the board budget cuts.
May 24, 2019•25 min
It's the Victoria Day edition of On The Ledge. It's worth noting, Queen's Park, home of the Ontario Legislature, is Queen Victoria's Park. In this episode, the week ends with a flurry of "good news stories" for the Ford Tories. CH political analyst Keith Leslie, Dart Insights and Communications CEO John Wright and iContact Productions' Dave Trafford think it may be good news for MPPs who will be in their ridings for a constituency week.
May 18, 2019•22 min
It's been a year since the provincial campaign kicked off in Ontario and voters kicked out the Wynne Liberals in favour of the Ford PCs. This week the Tories are convinced we need higher speed limits and the OPP needs less money. It was also a week when seniors were chased from a constituency office for staging a silent "read-in" protest.
May 13, 2019•23 min
The Autism file has been radioactive for governments at Queen's Park. The McGuinty/Wynne Liberals fumbled badly during their fifteen year tenure. The Ford PCs followed up by over promising and stumbling out of the gate shortly after their Jun 2018 election. But there may be some good news for families and kids with autism. There's been a change of approach and a change of tone.
May 06, 2019•25 min
First, Ontario's provincial government reduced Toronto's City Council by nearly half; after 8 months in office, the Ford government announced its own subway and rail transit plan for Toronto - including changes to projects already under way. Then, in the spring budget, Queen's Park cut public health funding for municipalities across the province. But the cuts were deeper in Toronto than other cities. It didn't sit well with Toronto Mayor John Tory and it wasn't all that well defended by provinci...
May 01, 2019•26 min
MPPs in Ontario headed to their ridings during the Easter break after Finance Minister Vic Fedeli tabled his first budget. Reaction was delayed as key details slowly surfaced in the media. At first blush, the budget was viewed as a moderate financial plan for the province. But, as Opposition members and media dug into the details, it became apparent that the Ford government was preparing significant cuts to education, health and environmental programs.
May 01, 2019•19 min
Now that the Ford government has tabled its first budget, the On the Ledge crew takes stock of the past year since Doug Ford became leader of the Ontario PCs and look ahead to what we might expect in the coming months.
Apr 14, 2019•26 min
It's BUDGET WEEK in Ontario. Finance Minister Vic Fideli will table his first budget on April 11th. Will it show a path to balance? Will it telegraph service cuts? Job losses? The On the Ledge crew also take a look at the educations and health issues that caused a stir at the Park in the past week!
Apr 07, 2019•25 min
In this episode, Keith Leslie, John Wright and Dave Trafford go deep on Subways;) The Ford government has made it clear the province will not only control the design, planning and building of subways in Toronto, it wants significant changes to projects that have already started.
Apr 03, 2019•28 min
The Doug Ford government at Queen's Park has had some challenges in the early months of its mandate but there is still a great opportunity for the Tories in Ontario to be considered a "Legacy Government" - especially when it comes to Infrastructure, Transportation, Healthcare and Education. But they'll have to move quickly and boldly considering the latest approval ratings for the Premier.
Mar 25, 2019•26 min
