[syn]

This is not a surprising outcome. We can try and point fingers at less progressive groups or ideas, but the fact is a lot of people were generally happy with the Conservatives, and Horwath and Del Duca ran lousy campaigns.

These things are cyclical. By the next election people may tire of the Conservatives and the Liberals should be in a good position to take power again - as long as they have the right leader. I could never see them winning with Del Duca. He seemed like a placeholder.

 

[Amare]

My take on the results; no real surprise with the results overall with the PCs winning, that was fully expected. The only things i'd say were surprising were:

-Another PC majority (probably has more to do with how poorly the other parties performed due to uninspiring leaders).

-Speaking of uninspiring leaders, Del Duca and the Liberals got trounced which is not a surprise, but to the point of not having official party status again. This is what happens when you pick a completely uninspiring and unenthusiastic individual for leader. This is the 2nd time the Liberals have made a poor choice for party leader.

-Andrea Horwath while very likeable, people were tired of the same message for the past 10+ years and it was time for a change in leadership which she realized and stepped down. The NDP couldnt make any further gains with her as leader and her best time to win was 4 years ago with the trouncing of the previous Liberal government.

-Voter turnout will be pathetically low when the final numbers are released. I dont blame people, the crop of candidates (leaders), and the messaging was just completely dry and tone deaf.

 

[Admiral Beez]

.

I assume Wong Tam will now run to replace Horwath as NDP leader.

 

[Northern Light]

Hugely concerning.......no matter one's politics.................lowest voter turnout in Ontario history.........at 43%.

Here's what that means for Ford's mandate, given that most majority mandates in this province are already no such thing, irrespective of party........

40.88% x 43.03% = (drumroll) 17.59% of all eligible voters cast a ballot for our new majority government.

 

[zang]

This is not a surprising outcome. We can try and point fingers at less progressive groups or ideas, but the fact is a lot of people were generally happy with the Conservatives, and Horwath and Del Duca ran lousy campaigns.

People feel they can't make change voting against Ford, and if they were truly happy they'd have cast votes for him. Voter apathy isn't happiness with current government, it's hopelessness.

 

[Jonny5]

Perhaps it’s time for the provincial Liberals to dissolve. The right side of the party (people like Pupatello) could join the PCs (which, to be fair, are quite independent of the federal Conservatives) and the left side (people like Wynne) would merge with the provincial NDP.

The provincial NDP, for its part, should be independent of the federal party.

This would be more in line with Western provinces, where the NDP and a version of the Conservatives are competitive, or BC, where the BC Liberals are a merger of right Liberals and the old Social Credit Party.

The one thing I wonder about that--the B.C. model specifically--would be if the Greens stepped in and became a kind of "modern left", while the merged NDP would drift to become a centrist party, like Tony Blair's New Labour.
That's sort of happened in B.C. where the Greens got 15% support in their last election, and 17% in the one before that.

 

[John_Dee]

Some years back, the conservative newspaper columnist George Will smugly asserted that low voter turnout for elections "proved" that the general public was perfectly happy with the way things were going...because otherwise, they'd show up to vote, right? I expect that if its rightly pointed out in any consistent fashion in the days to come just how few people actually voted for our new majority government, we'll be hearing variations of that particular line of bullshit from Will. Something to look forward to, eh?

Well. At least Howarth was gracious enough to see the writing on the wall & step down...though given the circumstances, what else could she really do? Has Del Duca done the same thing yet? He'd better have. I'm not in a very forgiving mood right now, and those two bear no little responsibility for what just happened, as does the OLP as a whole. Maybe losing official opposition status twice in a row will slap some sense back into them, but I have my doubts.

 

[ShonTron]

I disagree. Brampton was thoroughly screwed by the Ford PCs during Covid.

I assume Wong Tam will now run to replace Horwath as NDP leader.

That was a typo. They were screwed.

 

[Amare]

Hugely concerning.......no matter one's politics.................lowest voter turnout in Ontario history.........at 43%.

Ouch, i knew it was going to be pathetically low but this is just dreadfully awful.

Definitely a combination of "pick your poison", "there's no inspriring leaders", "Doug is going to win regardless so there's no point voting, and "Doug Ford isnt doing awful things with the province". That 4th factor is clearly debatable.

 

[Towered]

Well. At least Howarth was gracious enough to see the writing on the wall & step down...though given the circumstances, what else could she really do? Has Del Duca done the same thing yet? He'd better have. I'm not in a very forgiving mood right now, and those two bear no little responsibility for what just happened, as does the OLP as a whole. Maybe losing official opposition status twice in a row will slap some sense back into them, but I have my doubts.

Yes, thankfully the turtle resigned immediately. I knew the instant they picked him as leader that they were throwing away an entire election cycle, even against a weak and eminently attackable Dofo. It defies logic.

 

[Richard White]

I could see Andrew and Wong Tam being contenders for the upcoming NDP leadership race.

If Kristyn Wong-Tam ran for the NDP leadership they would likely be in the same boat they are now. She is about as interesting as a block of cheese.

They need someone like a Rachel Notley who has a personality and appeals to a broader segment of the population. Wong-Tam appeals to the activists in the NDP but not many others and unfortunately activists won't win you an election.

 

[old boy]

Ouch, i knew it was going to be pathetically low but this is just dreadfully awful.

Definitely a combination of "pick your poison", "there's no inspriring leaders", "Doug is going to win regardless so there's no point voting, and "Doug Ford isnt doing awful things with the province". That 4th factor is clearly debatable. will the PCs be by very low voter turnout ?

Hugely concerning.......no matter one's politics.................lowest voter turnout in Ontario history.........at 43%.

Here's what that means for Ford's mandate, given that most majority mandates in this province are already no such thing, irrespective of party........

40.88% x 43.03% = (drumroll) 17.59% of all eligible voters cast a ballot for our new majority government.

And will the PCs be in the least chastened by these percentages ? I guess we're about to see. I'm preparing to be appalled.

 

[Amare]

And will the PCs be in the least chastened by these percentages ? I guess we're about to see. I'm preparing to be appalled.

They couldnt care less, they got their majority and that's all that matters to them. They can do whatever they please for the next 4 years, unabated.

Whether it's a good thing or not, well I know the answer to that but many Ontarians will be in for an awakening.

 

[zang]

They couldnt care less, they got their majority and that's all that matters to them. They can do whatever they please for the next 4 years, unabated.

…Without a pandemic to tamp down his inner wrecking ball for two years.

 

[Lennox970]

Very disappointing turnout indeed. But still, the Opposition stick got royally spanked.

Ben Woodfinden has written a piece that has echoes across the Atlantic with UK Conservatives targeting and winning over formerly solidly red ridings in England. Maybe not exact electoral comparison, but could be worth watching if there is a trend towards blue collar abandonment of Liberals/NDP/Labour for Conservatives/PC.

The Conservatives should instead see this second majority as a mandate to stand their ground on culture and values that are still the mainstream of Canadian society. Things like sensible patriotism, public education that doesn’t sneak the latest cultural fashion and orthodoxies emanating from academia, and common sense law and order policies that keep Ontarians safe. Progressive dogmas that are overrepresented in elite discourse should be resisted. A blue collar conservatism would not be culturally radical, it would be culturally moderate, and push back against the wild and out of sync ideas emanating from left-wing institutions.

Doug Ford's blue collar election victory could reshape conservatism