Leaders keep busy on Victoria Day

A new Tory ad and a new plan for Ontario Place. Those were some of the revelations on the campaign trail holiday Monday as the three main party leaders stuck close to the GTA.

Never has a candidate been seen physically running so much in an election campaign. But Kathleen Wynne once again started her day with a run. And she ended the run at a former rooftop bar, high above Ontario Place, which used to be an amusement park. It closed in 2012 when, with declining attendance, the province said it couldn’t afford to keep it open. Now we know what the Liberals hope to do with that space.

After a run along the waterfront, Kathleen Wynne stopped to say what she wouldn’t do at Ontario Place: “A Liberal government would not support the sale of Ontario Place land to build condos or other residential. That is off the table.”

She said the plans would include a year-round live music venue, an urban park with bike and walking trails that would be ready for the Pan Am games, a re-purposed Cinesphere — and a waterfront canal district lined with stores and restaurants: “I would contrast this with Tim Hudak and Andrea Horwath’s vision, but I’m not sure they have a plan for Ontario Place.”

Vic Fedeli: “What Kathleen Wynne has done is create another election promise, an unfunded election promise, not in the budget, for something she has not paid attention to until this point — so it’s clearly an opportunity to try to buy a seat in that riding.”  MPP Vic Fedeli responded to the Ontario Place plan after launching the latest Tory ad.

From a cabinet shop in Mississauga, Tim Hudak promised to reduce red tape for small businesses. And he said his ads are a hopeful, optimistic view of Ontario: “I’m just very disappointed in Kathleen Wynne — that she’s gone so negative. It just looks to me like somebody more interested in keeping her own job, instead of creating jobs for the rest of Ontarians.”

Kathleen Wynne: “It’s very important in an election campaign that people understand what the choices are.”

Meanwhile, from a bakery in York West, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath continued to push for leaders debates: “The Liberals have agreed to to the northern debate, that they closed the door on last campaign. But I believe we should have a debate focused on jobs

You will soon see those ads on a tv screen near you — there was a media blackout once the writ dropped in this election — a policy that in effect whenever there’s a snap election so all parties have time to get their message ready — but which does not include internet ads. The blackout ends Tuesday at midnight — then all those ads you’ve already seen on YouTube will be broadcast more widely.