Byelections called for February 13th

(Update)

It’s official. Provincial byelections in Niagara Falls and Thornhill will be held on February 13th. The byelections may have been called on Wednesday but the opposition leaders have been campaigning for weeks.

The Niagara Falls riding has never gotten so much attention from provincial party leaders than it has since Liberal MPP Kim Craitor suddenly resigned in September.   Tory Peter Shurman resigned his Thornhill seat in December.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and PC Leader Tim Hudak have been here dozens of times, accusing the Liberals of killing jobs at the Fort Erie Race Track and doing nothing to stop jobs from heading south.

The unemployment report released on Friday underscores just how dire the job problems are in this area. Niagara Region has the highest unemployment rate in the province.

“But the problem is what do you do about creating jobs and dealing with the negative cascade that follows from joblessness.”

Jobs is one big issue. “Certainly, bringing jobs back to Niagara. It’s ridiculous.”

Health care another. “One of my main concerns is the hospital and the urgent care centres.”

On Monday, Health Minister Deb Matthews came to Niagara Falls and announced a $26 million planning grant to build a new hospital in South Niagara.

Andrea Horwath: “Whether it’s health care, whether it’s jobs. Whether it’s making ends meet. I think the people of Niagara Falls know the byelection is going to be about different issues. The throwing around of a little bit of money is not unexpected. It’s the way Liberals do things.”

Twenty-six million for the hospital. Seventy-five million for the program for the wine industry.

Tim Hudak: “I guess they’re putting the “buy” back in byelection. All these things that weren’t even on the Liberals radar screen for some time.”

That prompted Premier Kathleen Wynne to fire back: “I will just go political for a moment, that’s in stark contrast to what you see coming from the other leaders.”

Now Kathleen Wynne will likely go more political as this campaign picks up steam. That’s because Kim Craitor barely won last time. He was able to hang on because he was popular and he distanced himself from the Liberal party.