Fall election conspiracy?

Both opposition parties were pointing fingers at the Liberals at Queen’s Park Thursday. They’re accusing Premier Kathleen Wynne of creating false divides to win favour in the face of a possible fall election. Elise Copps has a look at what’s behind all the posturing.

Opposition leaders like the NDP’s Andrea Horwath are accusing Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals of using the tanning bed issue to win over voters:

“She seems more interested in making election threats that even she doesn’t take seriously. Is the Premier going to keep playing games over issues she knows will be supported. Or will she just get down to work.”

Wednesday, Health Minister Deb Matthews encouraged the Tories and the NDP to support the bid to ban indoor tanning: “Put safety for young people ahead of political games.”

But both parties argue they’ve backed it all along.

PC Leader Tim Hudak: “All three parties support legislation with respect to teens accessing tanning beds. But the Liberals are playing this old school cynical game of dragging out cancer patients to try and create a circus in the legislature.”

Hudak accused Wynne of using the tanning bed proposal to trigger an election; a tactic experts say all three parties are guilty of.

Peter Graefe of the DeGroote School of Business: “All of them for their own reasons have reasons to go to the polls whether they’re good reasons for ontarians is another matter.”

Whether it’s tanning beds or a financial accountability office, each party is jockeying to stamp their logo on a big bill.

Graefe: They don’t want to be too close to the Liberals on any of the things they put forward. They want to be seen as critics of the government.”

And as for Tim Hudak, an early election may be his best bet to make a mark.

Graefe: “He feels that his best shot at remaining PC Leader is to go and have a great campaign. He thinks he has it in him. But also he knows that if he doesn’t go soon, people are going to ask him to step down.”

Time will tell if Wynne plans to follow through on the threat of an election; but for now, she’s changed her tune when it comes to working with the opposition.

Premier Kathleen Wynne: “There are a number of bills moving forward. Three bills moving forward this week which I’m very pleased about. It’s exactly what I was talking about.”

Political Professor Peter Graefe says each party leader wants an election before the spring for their own reasons. He says both Horwath and Wynne are doing well in the polls and as for Tim Hudak, an election may be his only way of avoiding him submitting his resignation as PC leader.