Hitting the campaign trail

The Progressive Conservatives appear to have the early lead as the provincial election gears up for it’s official start on Wednesday. That’s when the formal writ drops — ahead of a province wide vote on June 12th. But the leaders aren’t waiting for Wednesday. They’re already on the campaign trail.

Right now with the Conservatives holding a lead, that made them a early main target in the campaign. Monday morning on the first week of this campaign, and Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak said there’s one thing for voters to decide here appearing on Square Off on CHCH: “I believe this will be a single issue campaign. Who’s got the plan to create jobs in this province.”

But Hudak’s opponents have other issues on their minds. Like the Conservative Party’s policy that has since been dropped of turning Ontario into a right-to-work province like some American states, with no compulsory union membership.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath: “Mr. Hudak’s wrong-headed plan to drive down wages in an Alabama-style labour system is absolutely the wrong way to go.”

As Premier Kathleen Wynne arrived in Milton for a campaign event, she had the support of professional firefighters — with the Hamilton president of their union suggesting support for the Liberals or the NDP. He did not say Tories.

Henry Watson/Professional Firefighters Association: “We need to ensure that the rights of all workers are protected. We’re certainly not interested in a Wisconsin-type province. We want to make sure that some of the unioin-busting tactics that are being proposed are not successful.”

Kathleen Wynne to candidate: “You’re ready to run? I am ready to run.”

For her part, Kathleen Wynne is trying to put aside the issue of the billion-dollar scandal over cancelled gas-fired power plants from the last provincial election: “So we are in a process of talking about how we are going to make Ontario a better place. How we are going to make sure people have the infrastructure they need, how we are going to make sure job creation is on track.”

As the campaign gets going, a poll shows the Conservatives leading with 38 per cent — the Liberals second at 33 per cent — and the NDP trailing at 22%. The Greens have six per cent.

But a breakdown of that support between urban and rural could give the Liberals more seats than the Tories in an actual vote.

While the political campaign is heating up, Wynne says she’s going ahead with her legal fight against Tim Hudak. She’s suing the Conservative leader for libel for suggesting she was part of the destruction of documents in the gas plant scandal. The Tories have filed their defence, saying they had a legal, social or moral duty to say what they said, and that it was an urgent matter of public interest.