Your Home, Your Vote – Wednesday summary

(Updated)

There’s mixed reaction to Ontario’s party leaders today after they battled it out over jobs, transportation and ethics in last night’s debate. And although some voters say they saw a clear winner — they also noted that it doesn’t necessarily mean that person will get their vote.

If there was a winner, it might have been Tim Hudak. But by a narrow margin. And one thing that seems to have stood out in the debate is the attack on Kathleen Wynne and the Liberal record. But it’s hard to say how much effect that’s going to have on the election campaign.

NDP organizers and supporters were ramping up the energy level for their leader’s latest event: “So when andrea gets here we want to show them how live this campaign is.”

And Horwath kept up her attack on Kathleen Wynne and the Liberal record: “And last night, she couldnt run any longer.”

Her supporters say they have new momentum follwing Horwath’s performance in the leaders debate: “She really articulated the point that Ontarians don’t have to choose between bad ethics and bad math.”

But other parties have a different view of what came out of that debate.

With overnight polls showing Horwath at the bottom of the debate ratings, tied or behind Wynne, with Tim Hudak on top. Following repeated challenges to Wynne over her role in signing off on the gas plants in the McGuinty government.

Horwath at debate: “A document that cost the taxpayers over a billion dollars. Why didn’t you just say no?”

Hudak: “Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals are going to distort our plan.”

In the wake of the debate, Hudak insisted his million-jobs plan will work, that he has the backing of economists, and that he’s putting his job on the line: “I will deliver on every one of my promises in the million jobs plan and if I don’t, I’ll step aside.”

While Kathleen Wynne appeared to be playing down the impact of the debate: “The debate was a moment in time and there are various interpretations of what happened last night. We are going to carry on taking our plan to the people of the province.”

McMaster University Political science professor Peter Graefe says the debate may have helped Hudak a little, and maybe Horwath, but he doesn’t expect a huge fallout: “I think most debates have pretty limited impacts on campaigns. Short of their being some sort of moment where a leader slips and shows himself to be incapable of leadership. generally speaking, they provide a way to remind voters that election day is coming up but most voters don’t watch debates.”

But the debate is the focus of the campaign talk for now, until another issue comes along, and voters may be influenced by what others have to say. Today, Wynne was vowing that she won’t form any coalition with the NDP, and if she’s reelected she’ll reintroduce the budget that caused this election in the first place. NDP leader Andrea Horwath wasn’t biting on that one — whether she’ll reject the budget again — saying she’s running to be premier.