Election call for June 12th

(Update)

The writ hasn’t officially been dropped yet — but we are now in the early part of a provincial election campaign. Premier Kathleen Wynne didn’t waste time deciding what to do after NDP Leader Andrea Horwath made it clear her party wouldn’t support the Liberal budget tabled Thursday. The result — an election slated for June 12th.

It’s a long election campaign, that’s because writs are dropped on Wednesdays, so it will be dated for next week. Normally, the election would be 28 days later. But that would bring us to June 5th, a major Jewish holiday. So we will go to the polls be a week later, June 12. Here’s how the day developed.

After refusing to react the day of the budget, leader Andrea Horwath held a news conference flanked by her entire NDP caucus: “Let me be clear. We will be voting against this budget. It’s time for the people to decide. I trust the people of Ontario to make a decision.

A few hours later the premier headed in to see Lt. Governor David Onley: “He has accepted my recommendation to dissolve the 40th assembly of the legislature.”

Both party leaders blamed each other for trying too hard to please.

Andrea Horwath said: “She’s throwing everything from the kitchen sink to cover up scandals and waste day after day.”

Kathleen Wynne said: “The NDP doesn’t have a plan, they make pie in the sky promises, but they won’t say how they’ll pay for them.”

Wynne also said she’d stand up to the prime minister, and she said Tim Hudak shares Stephen Harper’s values: “If we declare war on labour as tim hudak would have us to, it will roll back the clock and hurt ontario families.”

Tory leader Tim Hudak responded about an hour later saying this government should have been defeated two years ago:  “The gas plant scandal has been around since 2011 and we would wonder why in the world the NDP would keep propping up the Liberals. I don’t belive what Ms. Horwath said today. I think the only reason they’re finally saying no to the Liberals after two years and despite the gas plant and other scandals. I think it’s quite frankly because the big government unions told her to do this.”

Interesting split between labour groups. Sid Ryan of the Ontario Federation of Labour said Thursday that the NDP should support this budget because it has everything they want. Today, Smokey Thomas of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union disagreed, and said he didn’t believe the Liberals would fulfill their promises. So now that the legislature is dissolved. No more gas plant hearings, or Queen’s Park question periods until the 41st parliament is formed.