In this election we’ve seen some awful things said about just about everyone, so here’s a look back on the absolute lowest attack ads, scandals, and denials.
Scandals
Rob Ford endorses Green Party:
Rob Ford will “vote for the green guy because he didn’t say a fucking word.” Not a ringing endorsement, but Hudak is just too kind to the gays for Ford’s liking.
Hudak Math Problems:
After the Million Jobs Plan was released, the Conference Board of Canada, and several leading Canadian economists, dismissed Hudak’s numbers, saying he counted each job created eight times (or once per year of the plan’s life), when many of them should only be one-time deals. Bad math skills aren’t desirable in a leader, apparently.
#TractorGate:
Minister of Agriculture Kathleen Wynne defied agriculture regulations when someone rode shotgun on her tractor last month. She didn’t even know her own rules, and the PCs were not afraid to point it out.
Gas Plants
In an effort to save his skin before an election, Dalton McGuinty caved to local pressure to cancel an Oakville gas plant. He said the cost would only be $40 million, but an Auditor-General report later revealed the actual cost to be $675 million. Why the massive discrepancy? Because long-time McGuinty staffers promised TransCanada Corp the full value of the contract (despite no legal obligation to do so), even though the plants wouldn’t be built, and bankrolling the replacement plant which would be significantly more expense. It may not have been a direct Wynne scandal, but she has definitely absorbed some of the blame.
Email Deletion
To make matters worse, emails surrounding these arrangements were deleted. When the Ontario Provincial Police subpoenaed the computers in the premieres office to look for evidence, they discovered that every hard drive in the Premier’s office had been erased. This one probably does have a direct link to Wynne.
Wynned Turbines
Rural residents across Ontario hate wind turbines, and the Liberals lost most rural seats in the last election because of that fact alone. Wynne has walked back some of the projects as of late, amid claims that 400 feet wind turbines were being forcibly built in people’s backyards without their consent (or even consent of the municipality). Worse, some residents claim that the turbines have forced them from their houses amid the vibrations and loud noise, leading to migraines and depression.
Denials
Greens Don’t Want Ford
Mike Schreiner said “no thanks” to Ford’s endorsement, but appreciates every vote. I don’t know about you, but I can think of nothing more exciting than having Rob Ford endorse me.
Wynne: It wasn’t me
On gas plants, turbines, email deletions, and everything, Kathleen Wynne says she had no idea about any of it. She was just a lowly cabinet minister, how was she to know?
Million Excuses
Tim Hudak (and the other economist who contributed numbers to the plan) stands by his jobs numbers, insisting that his reforms will create jobs every year, and that things like lowering the corporate tax rate will lure more corporations to Ontario for years to come.
Attack Ads
Throughout this election, the ads have been about the Liberals or from the Liberals. Hudak and Horwath have mostly stayed away from nasty ads about Wynne, but that hasn’t stopped anyone else.
Wynne on Horwath:
“Leaders shouldn’t involve themselves in negative ads,” so here’s me talking for a few minutes about how Andrea Horwath will stand by as Ontario burns to the ground.
Ontario Public Sector Employees’ Union on Liberals:
The OPSEU, after having endorsed Liberal candidates forever, is changing their vote to the NDP, and saying you should too. It’s harsh, but it’s what many people have done this election after the Liberal’s swing leftward and Horwath’s push towards the centre.
Wynne on NDP Voters:
This is just shameless. Wynne here is straight up telling NDP voters to vote for her even if they hate her, because she’s not as bad as the other guy. Especially since Wynne has made no push for proportional representation in Ontario elections, this is a callous move to take advantage of a broken system at the expense of parties who might actually make a difference.
OPPA on Hudak:
In an unprecedented move, the Ontario Provincial Police Association (the police union) cut anti-Hudak attack ads after a 9% salary increase. They were taken down after public outcry, but everything on the internet is forever. Even the police can’t hide from the Internet.
And lastly,
Liberals on Hudak:
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