Doug Ford’s strong victory in the Ontario election undoubtedly gave him and his progressive Conservative government a strong mandate for the next four years. The big questions now are what to do with him.
1. How will Ford drive?
With an even larger majority than last time, a weakened NDP without a leader and a Liberal Party without leaders, is it shattered, will Ford believe it has carte blanche to follow whatever agenda it wants? Will he return to the way he worked during his first year in office?
“Every leader, when you enter for the first time, you grow in position,” Ford said at his post-victory press conference on Friday, when asked what he intends to do differently in his second term.
“I’ve learned a lot in the last four years.”
Jaskaran Sandhu, a political strategist who has worked as an adviser to various parties, says Ford and the team around him have changed since coming to power.
“They were very aggressive outside the door to the point where they pushed a lot of people away,” Sandhu said during CBC News Ontario Votes 2022’s special election night program.
“Next time, Doug Ford will learn from this mistake.”
As opposition parties are preoccupied with their own leadership races, Sandhu believes Ford can act as “a leader who has complete control over Queen’s Park” and does not need to engage in a militant style of politics.
WATCH See how Ford achieved another big victory on the computer:
How Doug Ford Wins His Second Majority On the problem
The At Issue panel is discussing the results of the 2022 Ontario election, examining how Doug Ford won his second majority.
2. What happens when a pandemic weakens?
COVID-19 thwarted the plans of governments around the world and was no exception in Ontario. In 2020 and most of 2021, Ford was forced to devote most of its attention to tackling the pandemic.
Since he no longer takes on as much of his focus as prime minister, will Ford feel free from the constraints of his first term and eager to make up for lost time in his second?
There are many difficult issues facing the PC government in its second term, especially fiscal and economic, said Jamie Watt, executive chairman of Navigator, a Toronto-based strategic communications firm and longtime Conservative organizer.
“People will expect them, especially as an experienced government, to step on the ground,” Watt told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning on Friday. – I think there will be a short honeymoon.
Ford halts its campaign in Ottawa in late May. (Sean Kilpatrick / Canadian Press)
3. How does inflation affect?
Affordability and the cost of living rank at the top of almost every published poll surveying voters on their most important election issues. Ford has proposed three key things to make life more affordable, all focused on making car driving cheap: removing the $ 120 / year vehicle registration fee, eliminating tolls on highways 412 and 418, owned of the province, and reaching 5.7 cents per liter of gas tax on July 1.
But these cost savings are far outweighed by rampant inflation, which peaked at 6.8 percent in three decades, deeply devouring Ontario workers’ wages.
This will certainly make things interesting at the bargaining table. The Ford government will soon face contract negotiations with teachers’ unions and other educators, and with inflation so high, wage increases will inevitably be a major obstacle.
Ford said it was striving to get “the best deal for taxpayers, number one, but the best deal for front-line teachers” in those negotiations.
“We call on Prime Minister Ford to change the approach of his government during this second term,” said Karen Brown, president of the Ontario Primary Teachers ‘Federation, the province’s largest teachers’ union, in a statement issued Friday.
Brown said teachers have not been consulted on crucial decisions about education in the last four years.
Together we can provide a public education system that supports, uplifts and celebrates every student. “Let’s get this over with,” Brown said, clearly searching for Ford’s “Get It Done” campaign slogan.
Ford is preparing to take over the crane at an event hosted by the International Union of Operational Engineers in Oakville, Ont., During the provincial election campaign. (Evan Mitsui / CBC)
4. Will it handle Ford?
Speaking of which, Ontario residents will be eager to see what the Ford government is actually doing over the next four years.
Progress on some of the “it” will be easy enough to measure, especially in the construction of things: subways, highways, hospitals, long-term care homes and schools.
Oh, and this time to the Ring of Fire digging site in northern Ontario (something Ford actually promised would be built in the last election if he had to bulldoze himself).
“We have a big agenda to keep and keep our promises,” Ford said Friday. “We will take care to fulfill every promise.
In a wave of pre-campaign messages promising to build things across Ontario, the government was unclear about the timing of many projects and sometimes even costs, with Highway 413 being the prime example.
With their Get It Done reports on building things, personal computers have taken maximum advantage of the capital construction plan that the provincial government routinely presents each year, focusing on projects almost everywhere in its 10-year pipeline.
If the projects announced by the government on the eve of this election do not have shovels in the ground until the next election, people will wonder if “Get It Done” is anything other than a playful slogan.
WATCH Ontario computers win second government by majority:
Doug Ford won a second majority
Ontario’s Conservative Conservative leader Doug Ford won a second majority, securing more than 80 seats in the province’s 2022 election.
5. Are there any redundancies?
Outgoing NDP leader Andrea Horvat had some tips for parting ways for Ford on what the election result means and what it doesn’t.
“Doug Ford needs to realize that the people of Ontario have not voted for more cuts and privatization of the things that matter most,” Horvath said in his speech on election night.
Ford once said that listening to Horwath was “listening to nails on a blackboard.” Is there a chance he will listen to her advice?
Asked about the potential for cuts on Friday, Ford spoke about what he called efficiency.
“There are better ways to deliver services more efficiently at a lower cost,” Ford said.
“We will make sure we respect taxpayers’ money. And the money we save can go directly to healthcare, it goes straight to education.
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