Poor Dwight Duncan. Only a couple of weeks into his reassignment as Ontario finance minister, and already the wheels are starting to come off. Remember last month when the Big Three political parties were fighting for the premier’s golden nameplate in an election that they would all eventually lose? When the campaign started, things were [...]

Last week’s provincial election was the first in which social media were mature enough to play a role. That fact proved a boon for tv networks, not only providing old-school talking heads another way to fill dead air while waiting to see which former Walmart greeter had won the day in North Huckleberry, but introducing [...]

So, that happened. Really, what else are we supposed to say about the provincial election? For all the furor over the possibility of a minority government, we already know what’s going to happen. Dalton McGuinty will be in charge. Tim Hudak will do nothing to bring down the government until he thinks he can win; [...]

Besides lawn signs and public meetings, newspaper advertisements have long been a preferred method for Ontario politicians to spread their message to the public. Whether it’s a simple promise to provide “good government” or a full platform requiring a magnifying glass to read, the press has offered a forum for candidates to make their case [...]

It was a dreary day for a provincial election in Toronto. The drizzle began shortly after the polls opened on August 4, 1943, slowing down the early morning lines of ballot casters. As the rain intensified, election officials noticed a lighter-than-usual turnout. It wasn’t entirely the rain’s fault—with a war on, many eligible voters were [...]

In the run-up to the provincial election on October 6, we’ll be comparing the major parties’ platforms on issues that matter to urban voters. The environment is highly charismatic; it keeps us from dying and also is pretty and you can ride snowmobiles through it. Because the provincial government plays a big role in defining [...]

The recent public bickering around a Liberal plan to help overseas professionals gain Ontario credentials isn’t just another trumped-up mediastorm; it’s a pleasing microcosm of the campaign strategies of the three main parties. For those too election-weary to monitor every outrage: the controversy started last week when Premier Dalton McGuinty unveiled a shiny new campaign [...]

How did people get elected before TV? With the provincial election writ dropped this week, Ontario politicos will now begin wooing you in earnest, with television as a key tool. In theory, fragmentation of the mediaverse into a bazillion online echo chambers should render television advertising less relevant to electoral outcomes, but it hasn’t. Network [...]

PC leader Tim Hudak celebrated American Independence Day on Monday with a press release lambasting Dalton McGuinty for so-called "eco taxes" and promising that if elected the Tories will free Ontarians from their oppressive yoke. The statement shouldn't surprise. Hudak has been programmed by PC spinmeisters such that every other sentence must contain the words "taxes" and "McGuinty," and thus far the strategy is working. However in this case there's one problem: it's a load of crap.

With the legislating on hold for the summer and the electioneering still sputtering to life, it's time to speculate on whether the McGuinty government has any hope of achieving a rare third consecutive term as the provincial government.

SPOTTED BY: Jamie Bradburn WHERE: West section of Mount Pleasant Cemetery WHEN: 3:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon; photographed 7:00 p.m. Thursday WHAT: A large bouquet of flowers beside the tombstone of William Lyon Mackenzie King. While it may simply be a springtime memorial to Canada’s longest-serving prime minister, the imagination runs wild as to other possible [...]

The Sheraton Centre’s Grand Ballroom was arguably the saddest place in Canada last night, serving as the election night headquarters for the devastated Liberals. After weeks of sliding steadily in the polls and watching any hope of defeating Stephen Harper’s Conservatives fall all but out of reach, the Liberal Party not only lost its place [...]