Doug Ford’s resounding victory in the Ontario election undoubtedly gives him and his progressive-Conservative government a strong mandate for the next four years. The big questions now are what to do about it.
1. How will Ford govern?
With an even larger majority than last time, an NPD without weak leaders and a Liberal Party without pinch leaders, will Ford believe it has carte blanche to follow the program it wants? Will he return to the way of bull shops in a porcelain that he operated during his first year in office?
“Any leader, when you first come in, you grow in position,” Ford said Friday during his post-victory press conference when asked what he intends to do differently in his second term.
“I’ve learned a lot over the last four years.”
Jaskaran Sandhu, a political strategist who has worked as an adviser to several parties, says Ford and the team around him have changed since he came to power.
“They were very aggressive from the door to the point that they alienated a lot of people,” Sandhu said during the CBC News Ontario Vote 2022 election night special.
“For the next time, Doug Ford will learn from this mistake.”
With opposition parties worried about their own leadership careers, Sandhu believes Ford can operate as “a leader who has total control in Queen’s Park” and does not need to engage in a combative political style.
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2. What happens when the pandemic subsides?
COVID-19 derailed the plans of governments around the world and was no exception in Ontario. Throughout 2020 and much of 2021, Ford was forced to devote much of its attention to dealing with the pandemic.
Since he no longer focuses so much as Prime Minister, will Ford feel free from the limitations of his first term and looking forward to making up for lost time in his second term?
There are many difficult issues facing the PC government in its second term, especially fiscal and economic, said Jaime Watt, chief executive of Navigator, a Toronto-based strategic communications company and longtime Conservative organizer. time.
“People will expect them, especially as an experienced government, to get on the track,” Watt told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning on Friday. “I think he’ll have a short honeymoon.”
Ford makes a campaign stop in Ottawa in late May. (Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press)
3. How does inflation influence?
Affordability and the cost of living were at the forefront of almost all published polls polling voters for their main electoral issues. Ford offered three main things to make life more affordable, all focused on making driving a car cheaper: eliminating the $ 120 annual fee to register a vehicle, eliminating tolls on provincial-owned 412 and 418 freeways, and downsizing. 5.7 cents each. liter of gasoline rate from July 1.
But these cost savings are far more than offset by rampant inflation, which is at a three-decade high of 6.8 per cent, deeply consuming the wages of Ontario workers.
It will surely make things interesting at the negotiating table. The Ford government will soon face talks over contracts with teachers’ unions and other education workers, and with such high inflation, wage increases are sure to be a major point of contention.
Ford said it aims to get “the best deal for taxpayers, number one, but the best for front-line teachers” in those negotiations.
“We call on Prime Minister Ford to change his government’s focus during this second term,” Karen Brown, president of the Ontario Teachers ‘Federation, the province’s largest teachers’ union, said in a statement on Friday. .
Brown said teachers have not been consulted on crucial decisions about education for the past four years.
Together, we can ensure a public education system that supports, increases, and celebrates each student. “Let’s do it,” Brown said, clearly nailing Ford’s “Get It Done” campaign slogan.
Ford is preparing to take control of a crane at an event organized by the International Union of Operating Engineers in Oakville, Ontario, during the provincial election campaign. (Evan Mitsui / CBC)
4. Will Ford do it?
Speaking of which, Ontarians will be looking to see what the Ford government really does over the next four years.
Progress on some of the “it” will be fairly easy to measure, especially in the construction of things: subways, highways, hospitals, long-term care homes, and schools.
Oh, and that road to the Ring of Fire mine in northern Ontario (something Ford promised in the last election to build, if he had to jump on the excavator himself).
“We have a big agenda to deliver on and deliver on our promises,” Ford said Friday. “We will make sure we keep all our promises.”
In the aftermath of pre-campaign announcements promising to build things across Ontario, the government was vague about the timing of many of the projects, and sometimes even the costs, the 413 highway is the first. example.
With their “Get It” message about building things, computers took full advantage of the capital-building plan that the provincial government usually presents every year, focusing on projects in almost any part of the world. its 10-year pipeline.
If the projects the government announced before this election have no shovels on the ground for the next election, people will wonder if “Do It” was anything but a catchy slogan.
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5. Are there any cuts along the way?
Outgoing NPD leader Andrea Horwath had some farewell advice for Ford on what she did and did not mean the outcome of the election.
“Doug Ford must realize that Ontarians did not vote for more cuts and privatization of the things that matter most,” Horwath said in his concession speech on election night.
Ford once said that listening to Horwath was “like listening to your nails on a blackboard.” Is there any chance that he will listen to your advice?
Asked about the potential for cuts on Friday, Ford spoke of what he called efficiency.
“There are better ways to deliver services more efficiently at a lower cost,” Ford said.
“We’re going to make sure we respect the taxpayer’s money. And that money we save can go straight to health care, to education.”