TORONTO — An emotional Kathleen Wynne admitted today that her governing Liberals will lose the Ontario election on Thursday.
The premier, whose party has been trailing behind the Progressive Conservatives and the New Democrats in the polls, is urging voters to elect as many Liberals as possible to prevent the other parties from forming a majority government.
Wynne wouldn’t say whether she’d stay on as party leader following the vote.
She also declined to endorse the Tories or NDP.
Wynne says whichever way the vote goes, people should hope for a minority win to keep the government “from acting too extreme — one way or the other.”
NDP leader Andrea Horwath is urging people not to vote for the Liberals, saying it won’t lead to a minority government, it will lead to a Progressive Conservative majority.
Tory leader Doug Ford had little to say about the announcement, noting only that the election is about change and people are fed up.
Asked if he was surprised by Wynne’s decision, Ford says his team is focused and has been focused on getting its message out.
Below is the full text of Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s speech admitting she will lose the upcoming election:
We’re in the homestretch of this election campaign and I just wanted to say a few words about what lies ahead and my perspective on the decision left to voters.
On June 7th voters will elect a new government. I don’t know who voters will choose but I am pretty sure that it won’t be me. After Thursday, I will no longer be Ontario’s Premier. And I’m okay with that.
Because, as I’ve said many times before — it’s not about me. It’s about the people of this province. It’s about their wellbeing. And their futures. It’s about their jobs. Not my job.
As Premier, I’ve tried to dedicate myself to fighting for those people. For the single mother struggling to raise a family while living on the minimum wage. For the student who’s earned the grades to go to university — but whose family hasn’t earned quite enough to cover tuition. For the dad in the 905 who has to drive for an hour stuck in traffic each day, both ways — for whom expanded GO train service makes all the difference. For the adult daughter who does all she can to care for her aging parents while she also scrambles to find safe, affordable child care for her own toddler. And for the countless other families working hard, contributing so much to our communities and counting on government to make their lives just a little bit easier, their load just a little bit lighter, their futures just a little bit brighter.
Here in Ontario, we live in the best place in the world. I love this province. I love its people. And even if I won’t be leading this province as premier, I care deeply about how it will be led. After a few weeks on the campaign trail, and with just a few days before people cast their votes, here’s my take on where we’re at:
People want change but, by and large, they are confident about where Ontario stands and where Ontario’s headed. For this reason, many voters are worried about handing a blank cheque to either Doug Ford or the NDP.
With a majority government Doug Ford would have too free a hand for the comfort of most people — they don’t trust his judgment. They don’t trust the choices he would make. This is a man who was only too happy to open up the Greenbelt to condo development until he was caught out. Who mused about selling cannabis in corner stores — where our kids shop. This is a man who has promised to cut $40 billion out of government services and pretends it can be done without costing a single job or harming our hospitals or our schools. This is a man who has defended candidates who speak ill of others — who smear people because of their religion or gender or sexual orientation. I don’t believe this is a man that people want to hand Ontario over to without putting him on the shortest of short leashes.
And the sentiment toward the NDP is much the same. People worry about what will happen to our economy if the NDP take power and form a majority government with nothing to hold them back. People worry that the NDP will raise taxes on small businesses, that they will take unemployment higher and job creation lower. They will permit strikes to carry on — like they have at York University — even after all hope of a negotiated settlement has been exhausted. People worry that the NDP will approach the responsibility of running Ontario’s economy with a plan that is risky and unrealistic.
So, it comes down to this — voters are going to pick a new premier but they are generally worried about giving that person — whether it’s Doug Ford or the NDP — too much power. They’re worried about giving them too much of a free hand because they’re concerned about what that might mean for our economy and our future.
And that’s why a vote for the Liberal Party can mean so much. The more Liberal MPPs we send to Queen’s Park on June 7th, the less likely it becomes that either Doug Ford or the NDP will be able to form a majority government. By voting Liberal you can keep the next government, Conservative or NDP, from acting too extreme — one way or the other. By voting Liberal you can keep the next government, Conservative or NDP, accountable to you. By voting Liberal you can keep Doug Ford — and the NDP, from having a blank cheque.
So, with a few days left, my message is this: a vote for the Liberal Party is a vote to keep the next government in check. A vote for the Liberal Party is your best bet to make sure that the next government is not a majority government. And that the next government is held to account to all voters.
So, for the next few days I will campaign hard to elect as many Liberals as possible. We will fight for our values — for a practical approach and for a government that will be kept from extremes and forced toward a better balance for the people of this province. We have a terrific team of local candidates, they deserve your support. They will fight for your votes. And I will fight for them.
Thank you.
Open this photo in gallery Ontario Liberal Party Leader Kathleen Wynne makes an announcement at the University of Waterloo during a campaign stop on Friday, June 1, 2018. Andrew Ryan/The Canadian Press
Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne says she won’t be premier after next week’s Ontario election, conceding Saturday morning that her party won’t hold onto power after 15 years in office.
“I’m trying to call it the way I see it,” Ms. Wynne told voters in what she said was a difficult and emotional announcement at a Toronto school near her riding. “If your concern is that you’ll elect me or a Liberal government, that’s not going to happen.”
The Liberal leader urged voters to elect as many Liberal MPPs as possible to prevent Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives or Andrea Horwath’s New Democrats from forming a majority government. In a number of polls, Ms. Wynne’s party has appeared on the verge of a catastrophic loss where her Liberals could lose official party status.
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“I don’t know who voters will choose but I am pretty sure that it won’t be me. After Thursday, I will no longer be Ontario’s Premier, and I’m OK with that,” she said.
Ms. Wynne said that the election, which has seen Mr. Ford and Ms. Horwath effectively tied in a number of polls, was not the campaign she had expected to fight. She said that Mr. Ford, a populist politician from Toronto who took over the Tories in March, had changed the campaign in an unexpected way that hurt her chances at re-election.
Responding to Ms. Wynne’s announcement, Mr. Ford dismissed the Liberal leader’s record as “disastrous” and said his party was ready to form government. “Under the Liberals, your hydro rates have more than doubled, 300,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost and Ontario’s debt has doubled, all while a parade of Liberal friends and insiders got rich,” Mr. Ford said in a statement.
The New Democrats said that Ms. Wynne’s move on Saturday was a “dangerous game” and a call for a minority government would result in Mr. Ford winning a majority. “Kathleen Wynne has abandoned the fight against Doug Ford cuts. And her request today for a minority government is a demand that she be allowed to continue to hold the power at Queen’s Park, something voters have already rejected,” Ms. Horwath said in a statement.
The Liberal leader said she will continue campaigning until June 7 to get as many members of her party elected. She warned that without a large number of Liberals at Queen’s Park, either Mr. Ford or Ms. Horwath would be too “extreme” in office.
“By voting Liberal you can keep the next government, Conservative or NDP, from acting too extreme,” she said.
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She criticized Mr. Ford’s promise, which he has now rescinded, to open up Ontario’s Greenbelt to development, and his proposal to cut $6-billion in annual spending through efficiencies. She said that Ontarians would need to put Mr. Ford, “on the shortest of short leashes.”
As for Ms. Horwath, she said she was worried about the plan put forward by New Democrats to raise taxes on businesses and the party’s aversion to legislating an end to strikes after all hopes of a negotiated settlement have been exhausted.
Ms. Wynne did not say whether she’d stay on as party leader if she is re-elected in her riding.
