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.
With her defeat now unavoidable, Ms. Wynne is looking to protect her party’s future and urged voters to elect as many Liberal legislators as possible to prevent Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives or Andrea Horwath’s New Democrats from forming a majority government on June 7. She called the two parties “too extreme” for Ontario.
“I’m trying to call it the way I see it,” said Ms. Wynne during a campaign stop at a school in eastern Toronto. “If your concern is that you’ll elect me or a Liberal government, that’s not going to happen.”
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Ms. Wynne’s announcement of her government’s defeat, days before polls open, is unprecedented in Ontario’s political history and marks the latest shift in an unpredictable campaign. Her unusual admission might help Liberal candidates win in some closely-contested ridings but it comes at a time when the party is facing an existential threat, according to strategists.
In a number of polls, Ms. Wynne’s Liberals have appeared on the verge of a catastrophic loss where her party could lose official status. Over the course of the nearly month-long campaign, Ms. Horwath’s New Democrats have surged in support from third place, effectively tying with Mr. Ford’s Tories.
“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,” said Ms. Wynne, her voice breaking and holding back tears.
Ontario Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne emotionally said she believes her party will lose the June 7 election. Wynne urged voters to elect as many Liberals as possible to ensure the other parties can only win a minority. The Canadian Press
The announcement sent a shock throughout the Liberal campaign. Some candidates and their campaigners were baffled and angered by Ms. Wynne’s decision to effectively concede the election with only five days to go, according to one Liberal Party source who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on behalf of the party. The move was incomprehensible, he added.
The Liberal leader held a conference call with her candidates on Saturday morning, however most Liberals learned of her move when her campaign event appeared on television. Ms. Wynne said she had been discussing the announcement with her inner-circle for a number of days. In the hours after her announcement, the Liberals unveiled polished new advertising with the message that its candidate can deprive Mr. Ford or Ms. Horwath of a majority.
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“By voting Liberal you can keep Doug Ford and the NDP from having a blank cheque,” Ms. Wynne said.
That message could resonate in the riding of Etobicoke Centre, where Liberal incumbent Yvan Baker is in a tight race with a Tory challenger, Kinga Surma. After learning of Ms. Wynne’s announcement through social media, Mr. Baker told people in his riding that the Liberal leader wanted them to contrast the local candidates, and not compare Ms. Wynne to Mr. Ford.
“I imagine that what the premier did today was very difficult,” he said. “But my work isn’t done, I’ve been talking about what I’ve done for the last four years, but there’s a lot more I want to do.” Ms. Wynne’s announcement had been well received, he added.
The Liberal leader’s public admission that she won’t be the premier after the election allows the party to go on the offensive, with new advertising and a new message as they look to salvage as many seats as possible, said a Liberal strategist, who was not authorized to speak to media.
Some strategists said the move could help convince voters to support Liberals. “I’m not surprised by this, it’s grounded in the reality of the immediate moment, but it’s an unusual move,” said John Duffy, an informal advisor to the Liberal campaign who served on Ms. Wynne’s 2014 campaign team.
“In effect it says to Ontarians, you’re going to get the change you so obviously want, you’ll get a new government and it won’t be a Kathleen Wynne Liberal government, but there are lots of aspects of what comes next that you might not want.”
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The Liberal leader said she will continue campaigning until June 7, however, she did not say whether she’d stay on as party leader if she is re-elected in her riding.
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 Tories sent emails to supporters on Saturday evening warning that Ms. Wynne’s Liberals could now form a coalition with the NDP. However, the New Democrats said Ms. Wynne’s move was a “dangerous game” and dismissed her call for a minority government.
“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.
Henry Jacek, political science professor at McMaster University, said that many Liberal voters will now see Ms. Wynne’s move as permission for them to vote NDP. “It could be a catastrophic result for the Liberals,” he cautioned.
The announcement was a difficult and emotional moment for Ms. Wynne, who has been a highly-practiced leader since she became Ontario’s premier in February 2013. In recent years her personal approval rating has plummeted nearly to the single digits and she has consistently ranked as the country’s least popular premier.
Ms. Wynne first entered politics as a school trustee in 2000. The 65-year-old politician was Ontario’s first female premier and the first openly LGBT premier in Canada. While she entered the campaign with the hope that she could reverse the grim polls, on Saturday she returned to a schoolyard for one of her most difficult moments as a political leader.
Standing in front of a playground at a Toronto school near her riding, with children playing in the background, the Liberal leader paused during her remarks and pointed at the children as a symbol of her political career, which she expects to end next week. Being premier, she said, “it’s about them, it’s about their futures, it’s about the kind of province they are going to live in,” she said.
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.
