2014 Ontario General Election

[Remius]

Just being a 'realist'; something that the Liberals don't seem to be.


I am noticing a lot of comments of people who are seriously starting to contemplate voting with their feet and moving out of Ontario.

I think most of those people saying that are not really meaning it.  The election result won't  make people leave.  Lack of jobs, high taxes etc etc will make people leave.

I'm seeing a lot words like disgust and shame.  These are not words I use.  The democratic process did what it did.  People exercised their right to vote (or didn't) and the province has spoken.

Frustration is what I feel.  More so than any other election I've voted in.  And here is why:

I'm generally a non-partisan centrist and vote on the issues for the most part.  In that context;

1) The attack ads were the worst I've seen catering to fear and misleading information.  The hypocrisy here is that the people that voted Liberal here will likely be the ones criticising this at the federal level when their champion gets subjected to this kind of thing.

2) The message is that corruption doesn't matter.  The Liberals didn't deserve to win this.  They earned  a break from leading but this province didn't care about any of that.  They will now think they are invincible.

3) We don't want honest politicians.  Say what you want about Hudak, but he put his cards on the table.  How many times have we heard that people are tired of lies and dishonesty.  Well you had someone tell like it is and since most didn't want to hear it they listened to the rainbows and lollipops line from proven promise breakers. 

Despite my frustration though there are some observations.  The economy needs to be fixed and likely the Liberals will have to take action no matter what they promised.  I fully expect the unions to turn on them but they will get nothing but smiles from me.  You get what you deserve.  If I was the conservative opposition leader I wouldn't be leaping to any of their defenses either.  I would support whole heartedly the government and in fact call for them to further cut slash and balance the books.

Also note that except for twice in the last 100 years, the government in Ontario has never matched the one that is in Ottawa.  if the trend continues the the CPC will form the next governement (I realise that it might seem like voodoo but there may be a balancing act that the voters in Ontario subconciously accomplish).

So yeah, very frustrated.  So much so that I am buying a provincial PC membership.  It's the only meaningful thing I can think of doing that will have any impact.

 

[Marchog]

I think most of those people saying that are not really meaning it.  The election result won't  make people leave.  Lack of jobs, high taxes etc etc will make people leave.

Yes. Exactly, and that's what most of the people saying they feel like leaving (such as me) mean.

 

[Brad Sallows]

People who didn't get the result they hoped for in an election are the ones most likely to blow off steam in comments.

ON still has some of the lowest provincial tax rates in the country.  Avoid the unnecessary battle until it becomes necessary.  Give it a couple of years.  Maybe the horse will learn to sing.

Sometimes, "you caught it, you clean it" is a just result.

 

[Remius]

ON still has some of the lowest provincial tax rates in the country.  Avoid the unnecessary battle until it becomes necessary.  Give it a couple of years.  Maybe the horse will learn to sing.

Actually were pretty much middle of the pack on that.

The problem lies with our debt and more importantly our deficit.  Without cuts to programs and jobs you have to raise taxes.  Raising taxes will drive productive jobs away.  Same with gas taxes, corporate taxes etc etc.  All this in turn raises hydro, gas etc etc. 

At a quarter of a trillion dollars we have more debt than all other provinces combined, more debt than South Korea with only a fraction of their population...

Anyways, taxes won't be where they are for very long once the piper comes to get paid.

 

[The_Falcon]

I think most of those people saying that are not really meaning it.  The election result won't  make people leave.  Lack of jobs, high taxes etc etc will make people leave.

Probably.  But the moment CBC declared it (only website that worked properly at my work), I started sending out applications to American companies (mostly in Las Vegas, casino's tend to hire a lot of foreigners).  I don't want to wait until the bottom falls out.

 

[Remius]

And if the numbers are to be believed then 1.4 million people depend on their salaries coming from the provincial coffers not counting anyone that is federally employed.  None of those people will likely leave unless cut. 

I don't foresee a huge exodus at all.  When Obama was elected, plenty of Republican supporters where very vocal about leaving the US and coming to Canada.  I don't think that happened then either. 

I'm sort of lucky that my job isn't dependant on the province and that I will likely be moving out of my riding (one that will likely never ever change colours). 

We'll see how the tune c hanges when (it is when and not if) the hammer falls.

 

[George Wallace]

I don't foresee a huge exodus at all. 

Perhaps not.  It is to be noted though that the Oil Patch in both Alberta and Saskatchewan, once the domain of so many expatriate Maritimers, is now home to many expatriate Ontarians.

 

[a_majoor]

The election result won't  make people leave.  Lack of jobs, high taxes etc etc will make people leave.

Funny how you don't seem to think one is not connected to the other. Some people will leave early because they see the direction the wind is blowing, and have the smarts or ability to get out before the iceberg hits the Titanic. The ones who are forced out later will have a terrible time of it, losing much of the equity when forced to "fire sale" their homes and having much less accumulated savings and capital to finance their new start wherever they choose to go.

Reread the story of how Detroit went from the richest per capita city in the United States to bankruptcy in four decades, since the same story is being written large here.

 

[Nemo888]

Actually Ontario has  the lowest provincial income tax at 5.05% on the first 40k and 9% on the next 40k. Alberta is a flat 10%. Saskatchewan's is  11% on the first 43k and 13% on the next 80k. Quebec is 16% on the first 41k and 20% on the next 40k. Don't  let facts get in the way of a good rant though, continue.

 

[Retired AF Guy]

There it is folks. Ontario is Toronto, the rest of us are just country bumpkins that only deserve a passing glance. Toronto gets what it wants. Get ready for our gas to take a jump so that McWynne can give TO the transportation infrastructure it wants.

This mornings Kingston Whig had a nice colour map showing how Ontario voted. In a nut shell; northern Ontario NDP; southern Ontario CPC; and urban centers Liberal. If I remember correctly three - four Liberal seats in Thunder Bay, nine or so in/around Ottawa, Kingston, and the rest in the GTA/local area. And the NDP picked-up a few in the Toronto area also.

And the front page of the National Post had a breakdown of seats the parties won and the percentage of the vote. The Liberals with 57 seats and 37.9 % of the vote and the PCs 27 seats and 31.1% of the vote. The Liberals got approximately seven per cent more votes than the PCs, but got double the seats - go figure.

 

[George Wallace]

Actually Ontario has  the lowest provincial income tax at 5.05% on the first 40k and 9% on the next 40k. Alberta is a flat 10%. Saskatchewan's is  11% on the first 43k and 13% on the next 80k. Quebec is 16% on the first 41k and 20% on the next 40k. Don't  let facts get in the way of a good rant though, continue.

And I am sure you factored in all the other factors, such as cost of living, property taxes, HST/GST, etc. to boot.......But let's not let a good rant be wasted.




In the end, I look at it as the Ontario electorate legitimizing 'Political corruption'.  :dunno:  :-\

 

[Coastalchaos]

Don't kid yourself.  The Canadian population has been legitimizing corruption provincially and nationally since confederation. 

 

[George Wallace]

For those interested, the province broken down by ridings and how they voted:

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/06/12/ontario-election-2014-results-a-live-riding-by-riding-breakdown-of-the-vote/

 

[The Bread Guy]

This mornings Kingston Whig had a nice colour map showing how Ontario voted. In a nut shell; northern Ontario NDP; southern Ontario CPC; and urban centers Liberal. If I remember correctly three - four two Liberal seats in Thunder Bay, two NDP seats around T.Bay, nine or so in/around Ottawa, Kingston, and the rest in the GTA/local area. And the NDP picked-up a few in the Toronto area also.

FTFY  ;D  As others have said, based on population numbers, Ontario=GTA+everybody else.

And the front page of the National Post had a breakdown of seats the parties won and the percentage of the vote. The Liberals with 57 seats and 37.9 % of the vote and the PCs 27 seats and 31.1% of the vote. The Liberals got approximately seven per cent more votes than the PCs, but got double the seats - go figure.

Part of the "magic" of first-past-the-post, I'm afraid.  Now, if we want to see number of seats based on percentage of votes cast, there's this option - but that comes with its own problems, too.  Also, based on who else likes the idea, I'm guessing it may not get much traction here  ;D

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

It's amazing how he wants to hold onto his job when he was so eager to toss 100,000 out of theirs......

http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2014/06/16/some_tories_pushing_to_dump_tim_hudak_immediately.html



A defiant Tim Hudak is trying to remain at the helm of the Progressive Conservatives until a new leader is elected — despite angry caucus members urging him to go.

In the wake of Thursday’s humbling defeat at the hands of Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals, the Tories met for almost four hours in an emotionally charged meeting at Queen’s Park.
Hudak emerged from the closed-door session insisting he was sticking to his timetable and serving as leader until his successor is chosen, which could take many months.


“I have no regrets,” he told reporters when asked about the controversial pledge to eliminate 100,000 public sector jobs over four years.
“We could all do Monday morning quarterback . . . I’m proud of the campaign we ran.”
The Tory chief — who earns $180,886 as leader of the official Opposition, a $64,336 premium above the base $116,550 salary of an MPP — did not sound like he was in a hurry to leave.

MORE AT LINK

 

[Fishbone Jones]

The public service loses approx. 50,000 jobs yearly to attrition x two years = 100,000 jobs. The very high majority of those jobs were to be struck from middle management (you like those guys, right Bruce?), special committees and liberal sugar daddy organizations like the Office of the Chief Prevention Officer and the College of Trades.

I see no problem with Hudak maintaining his stature, just as he stated, until the Party decides his successor, just as it should be. I'm sure they're well on top of it and have plans in the making to elect a new leader. The Party decides, not Hudak.

A few rabble rousers that want a rudderless ship, like the one the federal liebrals ran under interim leader Bob Rae, should be taken aside by the Party Whip and told the facts of life on how a democracy works, including within the rules of the Party.

The election is over. Toronto got what they wanted. You can stop with the attack ads. At least until the next time your union spends your dues on them and tells you how to vote.

 

[George Wallace]

It's amazing how he wants to hold onto his job when he was so eager to toss 100,000 out of theirs......

http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2014/06/16/some_tories_pushing_to_dump_tim_hudak_immediately.html

A defiant Tim Hudak is trying to remain at the helm of the Progressive Conservatives until a new leader is elected — despite angry caucus members urging him to go.

???

So what?

Who's interpreting this as "defiant"?  Some journalist who wants to make a name for them-self with their mastery, or butchery, of the English language?

He said he is going to step down.  He says he is going to remain at the helm until a new leader is elected.  Sounds like "commons sense" to me.  What am I missing here?

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

The fact that he got his ass handed to him in an election a poorly-trained monkey could have won..........it's called 'integrity' George.  Look it up.....
Umm, RG?  You're in the same Union I am, did you ever get told to vote a certain way straight out??  No, neither did I.......

Mr. Hudak was one of the back room morons that killed Mike Harris and he's still killing my party of choice today, it's just time to go, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Crispy Bacon]

The fact that he got his *** handed to him in an election a poorly-trained monkey could have won..........it's called 'integrity' George.  Look it up.....
Umm, RG?  You're in the same Union I am, did you ever get told to vote a certain way straight out??  No, neither did I.......

Mr. Hudak was one of the back room morons that killed Mike Harris and he's still killing my party of choice today, it's just time to go, nothing more, nothing less.

What good would it serve for him to go now? That would require the party to appoint an interim leader only to have that person relinquish the title in the fall (most likely, winter at the latest).  All that leader would be doing is serving as a figure head for the Wynne government to ram through their majority-imposed budget bill, then the House rises for the summer, and when they return the PCs will (probably) have a new leader.

The leader serves at the will of the party's members.  Guess what: the members won't be meeting until at least the fall.  Hudak has already said he's resigning.  He's just the lame duck leader until a new one is elected.  Nothing is accomplished by having him step down now.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

The fact that he got his ass handed to him in an election a poorly-trained monkey could have won..........it's called 'integrity' George.  Look it up.....
Umm, RG?  You're in the same Union I am, did you ever get told to vote a certain way straight out??  No, neither did I.......

Mr. Hudak was one of the back room morons that killed Mike Harris and he's still killing my party of choice today, it's just time to go, nothing more, nothing less.

No, they did not tell us who to vote for, but they sure as hell told us who not to vote for. Same diff. I despise the fact that they use my dues to attack my party of choice.

And Hudak will go, not when journalists want him to, not when some back room boys (or girls) want him to, but when the PARTY decides it's time for him to go.

If you don't like how the Party (not Hudak) is handling it, take out a membership and voice your concerns through your riding association.