On The Ledge - your Ontario politics podcast

The Ontario Court of Appeal has shot down the Ford government's challenge of the federal carbon tax. The premier expected the decision and is committed to taking the issue all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. But that news was blown off the front page by another ignition of the Autism file at Queen's Park. A Tory backbencher report says the Ford government deliberately spread misinformation...

One week after the Doug Ford government celebrated its first year since since winning a sweeping majority in Ontario and reducing the governing Liberals to less than party status, the premier didn't just shuffle his cabinet - he blew it up and rebuilt it. Doug Ford fired/demoted some of his key front benchers. Barely a couple of months after tabling his first (and only, it seems) provincial budget...

We are in the legislative interregnum in Ontario. The session ended a week ago and now the focus turns to the reset phase for Doug Ford's government. Slipping polls, poor approvals and a budget that was neither rolled out nor received as expected are putting pressure on the rookie premier to shuffle his cabinet. And then there's the toxic culture being described in the Premier's inner circle. The...

This week mark's the first anniversary of Doug Ford's election as Premier of Ontario. And for all the tumult we've seen, the ON THE LEDGE crew gave the PC government a "B" for it's first twelve months on the job. The premier held a session ending news conference with his entire cabinet in attendance and Ford made it clear they'll be busy during the four month recess from the legislature. John Wrig...

Coming off a constituency week and it would appear the Ford PC's in Ontario got an earful about their planned cuts to municipal service budgets across the province. To put it into football parlance, the Premier staged a hurry up offence on Monday morning - calling an unscheduled news conference to tell the media his government LISTENED and has decided to defer the budget cuts until next year. Did...

It was a week away from the LEDGE for MPPs in Ontario who were spending time in their constituencies. But while they were away the pollsters decided to play. At least four polls were published during constituency week with varying results. But the overriding message is Ontarians are pushing back against Premier Doug Ford and his across the board budget cuts. You can watch OR listen to this episode...

It's the Victoria Day edition of On The Ledge. It's worth noting, Queen's Park, home of the Ontario Legislature, is Queen Victoria's Park. In this episode, the week ends with a flurry of "good news stories" for the Ford Tories. CH political analyst Keith Leslie, Dart Insights and Communications CEO John Wright and iContact Productions' Dave Trafford think it may be good news for MPPs who will be i...

It's been a year since the provincial campaign kicked off in Ontario and voters kicked out the Wynne Liberals in favour of the Ford PCs. This week the Tories are convinced we need higher speed limits and the OPP needs less money. It was also a week when seniors were chased from a constituency office for staging a silent "read-in" protest. You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Chan...

The Autism file has been radioactive for governments at Queen's Park. The McGuinty/Wynne Liberals fumbled badly during their fifteen year tenure. The Ford PCs followed up by over promising and stumbling out of the gate shortly after their Jun 2018 election. But there may be some good news for families and kids with autism. There's been a change of approach and a change of tone. You can watch OR li...

First, Ontario's provincial government reduced Toronto's City Council by nearly half; after 8 months in office, the Ford government announced its own subway and rail transit plan for Toronto - including changes to projects already under way. Then, in the spring budget, Queen's Park cut public health funding for municipalities across the province. But the cuts were deeper in Toronto than other citi...

MPPs in Ontario headed to their ridings during the Easter break after Finance Minister Vic Fedeli tabled his first budget. Reaction was delayed as key details slowly surfaced in the media. At first blush, the budget was viewed as a moderate financial plan for the province. But, as Opposition members and media dug into the details, it became apparent that the Ford government was preparing significa...

Now that the Ford government has tabled its first budget, the On the Ledge crew takes stock of the past year since Doug Ford became leader of the Ontario PCs and look ahead to what we might expect in the coming months. You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!) Follow Dave on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and X And you can leave us a voice comment here...

It's BUDGET WEEK in Ontario. Finance Minister Vic Fideli will table his first budget on April 11th. Will it show a path to balance? Will it telegraph service cuts? Job losses? The On the Ledge crew also take a look at the educations and health issues that caused a stir at the Park in the past week! You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!) Follow Dave o...

In this episode, Keith Leslie, John Wright and Dave Trafford go deep on Subways;) The Ford government has made it clear the province will not only control the design, planning and building of subways in Toronto, it wants significant changes to projects that have already started. You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!) Follow Dave on Facebook , Instagr...

The Doug Ford government at Queen's Park has had some challenges in the early months of its mandate but there is still a great opportunity for the Tories in Ontario to be considered a "Legacy Government" - especially when it comes to Infrastructure, Transportation, Healthcare and Education. But they'll have to move quickly and boldly considering the latest approval ratings for the Premier. You can...

Everybody's back to work, back to business and back to school now that March Break has wrapped up in Ontario. But while the kids were out of class, Queen's Park spent most of its time and energy talking about Education. Keith Leslie, John Wright and Dave Trafford also wade back into the Autism Program. It's time for the province to make it a health care priority. It doesn't belong in 'Community Se...

Here we are into the March Break in Ontario. It means the Ledge isn't sitting this week, but there's plenty to talk about - including whether the Ford government will be able to keep its campaign promise that "no jobs will be lost" as they wrestle with the provincial deficit. Budge day is April 11! Former Queen's Park CP Bureau Chief Keith Leslie and iContact Productions Executive Producer Dave Tr...

Healthcare and Education are the two big ticket items in any provincial budget and they were front and centre this week at Queen's Park. Dart Insights CEO John Wright, Keith Leslie, former Queen's Park CP Bureau Chief Keith Leslie and iContact Productions Executive Producer Dave Trafford dig in on some of the files that made the headlines. But they also wonder two things - will Finance Minister Vi...

It has been a LONG WINTER'S NIGHT since the Ontario legislature took it's Christmas break. But we're back! Dart Insights CEO John Wright, Keith Leslie, former Queen's Park CP Bureau Chief Keith Leslie and iContact Productions Executive Producer Dave Trafford are back with On the Ledge. You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!) Follow Dave on Facebook ,...

Here's our 2018 year end offering! We've assembled the On The Ledge panel, Queen's Park Commentator and former Canadian Press Bureau Chief, Keith Leslie, John Wright, CEO Insight at Dart Insight and Communications, and Dave Trafford, Executive Producer of iContact Productions, to take a look back on what happened at the Park and a look ahead to what we can expect in the coming year. You can watch...

Well, I don't think this has ever happened before. I could be wrong, but it's the first time I can recall the provincial legislature being recalled for an EMERGENCY sitting and interrupting the Christmas break at the legislature. The main issue is the concern over a possible strike by members of Ontario's Power Workers' Union, which could pitch a good deal of the province into the cold and dark ov...

This week it’s all about Canada's first ministers. They met in Montreal to wrap up the week and that marked the end of the fall sitting for MPPs at Queen’s Park. While Premier Doug Ford was taking aim at the Prime Minister’s agenda, the Opposition was taking aim at Ford’s involvement in the hiring of the new OPP Commissioner and the appointment of a new Hydro One CEO. You can watch OR listen to th...

We're approaching the six month mark for the Doug Ford government in Ontario and it has been a veritable sprint in the early stages of this marathon. This week it’s all about General Motors leaving Oshawa, the Premier’s battle of word with UNIFOR President Jerry Diaz, the province’s new initiative to curb Green House Emissions, and the first Tory MPP to quit the governing caucus. You can watch OR...

More Ontario government announcements made "for the people", including welfare reforms and musings about future public transit plans. But who are "the people" benefiting? Even in the wake of the provincial economic update, it's becoming increasingly difficult to determine exactly what the Ford government stands for. John Wright, Keith Leslie and Dave Trafford say it all comes down to a failure to...

The Ontario legislature took a week off but there's been plenty of activity including a cabinet shuffle, the fall Economic Update, the publication of Patrick Brown's tell-all book and new polling that suggests the shine may be coming off the Tories and the NDP. You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!) Follow Dave on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and...