On The Ledge - your Ontario politics podcast

In this week's edition of On the Ledge - your Ontario politics podcast: We said, a few weeks ago, Olivia Chow may be Doug ford's unlikely saviour. Today, we're getting more hints of that. There have been rumbles for a while and now the Toronto Star is reporting the Ford government is considering plans to upload the Don Valley Parkway and the Gardiner Expressway and could be picking up more of the...

In this edition of On the Ledge - Your Ontario politics podcast! The Ford PCs and the NDP continue sniping at each other over New Democrat Sarah Jama's controversial tweet and non-apology-apology re/; the state of affairs in Israel and Gaza. Half of the NDP caucus walked out of the assembly on Thursday, while the house voted on a Tory motion condemning the slaughtering of Israelis by Hamas and end...

In this edition of On the Ledge: The Premier's Office is in chaos at Queen's Park now that the RCMP is conducting a criminal investigation into the Greenbelt land swap. How can Doug Ford lead his caucus and cabinet, never mind the government, with that hanging over his head. There is a good deal of potential political jeopardy for the Progressive Conservatives in the coming months. And while there...

In this edition of On the Ledge - Your Ontario Politics Podcast: We are heading into the Thanksgiving weekend and the latest numbers from Maru Public Opinion suggest 63% of Ontarians have dinner plans with family and friends. We appear to be past any significant concerns about gathering in groups even though COVID is still in the community. Being more relaxed about large gatherings is one thing. I...

The Ontario Legislature is back in session, so it's time to reconvene On the Ledge, your Ontario politics podcast! Today, There's the Greenbelt. Then there's the Greenbelt. And, oh ya, the Greenbelt. Ford Nation might have wished it was a mere typo, but no! It seems the premier's team has messsaging issues and massaging issues - all laid bare this week as the Legislature got back to business at Qu...

It's a BONUS edition of On The Ledge featuring an episode of our daily podcast, NOW and NEXT where we sift through the entrails of the post mayoral election results. We're joined by Bob Reid, Principal at Broadway Strategy and Communications, John Wright, SVP at Maru Public Opinion and Queen's Park Observer Founder and Publisher, Sabrina Nanji. Olivia Chow will face a number of challenges in her n...

In this edition of On the Ledge: MPPs take their leave from Queen's Park for the summer break. They're back September 25th. Will Doug Ford's approval rating rebound? How will he respond to Toronto's new mayor? 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 ! For mo...

In this week's edition of On the Ledge: Lots of chatter about a cabinet shuffle coming at Queen's Park and specualtion puts Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney in Doug Ford's cross hairs as the minister most likely to land in the back benches. For some unfathomable reason, Health Minister Sylvia Jones is immune from any possibility of losing her portfolio. It might be a different story if th...

In this episode of On The Ledge - your Ontario polticis podcast: Keith Leslie at CHCH-TV, John Wright SVP Maru Public Opinion, and SSN Chief Executive Producer Dave Trafford are around the table. Bonnie Crombie makes it clear, she wants to be leader of the Ontario Liberal Party. Doug Ford's shoot-from-the-lip response makes it sound like the 2026 campaign has started. Robo pollsters are deciding w...

In this episode of On The Ledge: Dave's flying solo as the rest of the crew heads off for the long Victoria Day weekend. We take a closer look at the adminstrative challenges and the politics at play now that the Ford government has decided to dissolve the Regional Municipality of Peel. Is Doug Ford hoping this move stops any aspirations or plans Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie may be entertainin...

Okay, one minor edit. This podcast started as a daily show covering the 2018 Ontario Election Campaign. John Wright and I decided to jump in with both feet and we haven't looked back! Episode 1 kicked off on May 9th, 2018, the day the election writ was issued and the started the campaign that would result in Doug Ford's win. This is the 233rd episode. Today, we take a look at how much has changed...

In this episode of On The Ledge, your Ontario politics podcast: Keith Leslie and Dave Trafford wander down a podcast path about podcasts! (You won't believe how much it costs to produce a narrative podcast at CBC!) Also: the Health Minister has no co-ordinated plan to support people living with Long Covid. the University of Ottawa bails on Huawei over Chinese security issues. Mississauga Mayor Bon...

The OTL gang is assembled! Keith Leslie at CHCH-TV, John Wright SVP Maru Public Opinion and SSN Chief Executive Producer Dave Trafford are around the table. In this episode: We've learned the Therme has landed a 95 year lease at Ontario Place but still no details on the structure of the contract. And Jeff Gray reports in the Globe and Mail , the province is in talks with Ontario LIVE to "lease a p...

The OTL gang is assembled! Keith Leslie at CHCH-TV, John Wright SVP Maru Public Opinion, Sabrina Nanji, Publisher and Editor of the Queen’s Park Observer and SSN Chief Executive Producer Dave Trafford are around the table. In this episode: The Ford government made it "official" this week, unveiling fancy new renderings of the Ontario Place park that now includes a new and improved Ontario Science...

The OTL gang is assembled! Keith Leslie at CHCH-TV, John Wright SVP Maru Public Opinion, and SSN Chief Executive Producer Dave Trafford are around the table. In this episode: The Globe and Mail has exclusive reporting on the state of Long Term Care homes in Ontario. The Globe has discovered several for=profit LTC operators have opted to sell their properties to housing developers rather than pay f...

The On the Ledge crew is taking the week off for the Good Friday holiday. But, we've got a great panel assembled to talk about the need for some form of a basic, guaranteed income. This is an episode of The 2030 Project - a podcast series produced for the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto recorded in May 2022 and was released November 9, 2022. This week, Daily Bread released the latest stats on foo...

The OTL gang is depleted! John Wright SVP Maru Public Opinion and Sabrina Nanji, Publisher and Editor of the Queen’s Park Observer are on the IRL, using up their portion of our healthcare dollars. That just gives Keith Leslie at CHCH-TV, and SSN Chief Executive Producer Dave Trafford more elbow room around the table. In this episode: Keith and Dave run down the longer than usual list of items on l...

The OTL gang is assembled! Keith Leslie at CHCH-TV, John Wright SVP Maru Public Opinion and SSN Chief Executive Producer Dave Trafford are around the table. It's the morning after the latest Ford government budget. It represents the largest spending in the history of the province. It's also the largest revenue numbers. All BIG numbers but to what end? Will it have any ripple around kitchen tables...

The OTL gang is assembled! Keith Leslie at CHCH-TV, John Wright SVP Maru Public Opinion, Sabrina Nanji, Publisher and Editor of the Queen’s Park Observer and SSN Chief Executive Producer Dave Trafford are around the table. In this episode: Ana Bailao has made it official. She is running for Mayor of Toronto. Bailao is a former city councillor and served as Deputy Mayor during John Tory's first ter...

Welcome to the first EVER edition of On The Ledge EXTRA! In this episode, we feature a sit down interview with former Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. It ran as the March 7, 2023 episode of Now and Next. How does she view the state of the Liberal movement and Ontario. Wynne admits she prefers the delegated convention. She doesn't think she'd have won the OLP leadership in 2013 if it had been a one-...

The OTL gang is assembled! Keith Leslie at CHCH-TV, John Wright SVP Maru Public Opinion, and SSN Chief Executive Producer Dave Trafford are around the table. Sabrina Nanji, Publisher and Editor of the Queen’s Park Observer, has taken the day off from the podcast. In this episode: A post mortem on the Ontario Liberal Party's Annual General Meeting. We re-litigate the benefits of a Wieghted One Memb...

On this week's edition of On The Ledge: The OTL gang is assembled! Keith Leslie at CHCH-TV, John Wright SVP Maru Public Opinion, Sabrina Nanji, Publisher and Editor of the Queen’s Park Observer and SSN Chief Executive Producer Dave Trafford are around the table. Can Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie save the Ontario Liberal Party? Why would she even want the job? But the panel agrees, Mayor Crombie...

The OTL gang is assembled! Keith Leslie at CHCH-TV, John Wright SVP Maru Public Opinion, Sabrina Nanji, Publisher and Editor of the Queen’s Park Observer and SSN Chief Executive Producer Dave Trafford are around the table. The New Democrats seem to think they'll get a different answer from the Integrity Commissioner to the same complaint about the Ford family "stag and doe". Meanwhile, the Ministe...

We're BACK! The OTL gang is assembled! Keith Leslie at CHCH-TV, John Wright SVP Maru Public Opinion, Sabrina Nanji, Publisher and Editor of the Queen’s Park Observer and SSN Chief Executive Producer Dave Trafford are around the table. In this episode: John Tory steps away from the Mayor's Office in Toronto. What does that political hand grenade do to the Ford agenda at Queen's Park as the Ontario...

The OTL gang is assembled! Keith Leslie at CHCH-TV, John Wright SVP Maru Public Opinion, Sabrina Nanji, Publisher and Editor of the Queen’s Park Observer and SSN Chief Executive Producer Dave Trafford are around the table. In this episode: Premier Doug Ford tells Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie to stop whining and be a good partner! (At least he didn’t tell her to stick to her knitting). Ford goe...