On The Ledge - your Ontario politics podcast

It's been a minute since the Ledge rose for the Christmas break at Queen's Park. We will be back at the roundtable in a couple of weeks with the usual suspects parsing the provincial politics in Ontario. But today, we have a treat for you. John Wright and I sat down Thursday of this week, the morning after the federal Tories dispatched Erin O'Toole and discussed the future of the Conservative Part...

It's been more than a week since we knew the omicron variant had arrived in Canada. We know the positive cases are among those who have travelled internationally. Do we know their vaccine status? Nobody seems to know. Why? Because, it seems nobody's asking. The Queen's Park Press Gallery floated through an entire Q&A session with the CMOH Dr. Kieran Moore and no one asked whether the patients were...

It's always the coverup that causes a crisis! This week, the On The Ledge crew with Sabrina Nanji from the Queen's Park Observer, weigh in on the Wiarton Willie coverup.  Oh ya, and we get around to the $10 a week Child Care plans, the pediatric vaccine rollout and the 4-13 is the project that just keeps on giving Ford Nation a headache. You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Chann...

Put up your hand if you understand the COVID test plan for school kids over the Christmas holiday? Seeing none...we move onto the next item of Suck and Blow.  Seriously! It is becoming increasingly wearisome to have to figure out what's driving the Public Health strategy at Queen's Park. I'm all for connecting dots if need be, but this week we're left, AGAIN, having to draw our own dots!   You can...

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has commanded the political high ground by creating a political distraction - namely Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass. They are to the media and the general public what a SQUIRREL is to Dug the Dog! Love or hate the idea of expanding a ring road around the GTA, it's turned out to be a stroke of political brilliance. Ford and company have created a ballot question while...

He passed away in August of this year and he was memorialized this week by family, friends and political colleagues of all stripes. Former Ontario Premier Bill Davis is remembered as a politician whose success came from his innate ability to include the opposition in his policy and legislative process. The service happened the same day the Ford government unveiled its Fall Economic Statement. What...

Ontario's Minister for Long Term Care tabled the Ford government's bill outlining the province's latest promise to address the needs of our elders and most vulnerable. More money for more  inspectors, more money for more staff training, more more of more... But what good are more inspectors if the standard of living in an LTC isn't properly addressed? What good is more tuition support for PSW trai...

At least it came with a Q&A opportunity. The Doug Ford government tells us what we already know, unveiling its cautious plans to step out of STEP 3. But Ford Nation still struggles with its obsession with the fringes when it comes to vaccine policies, voting down Opposition motions to make vaccines mandatory in the healthcare and education sectors. Meanwhile, hospitals and police forces across the...

Great to have Sabrina Nanji at the Queen's Park Observer join this week's edition of On The Ledge. The province of Ontario has started rolling out its proof of vaccine QR code initiative. But it won't be implemented until October 22nd. The Ford government says they want to make sure businesses and individuals have enough lead time to load their QR codes before they go into use. But the overwhelmin...

Really? The province of Ontario decides major sporting events, cinemas and theatres are among the blessed sites that are now allowed to have full capacity. That means the Leafs and Raptors will be playing to full houses.  But the "rules" still don't apply to restaurants, bars or gyms.  Needless to say, the out-of-the-(Tory)-blue announcement prompts plenty of questions. But there's nobody to ask....

Chantal Hebert at the Toronto Star summed it up best on Election Night. "It was an election that nobody wanted and nobody got what they wanted." You can't even say we ended up with the status quo because the campaign only served to make politics more divisive at a time when the country cries out for leadership and vision to ensure we recover physically, mentally and economically from the COVID-19...

These final hours of the federal election campaign have made things clear as mud. The polls have consistently suggested the Liberals and Conservatives are in a dead heat among decided voters. The only confident prediction is we will have a minority government when all is said and done.  Who will sit in the PM's chair? Not at all clear. Meantime, the Liberals have dumped Kevin Vuong as their candid...

Is this an all or nothing campaign for Erin O'Toole? Does he have to win the September 20the federal election to keep his job at leader of the Conservative Party of Canada?  Matt Gurney at the National Post joins us for this episode of The WRIT Race. He suggests O'Toole's term as party leader may be short lived unless he can boast "some kind of win", whether that's winning a minority or weakening...

It's not that silly a question when you consider two things. First, most Canadians didn't want this election to begin with. So, to see the Trudeau Liberals barely survive with a slimmer minority, (not the majority the prime minister coveted), will call his "mandate" into question. Second, it leaves it up to a wounded Trudeau to mop up the divisiveness of the campaign while coping with a new year t...

Yes, the tone has changed on the federal campaign trail. And that may have been predictable. But there was a nasty moment when protestors began making inappropriate comments about Justin Trudeau's wife Sophie. Deb Hutton says that's not new, but it doesn't make it right. Deb advised a couple of premiers in Ontario, worked on leadership and election campaigns and experienced campaigning as a spouse...

This federal campaign has been dominated by wedge issues, personal attacks, and a disaster of a debate. Where is the vision? Where is the deep discussion about the challenges and opportunities facing Canada? Scott White, CEO and Editor in Chief at The Conversation Canada, joins John Wright and Dave Trafford in this edition of The WRIT Race. You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Ch...

The english federal leaders' debate was, in the words of Dana Bash, "a shit show."  I heard "pundits" complaining that we always complain about the format and never focus on the substance of the debate. That's because the format is the problem. It doesn't allow for substance, let alone debate. The time has come to either overhaul the system, (take it out of the hands of the media consortium), or s...

Warren Kinsella is our guest on this edition of The Writ Race. He offers his insights on debate prep and whether, whether he wins or loses, Justin Trudeau is likely to lead the Liberals into the next election campaign.  Kinsella doesn't think he wants the job anymore. You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!) Follow Dave on Facebook , Instagram , Linked...

On today's episode of The WRIT Race, we're joined by Laura Babcock at Power Group. In a normal campaign, we'd be focussing on the french and english consortium debates. But that's been overshadowed by the increased harassment and violence that has target the Liberal campaign. John Wright points out this coincides with slow but steady gains in the polls by the People's Party of Canada.  Has this un...

The french and english "consortium" federal leaders' debates will be broadcast this week. Bob Pickard, Principal at Signal Leadership Communications assesses the campaign messaging and tactics as the race to election day tightens. And Nik Nanos and his Nanos Research team have been doing daily polling. Nik says we're at a point in the campaign where an issue that may not be a top priority for Cana...

This morning we woke up to news that Ontario Premier Doug Ford has decided to prorogue the provincial legislature. The Ledge won’t sit again until October 4th - two weeks after the federal election. Keith Leslie weighs in on Ford's strategy. And Thomas Mulcair, former leader of the Official Opposition in Ottawa, joined to assess the Labour Day effect on the national campaign.  You can watch OR lis...

Anne Lagace-Dowson joins The Writ Race #cdnpoli #podcast to offer a view from Quebec, the morning after the first federal leaders' debate in the 2021 campaign. Did Erin O'Toole's performance move the momentum needle for the Conservatives? Did Justin Trudeau do anything that would turn the tide for his Liberal fortunes? You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subs...

Erin Trafford and Amanda Galbraith join us for this special edition of The Writ Race to talk about the role women should be playing in Canadian politics. And we also explore the idea that Rural Canada is increasingly being left out of the political discussion in this country.   You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!) Follow Dave on Facebook , Instagra...

Amanda Galbraith is back! So, another F-Sharp warning is in order:) We're now half way through the federal election campaign in Canada and the latest seat modelling suggests the Liberals and the Conservatives are in a dead heat. It suggests to Amanda that the televised debates will matter. It may well make the difference in motivating voters to go to the polls. You can watch OR listen to this epis...

Bob Richardson is a longtime Liberal Party organizer and strategist. He's critical of the Trudeau campaign to date but says there's still time for recovery. It will be a fight between Trudeau and Conservative leader Erin O'Toole. Bob says NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh isn't ready for prime time. Jack Layton and Thomas Mulcair did the "gut work" to put the party on solid footing. And "this guy's doing T...