Ontario Election Campaign: PCs Focus on Jobs, Liberals, NDP Concentrate On Health Care

Ontario Conservative Leader Doug Ford, NDP Leader Marit Stiles, Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner are shown in recent file photos. The Canadian Press/Chris Young; Nathan Denette; Arlyn McAdorey

Access to family doctors, tax cuts, and job creation in the face of potential U.S. tariffs were the focus on the Ontario campaign trail today with less than three weeks until election day.

Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford announced plans to move forward with construction of a 401 Tunnel Expressway if his party is re-elected in a bid to bolster the economy. Ford first floated the idea of a tunnel last fall, saying it would ease gridlock in Toronto and surrounding area.

Ford touted the project during a Feb. 7 campaign stop in Scarborough, saying its construction would create “thousands and thousands of jobs.” He said gridlock in Toronto area is hurting productivity and robs the economy of “$56 billion” annually. Highway 401 is already at capacity, he said, noting that many of the other series 400 highways are not far behind.

“We’re going to make sure to get the feasibility study done, and we’re going to start moving. There’s going to be dirt flying,” he said.

The tunnel will feature dedicated lanes for both vehicles and transit, stretching westward past Brampton and Mississauga, and eastward beyond Markham and Scarborough, Ford said. A cost estimate is still in the works, he said but added the price per kilometre will be released to the public once it is known.

He described projects like the 401 expressway as essential in the face of potential U.S. tariffs because they stimulate the economy in a time of economic uncertainty.

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods on Feb. 1, but agreed to suspend the tariffs for 30 days after a Feb. 3 call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in which Trudeau pledged to broaden his government’s $1.3 billion border security program.

The threat of those and future tariffs continue to hang over the head of Ontarians, Ford said, noting Trump’s comments on potentially enacting more tariffs in April.

Ford, who called a snap election last week, has been campaigning heavily on the need to protect Ontario from U.S. tariffs. He has said his goal is to win a stronger majority government before navigating talks with the United States.

Ford is currently leading in the polls with a 47 percent vote share, according to a Leger survey.

Push for Docs

Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie continues to reiterate her pledge to focus on connecting every Ontarian with a family doctor over the next four years.  She discussed her health-care goals on Feb. 6 in Scarborough and again Feb. 7 at a stop in Thunder Bay.

The Liberal health-care plan focuses on four measures, Crombie said during the Feb. 6 press conference. The first step is to “train, retain, and accredit” more doctors while encouraging new medical students to pursue careers in family medicine.

“That means helping more students just entering medical schools to choose to stay with family medicine rather than going off to one of those other disciplines,” she said, referencing those who choose to specialize in a specific field.

Next, the Liberals plan to improve the Ontario health team network and establish a centralized referral system, decrease the administration burden of physicians, and “make sure no one has to choose between using a walk-in clinic and having a family doctor.”

Crombie has been travelling to her campaign stops in a large red bus with the words “11,000 people died while waiting for surgery last year. This is Doug Ford’s Ontario” emblazoned across the side.

A reporter questioned her on the accuracy of the slogan, saying that Ontario Health data puts the number at less than 2,000 and that at least some of those on the waitlists required minor surgeries.

Crombie said the 11,000 figure was widely reported. “Our statistics hold,” she said. “I think this is the tip of the iceberg, and I think things are under-reported, and frankly, far worse.”

Crombie currently sits in second place in the polls, some 24 points behind Ford, holding 23 percent of the vote, according to the Leger poll. The party is attempting to regain official party status at Queen’s Park with Crombie at the helm.

Family Health Plan

Health care was also the main topic of conversation at NDP Leader Marit Stiles’ campaign stop in Sault Ste. Marie.

Stiles unveiled her party’s $4 billion Family Health Guarantee during the Feb. 7 press conference, a program aimed at connecting every Ontario resident with a family doctor or nurse practitioner.

“As premier, I‘ll immediately launch 100 days of action for primary care, making the quickest, most effective changes from Day 1, like fast-tracking the applications for new family health teams and also cutting the wait times with a central referral system that’ll make it easier to see a specialist,” Stiles said. “We’re going to add at least 3,500 doctors into the primary care system over the next four years. That is the scale of what’s needed.”

As part of the pledge, the party plans to “fast-track” solutions in the first 100 days to offer more family health teams, and shorter specialist wait times. To accomplish this, Stiles said, she will expedite approvals for the backlog of integrated primary care teams and cut wait times with a centralized referral system for specialist treatment.

Stiles promised to hire 350 doctors for northern Ontario, including 200 family physicians and 150 specialists and open a Northern Command Centre to oversee health-care personnel.

The NDP also plans to increase residency spots across the province and “clear the barriers” preventing foreign doctors from setting up practice in the province, Stiles said.

Stiles was the official opposition leader at Queen’s Park before the election was called last week. She currently sits in third spot in the polls, well behind frontrunner Ford and second-place Crombie. A Leger poll last week showed Stiles’ NDP party had 17 percent support.

Tax Break

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner is pledging to cut tax for lower and middle income households in Ontario.

A Green government would cut income taxes for individuals earning less than $65,000 and families bringing in less than $100,000 annually, Schreiner said during a Feb. 7 campaign stop in Parry Sound.

Taxes will be raised for those in the top tax bracket to fund the tax relief for lower income earners, he said.

“This is part of our plan to fight for fairness,” Schreiner said. “It’s basically saying those who have the most should pay a little bit more, so those who are working hard just to get by can have a bit more to support their families during this cost of living crisis we’re facing. That’s the kind of fairness we need in Ontario.”

Schreiner said the tax break would save a middle income worker as much as $1,700 a year.

The Green Party leader is in fourth place in the polls, with approximately 8 percent of the popular vote, Leger said.

Today marks the 11th day of a four-week provincial election campaign that will see voters cast their ballots on Feb. 27.