The first political party I ever joined was the federal Progressive Conservative party. I was 19 years old and was recruited by my grandparents; they were long-term Tories and believed strongly in being politically active at a grassroots level. I even had a Gary Schellenberger lawn sign in the 2003 by-election that saw the last-ever elected federal Progressive Conservative. I participated in the inaugural leadership contest of the Conservative Party of Canada in 2004 … I can still remember walking into the Milverton arena with Grandma and Grandpa.
On the surface, the name Progressive Conservative seems rather self defeating given they are completely opposite of each other. Yet it was the balance required to live out that name that appealed the most to me about the party as a 19 year old. I grew up going to schools that were built under the leadership of the premiers from the Big Blue Machine, John Robarts and Bill Davis. They understood that investment in core public services like education and health care actually saved money in the long term, hence satisfying the fiscal demands of being conservative while still deploying progressive politics for their time. The balance struck by Bill Davis, overseeing the expansion of public healthcare and education in Canada’s largest province while maintaining reasonable debt to GDP ratios is why he is indisputably the greatest premier in Ontario’s history.
The days of those old school Progressive Conservatives, people who sought balance between fiscal responsibilities and social progress, sadly are gone. In the past, I have wrapped up election season with a column of predictions but for our local ridings here in Midwestern the die was cast before the election started which doesn’t make for compelling reading. Instead here are three blurbs with my hopes and dreams for this week’s Ontario election.
Independent wins:
In the 2018 election Bobbi Ann Brady pulled off something we don’t see often; an Independent candidate with no party affiliations beating a full slate of party backed opponents. She beat the PC candidate by over 2,000 votes with the NDP and Liberals far behind to become the MPP for Haldimand Norfolk. She is no stranger to the provincial PCs, she worked for long time member Toby Barrett and was planning on seeking the party’s nomination in an open nomination race. In an event that has become far too common under Premier Ford’s leadership, the party appointed a candidate instead of running an open nomination race. After being shut out at a democratic shot at the job and supported by Toby Barrett and an army of local volunteers, she ran and won as an independent. I have never met Ms. Brady but if she is anything like Toby then she is one of those old school Tories I mused about above. During my time at Queen’s Park, he was one of my favourites. Like me, he went to the Ontario Agriculture College and enjoyed chatting about whatever was happening in Ontario agriculture. Ford has thrown more resources at the riding than any other rural riding in the province. I’m hoping the grassroots triumph again over the party machine with Bobbi Ann Brady retaining her seat at Queen’s Park.
Local shrinkage:
Premier Ford called an unnecessary election that is costing the province almost $200 million. It was called at the height of Ontario’s worst winter in decades with a campaign so short that many voters do not have voter cards less than a week out and after the advance polls have closed. (Sidenote: you don’t need a physical voter card to vote, just take a piece of ID along with a piece of mail with your current address to your polling station). He has added over 100 billion to the provincial debt during his tenure yet has underfunded healthcare to the point that ER closures in our rural hospitals have become normal. Beyond fiscal mismanagement is the practice of party interference in local nominations. A grassroots nomination campaign that sees aspirants pound the pavement and sign people up who agree with their vision for the local communities is a key part of making people feel like they have a voice in their democracy.
Ford is neither Bill Davis nor Mike Harris, who at least can be commended for being transparent with his cuts to public services and actually delivering multiple budget surpluses. It would be nice if we saw folks who supported Ford in the past two elections out of long standing partisan ties developed under real Progressive Conservatives decide to abandon him for another spot this time around. While we are all ending up with blue MPPs perhaps we could see the vote share dip while giving an indication of what alternative folks could rally around next time.
A Little Greener:
I have done some phone canvassing this election for Matt Richter, the Green Party candidate in Parry Sound Muskoka who only lost by a couple points in 2018 and has a shot at knocking off the PC incumbent this time around. After listening to Mike Schreiner speak last summer up in Markdale I became convinced that if there is going to be an option that seeks the balance of the PCs of yore then it will be the Green Party. They release fully costed and detailed platforms straight out of the 20th century while offering their elected members full autonomy to vote on specific bills as they wish in order to best represent the needs of their constituents. It was a nice surprise to have a number of beef farmers on my call list and now I know I am not the only farmer who is going to support the Green Party this election. More locally, it will be interesting to see if they can snag second place in Owen Sound Bruce Grey and Wellington Halton Hills. The candidates, Joel Loughead and Bronwynne Wilton, have strong ties to agriculture along with a solid private sector resume, municipal council experience and the courage to show up at all candidates debates. In the case of Wellington Halton Hills, it is another installed candidate where the local party members were denied an opportunity to have an open nomination race. Despite popular long term incumbent Ted Arnott giving the party months of advance to hold a race, the party decided to slow play it until it bumped up against the election and allowed them to install a candidate under provisions of the party constitution. Second place showings for the Greens in these two ridings would signal there are still folks in our part of the world who value traditions like taking questions in an open forum in front of the people you want to represent and grassroots nomination races that allow communities to elect their candidates, not have them installed from a party office in Toronto.
GO VOTE!
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Stewart Skinner is a local business owner and former political candidate, who has worked at Queen’s Park as a policy advisor to the Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. Reach him on Twitter: @modernfarmer
