It was a non-stop political news weekend that had nothing to do with the words “Donald Trump”, and now Open Sources Guelph is going to deal with what comes next. As well as what happened then. It’s an all Ontario, all hour this week as we look back at the high drama and high tension of the PC Leadership vote, and we look ahead to what Ontario might look like with Official Opposition leader Doug Ford. After that, we’ll talk to another leader, Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner about what you can do to make sure Mike has a chance to debate Ford (and Wynne, and Horwath) face-to-face.
This Thursday, March 15, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
1) Clear the Ballroom! The six week-long rushed campaign to elect a new leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario ended as it began with confusion, disorganization, and the slightly persistent feeling that no one in the party knows what’s going on. With accusations of voting irregularities, ballots that arrived late or never arrived, and an extremely close race that saw the PCs run out of time in their rented ballroom before a winner could be announced, it seemed things couldn’t get any worse (more on that in a minute). We’ll talk about the race, and the highlights of a very hectic Saturday.
2) Ford Duration. Well, the PCs managed to somehow undo all expectations by doing what was once thought impossible: make Doug Ford the new leader of the Progressive Conservatives, and the Premier of Ontario-in-waiting. Many are saying that Ford should not be underestimated, and certainly current-Premier Kathleen Wynne is not exactly enjoying the halcyon days of her government, but is Ontario really ready to join Ford Nation province-wide? Can Ford overcome his numerous deficits – experience, personality, controversy – and, most importantly, can PC voters (not to mention Ontario voters) overcome them?
3) What About Mike? Now that the PCs have their leader in place, the province has a full dance card of potential premiers, but what about Mike? Green Party leader Mike Schreiner is running in Guelph, but he’s also the head of a provincial party that runs candidates in all Ontario ridings, so shouldn’t he be a part of the leader debates during the campaign? He certainly thinks so, and so do we for that matter. The Fair Debates petition aims to level the playing field, and it’s been signed by a lot of people from all political sides have signed it, including Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie! We’ll talk to Schreiner about his chances and other provincial matters.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.
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