Three years ago, Ontario’s Doug Ford won an overwhelming majority government on the basis of the ballots of less than 18 per cent of the province’s eligible voters. Are voters still disengaged?

Author: Mark Winfield, Professor, Environmental and Urban Change, York University, Canada

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has justified his early election call on the need to respond to United States President Donald Trump’s threat to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports.

While the threat of tariffs on all Canadian imports has been paused — although Trump has since slapped levies on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S. — Ontario voters need to reflect more than ever on the province’s circumstances and the performance of its government as they prepare to head to the polls next week.

The Ford government’s approach to the environment and climate change, as well as its policies on a range of other issues like housing, health care and education, is best understood in the context of its overall “market populist” approach to governance.

Several defining features of this model have emerged over the past six and a half years under Ford’s rule.

  • Nik282000@lemmy.ca
    61·
    4 days ago

    Both two and a half parties at all levels of Canadian government serve only to protect and promote businesses. The liberals will support their business interests, the conservatives will support their own. Neither will measurably improve day to day life of Canadians, both will make it less tolerable, just in different ways.

    A kid on a roof almost made more of a difference than every vote cast in the US.

    edit: a word