Sabrina Maddeaux: An existential moment for Ontario’s lacklustre Liberals and NDP
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Both parties ran on near-identical platforms and spent more time fighting each other than Doug Ford’s PCs
Publishing date:
Jun 04, 2022 • 4 hours ago • 3 minute read • 8 Comments 
Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca looks on from the stage after stepping down as party leader on election night in Vaughan on June 2, 2022. Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath also resigned as both parties were trounced by Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives. Photo by Chris Young / The Canadian Press Article content
Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives won a second majority in Ontario on Thursday — but Ford didn’t beat his competitors as much as they buried themselves. What happens next for Ontario’s Liberals and NDP will be pivotal to both parties’ futures, as well as the future of left-leaning politics in the province.
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There was no mass swell of support for the PCs during the campaign. There was no standout moment when public opinion turned. There was no remarkable platform pledge that won Ontarians’ hearts and votes.
The last five weeks of the campaign can best be described as Ford sleepwalking to victory, occasionally muttering something about highways between REM cycles. Whether bored by a ho-hum campaign, exhausted by the pandemic or disillusioned with politics in general, the public also dozed off and didn’t even bother setting an alarm to make it to the polls.
Voter turnout was the lowest in the province’s history, at a dismal 43 per cent. The prior low was in 2011, when 48 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot. Some have dubbed this the “apathy election.”
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This doesn’t really come as a surprise; public engagement was clearly low throughout the campaign. Most people I mentioned it to in person didn’t know it was happening. My polling station, which saw a line down the block for last fall’s federal election, was empty except for myself and its rather bored-looking workers during the normally busy lunch hour.
Voter turnout was the lowest in the province’s history
This should be what haunts the Liberals and the NDP. It’s one thing to lose votes to another party, but arguably worse to repel people from voting entirely. Their No. 1 hurdle moving forward won’t be convincing Ontarians to shift their support, but to buy into the political system at all.
That won’t be accomplished via bitter inter-party bickering and political gamesmanship. The Liberals and the NDP must prove to voters that they’re serious parties who care more about governing than themselves.
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It’s good that both parties will have fresh starts, at least when it comes to their leadership. Andrea Horwath announced she’d step down after 13 years in the position and Steven Del Duca did the same after failing to win his own riding.
Whoever takes their places will have to start by answering an existential question: “Why does my party exist?” Because, after this election, the answer is anything but clear. Both parties ran on near-identical platforms and spent more time fighting each other than Ford, despite being aligned on almost all issues.
Ultimately, the NDP and the Liberals also took home nearly identical shares of the popular vote, with 23.7 per cent and 23.8 per cent respectively, compared with the PC’s 40.8 per cent share. When you combine both parties’ support, more Ontarians voted against Ford than for him. Leftist fears that they would split the vote and hand Ford a majority came true.
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Chris Selley: Ontario gives Ford a do-over. It will be even riskier than before 
Michael Taube: Doug Ford’s Conservative triumph exactly what Ontario needs Splitting the vote is one thing between two distinct parties with clear ideological differences. It’s foolish and self-serving when the only difference between factions is the colour of their lawn signs.
If the Ontario NDP and Liberals can’t find a meaningful way to differentiate themselves from one another, there should be serious consideration of consolidating — or, at the very least, a strategy to work together toward common goals. While this may alienate hardcore party supporters, it would likely go a long way toward rebuilding trust with the general population.
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All is not lost for these two parties. Polling by Innovative Research shows that only 26 per cent of Doug Ford’s support comes from core PC voters. About 42 per cent comes from other supporters, 17 per cent from unaligned voters and 14 per cent from non-PC Ford personal supporters.
These votes aren’t baked into divisive party politics, and can be won back by the Liberals and the NDP with the right leaders, policy ideas and strategy.
Based on recent behaviour, it’s dubious whether either party has the ability to focus on political soul-searching and internal change rather than pointing fingers at each other. But, if they don’t, they’ll be sitting on the sidelines of power for years to come.
National Post
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