Commentary
Doug Ford rode into an election victory on the backs of an exhausted electorate who simply wants a sense of stability right now. I am not saying the Ford Progressive Conservatives sat back and did nothing. They made several smart, strategic political decisions that contributed to their victory.
Timing is everything though, and with the public being tired from years of lockdowns, heated rhetoric, and political division, the party representing the steady status quo held the most appeal. The record-low turnout indicates few people wanted to engage or vote for change.
Ford campaigned his way to the premier’s chair in 2018 with a populist mandate. The PCs were out to slay the entrenched Liberal dragon in government. Ontarians were more than tired of the Kathleen Wynne government and were eager for change. Ford’s platform of spending restraint and tax reductions for the middle class was well received by many, but for the most part, people were more intent on voting Wynne out as opposed to voting Ford in….