Pearson: It’s time to demand better of political candidates

It’s election season, with the usual trappings: signs, debates, canvassing, volunteers, literature, fundraising, questionnaires, candidate websites and social media pages. But an increasing number of voters confess to disillusionment with modern politics for other reasons: hyper-partisanship, attack ads, spurious statements and political party apparatus that seems increasingly out of touch with average citizens. The dismal […]

CHATHAM-KENT-LEAMINGTON: Unexpected twists buffet Erie shore riding

This is one in a series of profiles of ridings across the London region ahead of the June 2 provincial election: CHATHAM-KENT-LEAMINGTON THE RIDING Formerly known as Chatham-Kent-Essex, and renamed in 2012 redistribution, the riding includes all of the former Kent County south of the Thames River, along with Chatham, Leamington and Mersea Township in […]

Ontario 2022 election: Grits pledge to kill $10B highway to boost schools

2 p.m. Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives clinched another trade union endorsement Friday, his eighth of the 2022 election campaign. International Union of Operating Engineers Local 793, which represents more than 18,000 crane and heavy equipment operators in the province, is the latest trade group to throw its support behind Ford’s PCs. 11:15 a.m. New Democrat […]

Last-minute area Liberal candidate quits over nomination controversy

An embattled Southwestern Ontario Liberal candidate dropped out of the race, the NDP ripped a page from the last Tory playbook and the Greens sharpened their focus on two key ridings with the Ontario election one week away. Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca said Thursday his party’s Chatham-Kent-Leamington candidate, Audrey Festeryga, has withdrawn from the […]

OXFORD: Housing issues hot in riding home to auto and dairy belts

OXFORD THE RIDING Taking in Woodstock, Tillsonburg and Ingersoll, the riding also includes five rural townships in Oxford County and a sliver of Brant County. Manufacturing and agriculture figure prominently in the riding, home to two large auto assembly plants owned by Toyota and General Motors and to a large dairy belt. The riding has […]

Ontario 2022 election: Liberals vow to expand seniors’ home care to 400,000

1 p.m. Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca announced his party’s candidate Audrey Festeryga in Chatham-Kent-Leamington has withdrawn from the race amid New Democrat allegations the party used nomination signatures intended for their turfed candidate to get her on the ballot. Del Duca accused the NDP of repeatedly attacking Festeryga’s character and said this type of […]