Protesters and supporters gather outside the Ontario election leaders’ debate in Toronto on May 16.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
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It’s day fifteen of the Ontario election and the leaders of the main political parties are spreading out in search of votes as the election campaign moves past the halfway mark.
On the campaign trail this week, all four of Ontario’s major political parties have pledged increases to the province’s social assistance rates – though half of the proposals would still leave recipients well beneath the poverty line.
Ontario election platform guide: What the major parties promise if elected June 2
Here’s where the leaders of Ontario’s main political parties are today:
Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford
Doug Ford will make an announcement in Hamilton today at 11 a.m. ET.
Ford stands by PC candidate Will Bouma
Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford stood by a Tory candidate after a published report said he was involved with organizations that published homophobic views.
The article by PressProgress, an outlet founded and funded by the Broadbent Institute, reported that Brantford-Brant candidate Will Bouma held a leadership role in a religious organization that published a magazine that advised youth against adopting a “homosexual lifestyle.”
Ford, who was speaking on NDP turf in Hamilton, said Bouma did not write the articles in question.
Bouma commented on the story in a Twitter post saying he is “a proud, loving, and supportive father to a daughter who is a member of the LGBTQ community,” and stated that his “views are clear.”
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath
Andrea Horwath will be in Kingston, Ont., to discuss her pharmacare plan before making campaign stops in Smiths Falls, Ont., and Ottawa.
Ontario NDP, Liberals say they would bring in law to fight Islamophobia and other hate if elected
Ontario’s New Democrats and Liberals say they would bring in a law to fight Islamophobia and other sorts of hate if elected to form government on June 2.
Speaking to reporters in Kingston, Ont. on Wednesday, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said addressing racism and hate is a priority for people who have experienced hateful attacks based on their race, faith or any other part of their identities.
She said she is proud of her party’s work with the National Council of Canadian Muslims to bring forward legislation earlier this year to help address Islamophobia in Ontario.
“There’s just too much hate out there,” she said.
“We have an obligation and a responsibility, leaders do, to take that on and to listen when (a)community says we don’t want to just hear the words. We want you to take action.”
The bill, known as the Our London Family Act, from the New Democrats was tabled in February but it was not passed before the election campaign began this month. The NDP said they would reintroduce the bill, which would establish a provincial review of hate crimes and hate-motivated incidents in Ontario.
The party would also designate safe zones around houses of worship, prevent white supremacist groups from registering as societies and establish an anti-racism council that would provide input on government policies.
The bill, which was created with the National Council of Canadian Muslims and follows similar recommendations put forward by that organization, would also present new tools for schools to combat racism. Additionally, it would empower the Speaker to ban protests at the legislature that promote hate.
Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca said his party would also pass the anti-Islamophobia legislation if elected.
Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca
Steven Del Duca will be discussing affordability at an announcement at 9 a.m. ET in Toronto before campaigning in Burlington, Ont., and London, Ont.
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner
Mike Schreiner will start his day with campaign stops in Parry Sound-Muskoka, a riding he believes his party has a shot at winning, before heading to Elora, Ont.