It’s day 21 of the Ontario election and the leaders of the main political parties will be campaigning in the Greater Toronto Area today. In the wake of the weekend’s deadly storm, the party leaders are highlighting their climate plans. Saturday’s storm left a trail of destruction with at least 10 dead, while tens of thousands remain without power.
Here’s what the leaders of Ontario’s main political parties are up to today:
Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford
Ford is in Scarborough for several campaign stops.
Climate change: Ford says Ontario is investing in electric vehicles and electric arc furnaces as part of a plan to fight climate change.
Cannabis: At a campaign stop, Ford said market forces were adequate for solving issues of cannabis store concentration, and municipalities would make the best decisions for their neighbourhoods. “It doesn’t matter if it’s cannabis or or another type of the store, the market will take care of it,” Ford said.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath
Andrea Horwath, who contracted COVID-19 last week, will be back on the campaign trail in person when she stops in Pickering, to share her party’s plan for families who lost loved ones in long-term care. She took the day off on Sunday, and her federal counterpart, Jagmeet Singh, campaigned in her stead.
Ontario election: NDP hopes Andrea Horwath is fourth time lucky
Climate change: If elected, Horwath says her party would fix Ontario’s disaster relief program to get money to affected residents quicker and plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a net zero by 2050.
Cannabis: Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Horwath said the NDP would enact new policies for cannabis stores to put limits on the number of cannabis stores that can operate within a designated area. She pointed to a bill from MPP Marit Stiles which aimed to strengthen the role of municipalities in regulating pot shops.
Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca
Steven Del Duca will be in Toronto to make an unspecified announcement at 9 a.m. and to discuss the Liberals’ buck-a-ride election pledge.
Climate change: Del Duca says his party has earmarked about $300 million for a climate resilience plan for municipalities and conservation authorities.
Cannabis: Elsewhere on the campaign trail, the Liberal leader criticized the Progressive Conservatives for their handling of the process of opening cannabis stores, saying it was “random” and “arbitrary.” Del Duca said the Liberals would enact new policies that would require a minimum distance between stores, using a similar model to the one now applied between stores and schools.
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner
Mike Schreiner, who also has COVID-19, is set to campaign virtually again today, making an announcement at 10 a.m. about housing.
Climate change: Schreiner has touted a long list of environmental initiatives, including halving climate pollution by 2030, protecting 30 per cent of lands and water by 2030 and reaching net zero emissions by 2045.
Early voting for the Ontario election
Advance polls for early voting: Advance polling is now open until May 28. Ontarians can vote at any of the advance voting locations in their electoral district. Advance voting locations are open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. Find your electoral district by entering your postal code on the Elections Ontario website. Election day is on June 2.
Ontarians can register to vote online through Elections Ontario’s eRegistration. Voters will need one piece of identification that has their name and current residential address in order to register.
Want to hear more about the Ontario election from our journalists? Subscribe to Vote of Confidence, a twice-weekly newsletter dedicated to the key issues in this campaign, landing in your inbox starting May 17 until election day on June 2.