Wynne's Win: Did Ontario Vote FOR Kathleen Wynne Or AGAINST Tim Hudak?

We'll have to wait and see what the
"Lady in Red's" true colours are.

Well Ontario has a new Premier. Or I should say, the same old Premier we had before this cockamamy election, just with a majority now and a blank cheque to govern with impunity. 

But I have to say I'm somewhat relieved. At least Ontarians didn't opt for the "Uncommon Nonsense Revolution" Part II. That would have been an unmitigated disaster. Still, I would have much preferred a "progressive" minority government in Ontario. With a minority, there is, at least theoretically,  more room/need for collaboration - for all parties to get along, to work together if the government hopes to survive every vote of confidence that comes along. In this way, there are more checks and balances. There is more accountability, though Stephen Harper and Dalton McGuinty have demonstrated that all you have to do to avoid accountability is to prorogue Parliament. 

So now we have to wait and see what kind of Progressive Ms. Wynne really is. Is she a Liberal with a distinctly social conscience or is she just a "Red Tory" in sheep's clothing? And will the abuses of power continue or will the "Lady in Red" be able to put an end to  her party's attitude of entitlement?  Time will tell. I'm not relaxing just yet.


But really, based on the history of corruption within the Ontario Liberal Party, this was Hudak's contest to lose. And he did, unequivocally. So was this a victory for Wynne then, or an indictment of Hudak and his hysterically austere "Million Jobs Plan"? 

Time for soul searching,
not for sour grapes...

Every comment I heard from the PCs at Hudak's campaign headquarters on election night spoke of Wynne running a negative campaign and blamed the "Big Unions" for attacking the Conservatives. It sounded like sour grapes to me and failed to take into account the failings of their own campaign and the impact it had on the collective psyche of Ontario voters. Perhaps, if the PCs hadn't openly threatened so many people with their jobs, the "Big Unions" might not have been so vocal. And maybe if their leader was a little better at math.... In the final analysis, I think many people (with the possible exception of old white men) probably held their noses and voted for "Anyone But Hudak".

I like the lady, but she wasn't destined
to be the chosen one.

As for Ms. Horwath... well, I like the lady personally. I had the opportunity to meet with her a few times professionally when she was a lowly MPP. We discussed advocating for the rights of special needs children. In my opinion, she was extremely responsive  and actively supportive of the subject. She proved to be a valuable ally. I liked that. 

But as leader of her party, Horwath went out on a very shaky limb by inducing this election. She probably had the most to lose of any of the top three leaders and lose she did, more so than Hudak and his tea-sipping cronies. While the NDP ended up with the same number of MPPs as they had before the election, they lost the big stick that comes with holding the balance of power. And  Horwath took a lot of flak, both from inside and outside of her own party for what many viewed as an arbitrary decision to spark this election. And quite frankly, even though it's been 20 years since Bob Rae, Ontartians are still not yet ready for another NDP Premier.

Something to be proud of.

But I have to say, I am extremely proud that Ontario was not only able to elect it's first female Premier, (regardless of her party) but one that is openly gay. And not ONCE in the entire campaign did the dreaded "L" word (rhymes with thespian) get raised by ANY of the candidates or the mainstream media. I Can't say I even saw anything about it in the on-line community either. It was entirely, a non issue. So that restores my faith in the electorate to some degree. They voted on the issues while the politicians and media chose not to resort to gutter-sniping. Good for them.  



Of course, there's still the argument about a majority government being formed with only 38.5% of the popular vote, which is the exact same figure Stephen Harper won his questionable majority with. So the faults of our "first past the post" system are being called into question once again. But that's an argument for another day. For now, I will breath a little easier and tonight, I may sleep  a little more soundly. 

How can anyone claim that 38.5% 
of the vote share equals a majority?