GUELPH POLITICAST #459 – This Slushy Election (feat. Scotty Hertz)

It’s been four weeks since Doug Ford asked the Lieutenant-Governor to dissolve the legislature and it really hasn’t felt like anything has changed. Now, we will go to the polls on Thursday to decide who will form the provincial government for the next four years and despite all the issues, it feels like it’s still going to be the people who’ve run it for the last seven years. So what have we missed this election?

Early voting last weekend registered a six per cent voter turnout across Ontario. Not great. Accessibility activists have noted that this winter campaign generally, and the last week of wicked weather specifically, have thrown up big barriers to participation for anyone that’s not able bodied, and wasn’t that the point? It sure seems like it was and the impact has been pretty visibly felt: How many election events have you been to?

Out of the campaign trail it’s been rough going. The two likely successors to Doug Ford - Marit Stiles and Bonnie Crombie - have been straining to get attention. The Greens, led by Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner, have been pragmatic: They will not form a government, but they might be able to secure a few extra seats. And as for the big man himself he’s been playing fast and loose with election rules, and going back and forth as candidate and premier. Now, there's 24 hours left till Election Day. What will happen?

Scotty Hertz, co-host every week on Open Sources Guelph, appears today for a pre-game show. We will talk about what six per cent early voter turnout means, the ins and outs of winter campaigning, and why this didn’t end up being a change election. We will also talk about the leaders’ campaign, the various party strategies, and why Ford’s been allowed to slide on all the domestic failures while failing in Washington on trade. Also what questions do we have going into our election night coverage?

So let's get into this election that almost was on this week's Guelph Politicast!

This Thursday, February 27, we will be going live to air for results and analysis starting at 8 pm on CFRU 93.3 fm or cfru.ca. For the interviews with the candidates running in the ridings of Guelph and Welligton-Halton Hills, you can check out previous episodes on this feed. To find where and how to vote this Thursday, go to elections.on.ca to find the polling location nearest you. 

The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at Apple, TuneIn and Spotify .

Also, when you subscribe to the Guelph Politicast channel and you will also get an episode of Open Sources Guelph every Monday, and an episode of End Credits every Friday.