October 2 is Provincial Election Day

Current Premiere Ernie Eves hopes to convince voters to reelect the Tory Government

Ontario will go to the ballot box on October 2. Confirming rumours of the previous days, reported by our Angelo Persichilli in early August, premier Ernie Eves dissolved the Parliament and called an election for next month.
With a press conference in Queen's Park Eves finally launched a 29-day long campaign that will probably be quite "hot".
In the latest polls, in fact, Dalton McGuinty's Liberals lead, like in 1995 (McLeod over Mike Harris) and 1999 (McGuinty over Mike Harris). In both elections, the Tories in the end managed to reverse unfavourable forecasts. Will Eves manage to repeat the upset?
As usual, the incumbent premier plays the card of his expertise and tries to convince the voters that only by confirming a Tory government "our Province will be able to keep growing. Ontario is a success story, and we want it to remain that way," said Eves, mentioning several points in the Liberal platform that refer to overturning laws approved by the Tories.
"On October 2, the citizens of Ontario will have a clear choice to make: they can choose us if they want Ontario to keep growing prosperous, or the Liberals if they want to go back at least 10 years."
Ernie Eves displayed his confidence by not wearing a tie. Such an informal image helped him in the polls in the last few weeks, especially after the August 14 blackout. Eves insisted on this point repeatedly in his press conference: "A premier's work is not easy, as the choices you make change people's lives. This is not something you can learn on the job." Eves also repeated his résumé: 16 months as Premier, 6 years as Minister of Finance, and 22 years in politics.
However, crises have plagued the last year of Tory government (the SARS, the scandal of illegally slaughtered meat, and the great blackout), highlighting several systematic shortcomings that Eves will have to address in the coming days if he hopes to win back the public trust.
The Premier tackled the issue of the day. With schools reopening and double-cohort problems, education figured prominently in last week's newspapers: "We pledge to make school equal for all, where kids are not held hostage in the struggles between school boards and teachers' unions."

Publication Date: 2003-09-07
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3131