Current Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty seems unlikely to be ousted in Thursday’s provincial elections. That’s despite predictions early on in the campaign that Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak would swoop in and defeat McGuinty. Analysts say Hudak did not offer disgruntled voters a credible alternative to McGuinty.
Political science professors Lydia Miljan summed up it up by saying Hudak squandered his opportunity for change.
Meanwhile, rookie NDP leader Andrea Horwath has the anti-status-quo vote on her side. Observers say that like Hudak, Horwath couldn’t show voters a clear reason to support her. McGuinty’s campaign was centered on how his experience would benefit Ontario in the case of another economic downtown.
It’s a strategy that appears to be working. Nevertheless, observers say the Tories and NDP could prove the polls wrong if they are able to get their supporters out to the voting booth in numbers.