Amid mild protest from the Independent School Bus Operators Association (ISBOA), the Green Party, Conservative, New Democratic Party (NDP), and Liberal provincial parliament candidates met at Cutten Fields on June 1 for the final debate before the June 12 election. Mike Schreiner (Green), Anthony MacDonald (PC), James Gordon (NDP), and incumbent MPP Liz Sandals (Liberal), were joined by moderator Lloyd Longfield, the President and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce (GCC).
Debate questions were recorded on slips of paper collected from the over 150 Guelph citizens in the audience who came to learn more about their candidates. Each candidate was given three minutes for opening remarks, one minute to answer a question, one minute for rebuttal, and one minute, thirty seconds for closing remarks.
Seating positions determined the order for opening and closing remarks, with seats having been chosen through a random draw.
As moderator, Longfield was quick to clarify that the event not be considered a debate.
“We’re not calling it a debate,” Longfield explained. “We want this to be a conversation…Our target is [for the candidates] to answer [at least] 15 questions.”
In spite of Longfield’s insistence on civility, the candidates were quick to throw attacks at their competitors. Longfield’s role as moderator was poor as he had difficulty in both maintaining the answer time-limit and maintaining the candidate’s behaviour.
During opening remarks, MacDonald, Gordon, and Sandals denounced their competitors and attacked their competitors’ parties, with great attention drawn to Liberal overspending and the newly announced Conservative “Million Jobs Plan.” MacDonald in particular showed exceptional disapproval at both Sandals’ time in office and the Liberal Party.
“I’ve had complaints with the Liberal party,” explained MacDonald during opening remarks. “The only Liberal who would meet with me was [Member of Parliament for Guelph] Frank Valeriote, and he couldn’t offer much.”
MacDonald later added “I’m not here for me, I’m here for you.”
Both Schreiner and Gordon suggested that the time for a political upheaval was now. Schreiner repeatedly emphasized the idea that a new party should take over from the so-called “Big-3,” a group comprised of the Liberal party, Conservative party, and NDP.
“I’m on a mission to change the political system,” explained Schreiner, who is also the leader of the Green Party of Ontario. “People have told me [that the current] political system is broken…I’m on a mission to bring honesty and integrity to Queen’s Park.”
Schreiner, MacDonald, and Gordon all spent a significant amount of time talking about their efforts to reach out to members of the community to hear their voices. The phrase “I’ve been knocking on doors” appeared once from each candidate during opening remarks, several times during question period, and once again during closing remarks. All three candidates emphasized the importance of listening to their constituents and incorporating constituent ideas into party policy.
During question period, candidates stuck to pre-existing personal and party platforms. The Green Party plan to amalgamate Public and Catholic school boards into a single unified system was criticized by both the Conservative and Liberal candidates. The Conservative “Million Jobs Plan” was denounced as representing faulty math by the Green, NDP, and Liberal candidates.
“For the NDP, [Green Party amalgamation] math looks as fishy as Conservative [Million Jobs] math,” quipped Gordon.
The NDP candidate clung to grassroots movements with an emphasis on public sector innovation. Finally, the Liberal candidate echoed support for Premier Kathleen Wynne’s budget. Sandals was quick to quote hard numbers whenever presented with opposition, touting the $2.5 billion Jobs and Prosperity fund, $40 million/ year for the Ontario Food Processing Industry, and $295 million for youth job strategies during question period.
The demeanour of each candidate represented party interests. Whereas Schreiner and Gordon seemed calm, relaxed, and ready to take charge, MacDonald was quick to take incident with claims made by the Liberal Candidate. MacDonald was angry at Liberal spending, and was irritated by so-called “Continuous corruption while in office.”
While offering a rebuttal to an answer by the Liberal candidate on clean air, MacDonald quipped “We rejected your plan so we could get an election and get you out of office.”
Quips at Sandals’ age, policy, and party were not enough to deter her from responding with confidence, factual evidence, and numerical data.
All candidates agreed on the importance of maintaining Guelph’s water supply, bridging the gap created by the Labour Market Paradox, prioritizing funding, reducing unemployment, and helping small-business owners stay afloat. For students, the Liberal and Conservative candidates promised to provide increased aid during a time in Canadian history when Ontario students pay the highest rates of tuition.
Unsurprisingly, Sandals touted the benefits of Liberal created grants like the 30% Ontario Tution Grant, whereas MacDonald claimed that such grants only go to a small percentage of students.
“30 per cent of students get 30 per cent off,” claimed MacDonald. “We have plenty of money, it just went to the wrong places.”
During closing remarks, all four candidates echoed their opening remarks and encouraged voters to make the right choice on June 12.