Leaders campaign amid conflicting polls

A poll yesterday showed the Ontario Liberals leading their way to a majority. However, a new poll by another research company shows the Progressive Conservatives leading. But regardless of the polls, the party leaders aren’t letting up with campaigning for the June 12 election.

Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne was in Walkerton on the latest stop of her campaign trail. This weekend marks the fourteenth anniversary of the Walkerton water tragedy. In honour of the residents affected, Wynne promised 30 million dollars over the next 10 years to the Walkerton water centre.

“The anniversary of this tragedy, we have to learn from those lessons. We have to learn from the consequences of the decisions that were made or we will be doomed to repeat those kinds of decisions. Consequences have to be considered as decisions are made,” said Wynne.

Wynne says there will also be consequences if Hudak is elected and follows through on his promise to cut 100,000 public sector jobs. Earlier today in London, Hudak touched on this issue and says it’s a tough choice he’d have to make.

“Let’s not lose sight of this. This is all about jobs. This is all about lowering personal income taxes in our province once we balance the budget,” said Hudak. “Look, I’m not a politician who’s going to promise things we can’t afford. We have to make some difficult decisions to balance our budget — to pay down the credit card bill, but once we do that means lower personal income taxes for every family in the province.”

Hudak says his tax cuts would mean $820 in savings for the average Ontario family, and create 47,000 jobs.

Today Andrea Horwath laid out her plan to protect good local jobs. She plans to raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour while cutting taxes for small businesses and she knows this is possible.

Meanwhile, in the newest poll released the NDP took the biggest hit and saw their support drop four per cent.

The poll by Ipsos Reid determined the Conservatives would take a big lead over the liberals. Thirty nine per cent of the decided voters would support Tim Hudak’s PC party. Thirty per cent would vote for the Liberals and 24 per cent for Andrea Horwath and the NDP.

The poll also gives the PC party another advantage. Forty three percent of those who said they were most likely to vote would cast a ballot in favour of the Tories.