Between the events that compelled his first resignation and the cacophony of infighting, rumours, accusations, denials, threats, and lawsuits that compelled his second, Ontario Progressive Conservative ex-Leader Patrick Brown kept the race for his own replacement fun to watch. What is to become of him now? Will he become the Phantom of the Opposition, training naïve young backbenchers from the shadows to carry out the People's Guarantee? Will he spend the rest of his days in his mother's house making nonsensical podcasts? Time and petulantly worded media releases will tell.
What is more certain is what will become of the PC leadership race itself. It will bore. Bore like the wind.
Before the first public accusations of sexual misconduct against him, nobody could call Brown a spark of excitement. In his approximately three years of leadership, his one memorably bold policy position was his attempt to sell a truly revenue-neutral carbon tax to his party. Given a limited gestation period and the Pavlovian reaction of many PC voters to the phrase "carbon tax," this has gone nowhere, with all four remaining leadership candidates rejecting the idea as if on impulse. But maybe the eventual leader will keep Brown's winter tire tax credit.
Of those four remainders, former Deputy Leader Christine Elliott has squandered the most potential. This is her third leadership run, having suffered two previous losses to chinless white men. As a longtime MPP, a passionate advocate for the disabled, and the better-known of Brown's leadership opponents in 2015, she was a natural choice to run again, bringing much-needed likability and experience to the table. Yet her policy offerings are scanty: more long-term care beds, shorter hospital wait times, "a second look" at the controversial sex education curriculum. After three leadership candidacies, voters should know what she is running for, and so should she.
In contrast, social conservative activist Tanya Granic Allen knows exactly why she is running per her website, "against Kathleen Wynne's sex-education curriculum and for freedom of speech." On these issues, she is unfailingly articulate and passionate, providing refreshing clarity to the humdrum of provincial politics. It is exactly that clarity that makes it so easy for voters who are not rigidly socially conservative to ignore her, except when tweeting about the Anal Sex Lady. Worse, her opponents all agreed early that the sex-ed curriculum deserves a review, if not rejection, effectively depriving her of the fight she wanted.
If not for Granic Allen's entry, voters seeking passion would be looking to former Toronto city councillor Doug Ford. Policy-wise, he has offered the most specifics: reducing "inefficiencies" in the provincial budget to the tune of 2 to 3 percent, ending the use of sole-sourced procurement contracts, scrapping a Muskoka power dam project, expanding infrastructure and transit in the North. But his demeanour on the campaign trail has been unusually subdued for someone so often described as "pugilistic" in his commitment to fiscal conservatism. Constant comparisons to his late brother may be unfair, but Rob Ford was unmatched for his ability to galvanize his base. Ford Nation is Ford Nation, no matter what, but Doug hasn't decisively captured many hearts and minds beyond theirs.
Speaking of people with famous relatives, let's talk about Caroline Mulroney. Her decision to run for leadership may be the most baffling. As a first-time candidate on any level of politics, she could have easily stepped aside for more established party figures, while taking the time to build up an agenda and an image. Instead, she jumped right into a leadership contest with only her name and her experience as a board member and fundraiser neither of which are drawbacks, but are not in themselves qualifications for public office. Since then, she has run the safest, dullest campaign of the bunch, with few noteworthy proposals and a number of lost caucus endorsements. In media appearances and debates, she comes off painstakingly rehearsed, just as confused about her mere presence as anyone else.
This blandness cannot continue into the June general election. Recent polls suggest Ontario voters are ready to dump the governing Liberals, regardless of who leads the PCs. But this party has failed to remove her twice, which should be the easiest job in Canadian politics. With their reputation already beset by internal bungling and corruption, the PCs cannot afford to choose another uninspiring leader.
By the way, if you haven't registered to vote for leader yet, you have until March 5 to do so. If you feel like it, that is.
Photo Credit: Toronto Star
Written by Jess Morgan