Ontario Election 2025: Crombie says Ford ‘absent’ in the campaign

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Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie called out Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford Wednesday for his relatively low profile during the snap election campaign triggered last month.

“Where has he been? He called an early, unnecessary election at the cost of $189 million and he’s been absent for 50 per cent of it,” she said during a campaign stop in Clarence-Rockland, a riding most recently held by the PCs, but which has been Liberal in the past.

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“Show your face and be accountable for your record.”

Ford, like other leaders, has taken part in two leaders’ debates over the past week, the first focused on Northern Ontario and the second one a province-wide debate. Unlike other leaders, the PC leader did not participate in post-debate question and answer sessions. As of Wednesday, Ford had not taken questions on the campaign trail in nine days. His party says his plans will be released in the coming days.

Locally, PC candidates have also turned down interviews and debates. In response to a question about candidate participation in debates and interviews, the PC campaign released this statement: “Ontario PC candidates will spend every day of the campaign at people’s doors, speaking to voters about our plan to protect Ontario.”

Crombie made the comments after being asked about past social media posts by some Liberal candidates, including Ottawa Centre’s Thomas Simpson who tweeted what some reports say appears to have been a joke about consent in 2012.

Crombie said Simpson has apologized. “He was a young man and he understands that is not appropriate and not tolerated and he has completely apologized, withdrawn his statements and he’s made those apologies.”

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“They want to sling mud. If Doug Ford has something to say to me, he should have the balls to say it to my face,” said Crombie.

Crombie also appealed to voters who would normally vote NDP to vote Liberal this time. “This only way to change the government is to vote Ontario Liberal. We have the momentum and we have the wind in our sails.”

Her comments came on the heels of a new Postmedia-Leger poll that shows Ford’s PCs maintain a strong 20-point lead over Crombie’s Liberals, which are in second place. The poll showed 48 per cent of Ontarians would cast a ballot for the PCs, while 28 per cent would vote for the Liberals. Sixteen per cent say they would vote for the New Democrats led by Marit Stiles.

Eighteen per cent of Ontarians polled said their impression of Ford has improved since the start of the election, 16 per cent of Ontarians said their impression of Crombie has improved since the election call, a three-point improvement over the past week.

Forty five per cent of respondents said Ford is the best leader to defend Ontario’s interests from trade and economic sanctions. Ford said he triggered the early election because he needs a strong mandate to take on economic threats from U.S. President Donald Trump. And 33 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with the PC government and Ford and would vote for them again.

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With just over a week to go until the Feb. 27 election, there are still details of all the major parties’ platforms to be released.

Improving healthcare and getting primary care to all Ontario residents is a key plank of Crombie’s campaign. That includes recruiting and training 3,100 doctors, including foreign-trained doctors. The plan includes doubling residency programs, increasing compensation and reducing their administrative burden. She said the plan would cost around $3 billion.

Crombie said her plan includes incentivizing doctors to locate in certain parts of the province. She said she would expand existing programs under the PC government. She also said better pay and support would help retain family physicians.

All three major parties say they have plans to close primary care gaps in the province. The PC government announced a four-year plan with Dr. Jane Philpott just before the election call.

An estimated 2.5 million Ontario residents do not have a family doctor — a number expected to increase without significant intervention.

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