Newly elected Ontario PC Party Leader Doug Ford pushed back against comparisons to U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, but went on to praise some of Trump鈥檚 economic policies.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been in politics for 30 years, before even Donald Trump even existed,鈥� said Ford, whose father was a PC MPP and whose brother Rob served as mayor of Toronto.
鈥淏ut I鈥檒l tell you one thing,鈥� Ford said in the interview on CTV鈥檚 Power Play. 鈥淵ou look south of the border, trillions of dollars are coming into the country. They had the highest corporate tax rate, 36 per cent, down to 21 per cent. Manufacturing jobs are coming in by the droves. One of the lowest unemployment (rates) in 20 years,鈥� Ford said.
鈥淭hen we look at Ontario,鈥� Ford went on. 鈥淭hree hundred thousand jobs have been lost. We have the most indebted region in the entire world at $311 billion, paying $12 billion a year servicing that debt. We鈥檙e being burdened by this carbon tax, by the highest hydro rates in North America.鈥�
Ford appeared to be referring to a 2014 study from the Mowat Centre that found in Ontario between 2000 and 2014. Since 2014, employment in manufacturing has as well as in the
While Ontario has higher than average electricity rates, they are not the highest in North America. that Toronto and Ottawa have higher electricity costs than cities like Montreal, Calgary, Winnipeg and Houston, but prices are lower than in New York City, Boston and San Francisco for commercial and residential customers.
Ford -- who will take on Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath in the June 7 election -- said that the PC Party is going to "turn this province around" and make it "the most prosperous region in North America."
He outlined five platform priorities: 鈥渉ealth care ... making sure we review the education curriculum, bringing back good paying jobs, getting rid of the carbon tax ... making sure that we reduce the hydro rates, and always reducing the size and cost of government.鈥�
Wynne warns of cuts
PC leader Tim Hudak lost the 2014 provincial election after vowing to slash 100,000 public sector jobs, but Ford said Tuesday that he would cut the size of government through attrition, not layoffs.
鈥淲hat drives me crazy,鈥� Ford said, 鈥渋s when you have a supervisor in government and they report into 12 other supervisors. That鈥檚 unacceptable ... so when these supervisors all decide to retire ... we just aren鈥檛 going to replace them.鈥�
Earlier in the day, Premier Wynne warned that the PC Party would make program cuts.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e putting forward as a platform is very, very different from what any of the conservatives were putting forward which is cutting and removing supports for people,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got an economy that鈥檚 doing very well in Ontario and in Canada but not everyone is feeling the benefit of that, so it鈥檚 even more important right now that governments step up,鈥� Wynne added.
Wynne said the Liberals plan to 鈥渂uild on鈥� programs introduced by her government like the free prescription drugs for people under age 25, free college and university tuition for qualifying students, and a minimum wage hike to $14 an hour, with another $1 raise scheduled for January.
Ford has said in the past that he would keep the minimum wage at $14 an hour and help low-income people by cutting the tax rate to zero for those making $30,000.
NDP pitching 鈥榖old ideas鈥�
Marit Stiles, the Ontario NDP candidate for Davenport, told CTV News Channel on Tuesday that she believes people are 鈥渞eally fed up鈥� with Wynne but don鈥檛 see Ford as the answer.
Stiles pointed to polls suggesting Andrea Horwath is well-liked by Ontarians.
She also said that the party has 鈥渂old ideas鈥� that will appeal to Liberal and PC supporters.
鈥�(Horwath鈥檚) talking about full universal pharmacare, talking about undoing the privatization of hydro ... there鈥檚 lots of opportunities for Andrea Horwath and the NDP to put forward that bold, hopeful vision,鈥� Stiles said.
