Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Ontario : I’m not sure where the phrase “follow the money” originated. Wiki says it might have been back in the ‘70s during the Watergate scandal. No matter. It is a great adage for journalists. I was reminded of it when shortly after noon today the Ontario Progressive Party put out a release pinning the Liberal Party with “Campaigning on the taxpayer’s dime.” The release alleges that over the past two weeks the Liberals have held about 25 campaign style events that it estimates cost a total of $187,500. Andrea Ernesaks, the Liberal Party spokesperson, was quick to respond. In an email she told me: “As the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Ford relies on a large number of staff at the Legislature who are paid by the taxpayer. He has not fired those people or moved to pay for them.”
Campaigns are expensive and there are limits on spending that the parties must adhere to. That means each party has to make choices where and how to spend its money. And, obviously the party with the most money has fewer choices to make. Each party is obligated to file its financial statements with Elections Ontario. That is the good news. The bad news is that the 2017 statements do not have to be filed until May 31 and they will not be made public until about a month later. That means it is impossible to know exactly how much each party has on hand for this campaign. A look at the 2016 statements filed with Election Ontario suggest the Progressive Conservative Party has the most money in the bank. (By the way the financial statements are public and available to you on the Elections Ontario web page.)
In some ways, in these early days of the 2018 Ontario election, the Doug Ford campaign is built around following the money. It’s right there on the Ontario PC home page, “The party with the taxpayers’ money is over.” A click on the Liberal home page has a dollar figure too but it is urging support the $15 minimum wage. The NDP page promotes its core message of hope and leaves the fight over money to the other two parties. Except not really. The big pitch from each of the parties on their pages is for your money. Getting your donation is job one. A couple even do the math for you. Did you know that a $50 donation to the party of your choice will get you at $37.50 tax credit?
One big reason to try to get some money from voters is for political advertising. Ontario Elections does put a limit on political spending by each party in the six month period before the formal campaign begins on May 9. That limit is one million dollars. At first glance that sounds like a lot of money but to buy TV spots, radio ads and newspaper ads it gets spent very quickly. That’s why most of the advertising over the next month will be on digital platforms with some TV. That will stretch those precious dollars a little further.
The Liberal Party called in the media this afternoon to show off its first ads. The Liberal tactic is a negative attack on Doug Ford. A Liberal Party strategist conceded that “We are behind…Doug Ford is leading.” And the strategist went on to insist that “people need to know the real Doug Ford.” On CP24 NDP Campaign Director, Michael Balagus, pointed out that this kind of negative ad is unusual to run with at the beginning of a campaign.
So with each passing day the party lines are getting more and more defined; the Liberals in overdrive to attack Doug Ford. The Progressive Conservatives hammering the message that the Liberals are spending your money. And the New Democrats are looking to be the party of hope. An NDP media release this afternoon on political ads put that clearly, “Andrea Horwath’s first campaign ad focuses on her positive vision for the province, and how she will replace the cynicism people are feeling about politics right now, with hope.” Over the next 8 weeks we’ll see how those lines change as Ontarians focus on the leaders, the parties and the issues.
