NDPers who voted Grit in Toronto last night must be in shock. If not that, then at least red-faced.
Thanks to their decision, they can say goodbye to three accomplished MPPs (Rosario Marchese, Michael Prue and Jonah Schein) look at the rest of the province and realize how brilliantly they got played.
Let’s start with Kathleen Wynne, who got Toronto voters in an all-out panic about a possible PC victory. T.O. NDPers fell for that big time, showing no confidence in the fact that there’s nothing about Ontario 20 years after Mike Harris to suggest the province has a taste for a right-wing agenda.
But the famous letter sent by NDP dissidents to Horwath plainly had a huge impact. Most of the signees were well-known Torontonians with major influence. I’m not sure exactly what they were trying to accomplish. The letter was sure to be leaked – signers encouraged those who received it to send it to “all their contacts.”
The NDP platform did not come out of the blue overnight but was part of a strategy developed over years. Did signatories honestly think that they could just dictate party policy from on high? How would NDP leader Andrea Horwath look if she caved? Not like much of a leader, in my view.
And what did those who signed the letter get out of it? The party lost three seats in Toronto.
This issue of NDP disaffection was always a Toronto story. The NDP did win seats outside of the city and received more of the popular vote than the party has enjoyed in 25 years. The party has in fact never won more seats in a general election since Bob Rae’s improbable 1990 win.
The Ontario NDP has lost its way? Where did the party win those new seats? In Oshawa, Sudbury and Windsor, all working-class ridings.
So you tell me who’s lost touch with the NDP’s roots?
susanc@nowtoronto.com | @susangcole
