Affordable living and transit improvements are big talking points on the third day of the provincial election campaign trail.
As the race for provincial leadership in Ontario continues, provincial party leaders are campaigning across the province to share their proposed plans and meet with local communities.
Here’s where the leaders are today and what they’re speaking out about.
CONSERVATIVE LEADER DOUG FORD
Doug Ford will make three stops on Friday, starting by heading to Hamilton to meet with health-care workers a part of the Service Employees International Union.
He’ll then visit St. Catharines where he’ll tour the Steelcon factory and the Heddle shipyard.
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At 1:15 p.m., Ford made an announcement in Niagara Falls before meeting with workers from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Construction Council of Ontario.
“Yesterday President Trump continued his campaign to undermine Canada,” said Ford. “If tariffs do in fact come tomorrow, the federal government needs to be ready to immediately implement a strong and forceful response, dollar for dollar, tariff for tariff. The federal government has my full support to hit back and hit back hard.”
On Friday afternoon, the U.S. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump’s tariff on imports in Canada will start on Feb. 1.
NDP LEADER MARIT STILES
On Friday morning, NDP leader Marit Stiles made an announcement in Windsor, at Unifor Local 200 where she said she is going to support strong and smart tariff responses.
“Let’s be clear, Donald Trump is going to try to pick us up one by one…Donald Trump ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” Stiles said as part of her announcement.
She also called out Ford for not investing enough money into the public health-care system.
“We’re going to make life more affordable for everyone in Ontario,” she said. “It’s time for new leaders, it’s time for new ideas, it’s time for a premier and a government that is on your side.”
Later today, Stiles will go to Sarnia where she will tour UA Local 633, a union which represents plumbers, pipefitters, and welders.
LIBERAL PARTY BONNIE CROMBIE
On Friday, Bonnie Crombie made an announcement at a Toronto Scarborough subway station where she was joined by local candidates.
At the station, she spoke to reporters about the importance of investing in the TTC.
“We’re here today because Doug Ford doesn’t care about you,” she said. “He’d rather spend $189 million on an unnecessary and expensive election when he already has a majority government. Rather than investing in the things that matter to people in our public transit system.”
With the goal of making transit more secure in the GTA, Crombie outlined a number of recommendations, including investing in 300 new TTC constables, training more mobile crisis response teams to respond to people experiencing a mental health crisis, investing in more cameras and safety equipment, and investing in protective barriers at the foot of the doors of subway cars to prevent accidents.
GREEN PARTY MIKE SCHREINER
Green Party leader Mike Schreiner was in Chesley this morning to meet with representatives of the Ontario Health Coalition at Chesley Hospital.
Schreiner also shared a statement on X Friday morning saying the Green Party will ensure everyone has access to a primary caregiver in the next three to four years by recruiting 3,500 doctors in Ontario and expanding Nurse Practitioner-led clinics across the province.
“I’m in Bruce County today visiting with local healthcare advocates at Chesley Hospital whose emergency department has been forced to close on evenings & wknds, and it’s clear our hospitals – especially those in rural areas – urgently need support,” Schreiner wrote.
Ontario Greens will ensure everyone has access to a primary caregiver in the next 3-4 years by recruiting 3.5K more doctors in Ontario and expanding Nurse Practitioner-led clinics across the province.
— Mike Schreiner (@MikeSchreiner) January 31, 2025
I'm in Bruce County today visiting with local healthcare advocates at Chesley… https://t.co/5msGTCRQ7C
Later today, he’ll head to Hanover for lunch at the Queen’s Bush pub.
