- by Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor
Late Friday afternoon in a newsroom usually brings two things to the inbox – product recalls and political news that the sender doesn't want to get much discussion.
February 18 we found only the latter. Bill Walker's announcement that he would not be running in this June's provincial election.
In September 2020, after being our MPP for a decade,Walker was acclaimed by local Progressive Conservative (PC) party members to be their candidate in the election 20 months away. Something of a formality perhaps, and virtual because of ongoing Covid restrictions, but nonetheless a legitimate nomination process open to all would-be contenders.
The second piece we received that Friday was that Walker was not going to be replaced as the candidate through that same open and fair process, but by the appointment of a loyal – and generous- supporter of the Progressive Conservative Party.
The reaction to the appointment was swift and clear, and came to us at the Owen Sound Hub, most from party faithfuls. We in turn shared these with our readers in letters on February 20th and 22nd.
One comment from a CFOS call-in show listener struck a chord, in the midst of a week of police and political action around the Ottawa protests. They said these protests reflected those who feel alienated from the political process; who sense that elites are running the show. One writer connected the two events - “The little person’s ability to influence politics and their leaders is so slight to begin with – take away the small inputs like nomination meetings and people really have nothing.”
So why did Doug Ford think it necessary to forgo the normal democratic nomination process?
The stated rationale of the short (4 month) time before the election is clearly absurd. No other party has nominated a candidate in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound yet, and they are all still planning to have democratic nominations for the same election. More significantly, Ford also appointed the candidate in our neighbouring riding of Simcoe-Grey in June of 2021, cutting off a nomination race that had already begun. Timing is obviously not the issue.
Some people speculated it was because these were secure, no-risk ridings for the PCs. But money was being raised in Simcoe-Grey; new members and potential campaign workers were being signed-up – just as they would have been here. Why would a party, no matter how confidant of success, forgo that?
We in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound live in what some people think is a yellow dog riding. That century-old phrase suggests that the PC or CPC could run a yellow dog and people here would still vote for them.
That has not always been the case. When my family first arrived here in 1994 and for the next 10 years, the riding was represented in the House of Commons by Liberal Ovid Jackson, who had served ten years as Mayor of Owen Sound before that.
Provincially we have been represented for 32 years by only two men – both named Bill, both Progressive Conservatives (although one was a convert) and neither of whom could be considered a yellow dog.
Ford appointed candidates in 11 ridings in 2018. None of them were yellow dog ridings. The PCs won in 3 of them, and lost in 8 – four of those to New Democrats, three to Liberals and one to a Green.
One appointed candidate, a reliable donor in Algoma, had lost twice before in general elections, so perhaps his nomination by local PCs would not have been a sure bet. One was the son of former Premier Mike Harris – he won, as did the highly qualified Doug Downey who succeeded Caroline Mulroney as Attorney General.
Ford appointed candidates in three out of the six Scarborough ridings – one was successful, but is not running for re-election. No PC candidate has been nominated – or appointed – in that riding for 2022. One Scarborough candidate was unsuccessful and was one of three PC candidates to get into hot water during the campaign. He is now employed in the Premier's office.
No, the appointment process is no guarantee of electoral success, so what might be Mr. Ford's rationale in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound?
It likely starts with the very early nomination of Mr. Walker. In September 2020, any local PC who aspired to Bill's seat was taken right out of the equation. The incumbent was nominated – there was no room for anyone else before 2026, unless a minority government were to fall before then and an early election called. All those conservative Mayors, Deputy Mayors, Councillors and Trustees throughout Bruce and Grey who were standing on that first or second electoral stepping stone had no reason to start hitting the phones for supporters and donations. And now that Mr. Ford has picked the candidate, they still don't.
But perhaps more importantly, without an incumbent or a star to raise the blue banner, the PC party wants to give opponents as little time as possible to raise the resources to mount a competitive campaign. Against Walker, the Liberals, NDP and Greens would struggle to find highly qualified, credible candidates to invest their time and energy. There was high demand for sacrificial lambs.
Without Walker, the challenge now is to get even the best candidates known to the voters in a geographically large riding in a short time. Not all those with political aspirations, or elected representatives at the municipal level, are card-carrying PCs. There is still time for someone to stand for the provincial election in June, build their name and reputation, and still run municipally if they are unsuccessful.
No yellow dogs are in this race, nor should they be.
