Who would be the most expensive choice for premier?
That’s the question the Progressive Conservatives and Liberals are trying to answer for each other as the Ontario election campaign enters its final stretch.
For close to a year, the PCs have tried to frame Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, who they see as their leader Doug Ford’s main rival, as an expensive choice to be premier with a history of being irresponsible with public money.
Soon after Crombie became leader, the party began buying ad spots trying to link Crombie to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and define her as expensive and out-of-touch.
It also used her mayoral record to claim she would be a costly premier.
“She even increased taxes as mayor. In this economy?” the voiceover in one commercial said. “Tax, tax, tax. Sounds expensive.”
In recent days, the PC war room has highlighted some of Crombie’s apparently more frivolous expense claims from her time as Mississauga mayor, saying “Ontario can’t afford” the Liberal leader.
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The Progressive Conservatives dug out $6,700 in spending on flowers in Crombie’s duties as mayor, as well as $2,357.78 in iPad roaming charges in January 2024. It is not clear how many of those roaming charges were racked up by Crombie, who stepped down as mayor midway through the month.
The PC campaign also accused Crombie of “frivolous use of public funds,” pointing to a $40.20 expense filed in May 2020 with the description “Amazon Prime.”
There is nothing to indicate Crombie’s expenses were against the rules and they were all approved by the City of Mississauga.
The Liberals have struck back, saying Ford’s seven-year record as premier shows a cavalier attitude to public money.
“This is rich coming from Doug Ford. He has blatantly used taxpayer dollars to enrich his buddies and staff,” a campaign spokesperson said.
The Liberals pointed, among other things, to the Greenbelt scandal, where the Progressive Conservatives allowed development on protected land before being forced to reverse the decision and apologize. That move is now under investigation by the RCMP and a report from the auditor general found certain developers would benefit to the tune of just over $8 billion.
“Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of dollars he’s spending to hop around in a private jet… and the $150 billion he is planning to spend on a fantasy tunnel,” the Liberals said.
The party said Crombie’s expenses were “within the rules” and reported in line with the rules.
“Doug Ford can hardly say the same,” they added. “He’s the most expensive Premier in history.”
Crombie and Ford are in the final days of Ontario’s election campaign, battling with NDP Leader Marit Stiles and Green Leader Mike Schreiner to be the province’s next premier.
Advance polls saw turnout drop 36 per cent compared to 2022 — which was already a record-breaking low turnout election.
Voting day is Feb. 27.
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