The Ben Mulroney Show - Premier Doug Ford hints at an early Election... how necessary is that?

Episode Date: January 14, 2025

Premier Doug Ford hints at an early Election... how necessary is that? If you enjoyed the podcast, tell a friend! For more of the Ben Mulroney Show, subscribe to the podcast! https://globalnews.ca/national/program/the-ben-mulroney-show Follow Ben on Twitter/X at https://x.com/BenMulroney Enjoy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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it is going to require the government to pivot so drastically from the priorities that got them elected in the first place, that he may have to go back to the people to ask for a new mandate. Let's actually let's let's listen to that. Both Maured styles and Bonnie Cromby were out this morning saying Doug Ford doesn't need to seek a new mandate right now because, well, he has a big majority majority already but also because we stand ready to work

with him on stimulus. Neither ruled out the possibility of voting with you on a stimulus bill. So my question is if you can see cross-party support, does that negate the reason for an early election right now? ≫ Well, let's look at it this way. Nothing has been decided.

Let's see where the tariffs go. But what Merritt styles and Bonnie Crombie, they obviously, you know, they obviously, you know, they obviously, they obviously, Let's look at it this way. Nothing has been decided. Let's see where the tariffs go. But what Merritt Stiles and Bonnie Crombie, they obviously are not worried about spending tens of billions of dollars and

getting approval from the people, getting a mandate from the people. I believe if you're going to go out there, we're going to be hit the hardest bar none over any jurisdiction in the country. They're targeting Ontario. They're targeting

good-paying jobs in Ontario. I'm going to fight with every tool I have in our toolbox to protect Ontario jobs, to protect Canadian jobs. They may think it's OK just to go ahead and throw off our fiscal plan moving forward. I don't think that.

I think if it comes to it, and we have to spend tens of billions of dollars, we go to the people. Let the people decide. It's their money. It's not the government's. That's where we differ.

That's what Doug Ford says. Bonnie Cromby, who according to the next polls, the latest polls, is second to the Ontario progressive conservatives. Here's what she said on Toronto today with Greg about the government's policy of the the next polls, the latest polls is second to the Ontario progressive conservatives. Here's what she said on Toronto today with Greg about Doug Ford and clinging to power. So he's not at the wheel.

He's not paying attention. There's only one reason Doug Ford wants an early election. It's because he wants to cling to power for power's sake. And we know why. He's running away from an RCMP investigation, where he told all his buddies to go carve up the green belt for a profit of $8 billion. And now they're going to have to give up their cell phones. So they're going to see evidence of that. So he's scared. All right, so I'll put the question to you at 416-870-6400 or 1-888-225-TALK. Are you buying Doug Ford's reasoning? Is it

actually needed this election? Or is Doug Ford just being opportunistic? Now, 416-870-6400 or 1-888-225-TALK. Look, I believe him when he says he hasn't made up his mind. I believe he is throwing up a trial balloon to see where the wind is blowing. I think there's politics by definition is opportunistic. And if you control when you can go to the polls, then you are certainly going to explore every option.

We see it all the time. And I don't begrudge a I don't begrudge somebody when they go early, except when we were forced to go early during the pandemic. I thought that was an affront. But by and large, if you're the person who gets to call the shots, then you're the one who gets to call the shots. And I can see that I can see the willingness for a conservative government to want a mandate to have to spend money and inject billions of dollars into the economy. I get that, but I also see the other side. I don't know if he's afraid of an RCMP investigation, but I do think he could already he could get the cross party support that he would need to to be able to look

people in the eyes and say, yes, I didn't get elected on this, but everyone agreed it was something we had to do. Let's welcome Robert to the show. Robert, what say you on this potential early election? I think it's a good idea. One, because I like the idea that Doug's actually coming back to us and we can make comments and put him in. Two, it will certainly put a kick to the groin on the federal level. I say during their leadership, if all the people that the Liberal Party need to run elections, I don't see that happening.

Yeah. Well, thank you for the call. And yeah, I and I think that's, I think that's what's getting lost here is that, yes, he has a government, but he is a right leaning government. He and for him to pivot and say, and now I have to be a free spending government. I'm literally pulling a 180. I think I think, I think that might be a bridge too far for a lot of conservative voters. So you're gonna have to put it to them to see if they are down with that. It's a lot easier for the liberals and the NDP to say,

yes, of course, if we need to spend, turn on the taps. And so I see that. But I also concede that you could interpret it a completely different way. And you could look at Doug Ford and say, yeah, it's a purely opportunistic move. Max, what do you think of this whole debate? Good morning. So in terms of Kathleen Wynne speaking to this grab for power, I guess you would have tremendous experience propping up someone clinging to power.

Right. I would throw that back in her corner. Secondly, I don't think Doug Ford, considering you look at his entire tenure, he's served Ontarians that badly, has he? He's looking towards the future and everything, highways, infrastructure, business. He's got the, of all the politicians you could see running Ontario right now,

he's the only one with the intelligence and fortitude to stand up to the US. Yeah, if I further that point, sorry. This is a chance for Ontarians and Canadians, the first election that I know of in this country, where we're going head to head between conservatives and liberals, to remind the liberals, no guys, this is going to trickle down in every area of politics. You guys should be done politically for at least the next 20 years. And I really hope Ontarians remember who her boss was when they go into this next election. Thanks, Ben. Thank you very much. Let's welcome Sam to the show. Sam, welcome to the Ben Mulroney show. Hi, Ben. I think it's a bad idea for Ford to have an

election first going to cost money. Secondly, I think he just has a vendetta against crombie and he wants to try and bury her. But what's going to happen, he's going to lose a couple seats, he'll still have his majority. I mean, I'm a provincial conservative, and I'm not happy with Doug Ford. And I got to feel there's a lot of others that aren't either. I'll hang up. Thank you very much. Look, anytime you go to the polls, it's a risk, right? Anytime you go to the

polls, it's a risk. And, and I think in this case, the narrative of progressive conservative party saying, Hey, we're trying to be fiscally responsible, but given the tariffs, we're going to have to completely change course. I can I can make the argument that you should go back to the electorate given you were not elected on that. I can understand that. But it's a trick. I also don't think it's going to come to that. I think he's a Doug Ford has shown himself to be somebody who is willing to pull an about face. And if he makes a mistake, he says it and he

changed his course. I think he's checking the he's he's reading that reading the room right now. He wants to see what comes up, what comes up before he makes a decision. Let's welcome who do we have here we got Richard. Richard, how you doing this morning? Fine man. I'm up here in Blue Mountains. Beautiful. Beautiful. Anyway, so listen, I think the last guy is out to lunch. If he's a conservative, he should wake up and number two, we don't have any other leaders. Bonnie Crombie. Are

you kidding me, man? There are those other three leaders couldn't do anything. Can you imagine them going up against Trump? Who's going up against Trump? Or talking to him, trying to make a deal with him, trying to work with him. Let him do what he wants. And you know what? She and her talking about this investigation, do you know that Hazel McCannum had more deals going on with the Keneff family and everything else and built Mississauga and they made a fortune

and nobody complained then. And now this becomes an issue. Are you kidding me? Why don't these people wake up to see what's going on in the world? The world is different than it was. And that guy that was just a minute ago, he's talking about the Conservative Party not ever changing to go with the flow of the rest of the world. The Conservative Party that Doug Ford is leading right now isn't what he came in for. It's not what he's dealing with now. He's dealing with a whole new bag. And

guess what? Where's Trudeau? Where's all those other little winners? It's done, man. Richard, thank you very much. Where are those other little winners? All right, got time for one more call. Dino, welcome to the show. Hey Ben, how you doing? I'm well, thanks. Didn't Delta Viginti establish fixed election dates back in 2000 or whenever it was? If you're saying something, I take it's your word, but typically what happens with these guys,

they commit to it until it doesn't serve them, right? They put that on the books until it doesn't serve them. And we also live in a world where minority governments are a possibility and so they can fall at any point, which what then happens to those fixed election dates? It's just, it doesn't work here. It just doesn't work.

And I think it's a fool's errand to try to shoehorn fixed election dates into the parliamentary system. But I wanna thank everybody for their calls. And I gotta say, I found that all those calls fascinating because we got so many different perspectives on the exact same event and the exact same word. So I thank each and every one of you for contributing to it. She has partial retrograde amnesia. She can't remember the last eight years. Tuesdays. What are the odds I get my memories back? It's the brain. Nobody knows.

I don't know who I am now. But I will be a doctor again. I will do everything I can to get my life back.