The revolving door of Ontario political leaders campaigning in London West delivered PC Leader Tim Hudak on Wednesday. Free Press journalist Mike Hensen quizzed Hudak on what the Aug. 1 byelections mean for him and his party

Q: What’s a win for you in these five byelections — how many of the five seats?

“There’s no doubt that these are all home games for Liberals . . ., but I think they’re taking that for granted. I think they believe they can parachute a candidate into London with Ken Coran and hand over the keys to the union bosses and they think they’ll win Liberal votes and the riding automatically. I’m going to fight that.”

Q: At this stage, which riding looks like the toughest fight, and why?

“I’m going to give it a shot in all five of these ridings. I recognize these are five hills to climb, but I sense there’s an appetite for change, that people know Ontario can do a lot better than this.”

Q: In your view, for the PCs, how is the race in London West shaping up against the other contests?

“Here’s what I like about Ali Chahbar, born and raised here in London, he’s raising a family here, involved with the London community. . . I think we’ve got a great start out of the gate . . . because of the quality of our candidate. . . He’s a man of the community that’s going to be London’s representative in Queen’s Park, instead of the teachers’ union representative at Queen’s Park.”

Q: What happens with your own leadership future if your party doesn’t do well in these byelections?

“Even though these are home games for the Liberals, we’re going to leave it all on the ice, we’re going to give it every effort, because I sense people are looking for a team that has a message of hope and optimism that says Ontario can be the comeback province of Canada.

Q: How are you going to get Ontario voters interested in by-elections in the hottest month of the year?

“I think there is concern about when the byelection was chosen. . . It is what it is, so I’m proud I have a candidate here that’s been working for months, been at the doors and fighting for the right things, jobs and the economy.”