Article content

Ontario is in election mode. Here are nine things you should know as the race begins for the June 12 vote:

1. The campaign doesn’t officially begin until Wednesday. By tradition Ontario elections are called on a Wednesday and held on a Thursday four weeks later; this campaign will go five weeks because of a Jewish holiday on Thursday, June 5. NDP leader Andrea Horwath sparked the election by refusing to support another Liberal budget, but it was Premier Kathleen Wynne who decided not to wait for an actual budget vote and asked Lt.-Gov. David Onley to dissolve the legislature immediately.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Nine things to know about the upcoming Ontario election, from scandals to campaign promises Back to video

2. It could be tight. In an Ekos poll of 1,576 residents taken in the week before the budget was presented on Thursday, the Liberals had 35% support among voters. That compared with 32% for the Progressive Conservatives and 22% for the NDP.

3. The liberal message is trust. Ms. Wynne said people can have a balanced Liberal approach to job creation and economic growth — or the “reckless schemes” of the opposition. “They’ll have a choice, in fact, between safe hands and risky tactics,” she said. “The NDP make pie in the sky promises but they won’t say how they’ll pay for them.” The Tories, she said, would “roll back the clock” in Ontario by “declaring war” on organized labour and slashing government programs people rely on. “Their cuts would devastate crucial public services in health and education. Their cuts would take us along a path towards a low-wage, low-growth economy.”