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The Ontario PCs, however, seem determined to trudge along with their tried-and-true campaign strategy, which is to face off against a scandal-plagued, increasingly unpopular premier, and forfeit the election over some controversial proposal that somehow manages to eclipse the billions of dollars in waste and mismanagement that should really earn the Liberals the boot.

Ontario PC leader Patrick Brown’s recent entry in this self-demolition derby was the promise that he would scrap the Liberal’s new sex education curriculum if he became premier. Brown made the vow in a letter addressed to parents last week ahead of Thursday’s byelection in Scarborough-Rouge River, writing that “When it comes to sexual health education, parents should have a say on how much their children are taught, and at what age.” He then took to Twitter to repeat the myth that parents had not been consulted on the content of the curriculum — which is demonstrably untrue — before performing a complete about-face and declaring that he was, in fact, “strongly” in support of the updated curriculum. “I believe it’s important to admit mistakes when they happen,” he wrote in a letter to the Toronto Star.

So let’s review: in the span of less than a week, Brown managed to both alienate moderates who are wary of where he stands on social issues, and anger parents upset at the sex-ed curriculum (whose vote he probably had anyway), by performing a complete 180 on their top political concern. Had Brown said nothing, much of the province would continue not knowing who he was, while he enjoyed the support of a vocal group of parents who decided to vote PC the second Wynne green-lighted the new sex-ed program.