Premier Kathleen Wynne is being accused by political rivals of trying to buy a byelection she has yet to even call.

With Wynne expected to announce Wednesday her intention to fill two vacant seats — Niagara and Thornhill — Health Minister Deb Matthews delivered $26.2 million for the Niagara Health System to help build a new hospital and two urgent-care centres.

“This has been a long time coming,” said Matthews, acknowledging the government’s political opponents “are linking” the decision with the byelection.

“This is something we’ve been studying pretty hard,” she said Monday, noting the money is a planning grant for a new hospital that will cost “hundreds of millions of dollars.”

But Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak charged the Liberals, who recently unveiled a five-year, $75-million provincial wine strategy that should also help them in Niagara, were playing politics.

“The Liberals had not supported that, but now that their member has retired and the seat is open, I guess they’re now all for it,” Hudak said, referring to former Niagara Falls Liberal MPP Kim Craitor, who fought for a new hospital.

“I just worry this is more about byelection politics than it is about health care,” the Tory leader said as he unveiled his own election-friendly pledge to create 1 million new jobs over the next eight years.

“We saw this with the subway in Scarborough, we saw this in other areas,” he said, referring to the Liberals’ controversial embrace of a TTC extension that helped Mitzie Hunter win the Aug. 1 Scarborough—Guildwood byelection.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said voters have seen this movie before.

“I was elected in a byelection in Hamilton East (in 2004), where the money flowed freely and the announcements came daily so there’s no doubt that this is the classic Liberal move,” said Horwath.

“They start spreading the money around when there’s a byelection.”

Wynne is also poised to call a byelection in Thornhill, meaning both votes would be held Feb. 13.

In Niagara Falls, city councillor Joyce Morocco is the Liberal candidate while regional councillor Bart Maves, a former Tory MPP, is hoping to win back the riding he represented from 1995 until 2003.

The NDP still must nominate a candidate. Horwath said city councillor Wayne Gates is the only one to have thrown his hat in the ring.

In Thornhill, which was held by Tory Peter Shurman from 2007 until 2013, the Grits have nominated Vaughan councillor Sandra Yeung Racco, whose husband, Mario Racco, was the former Liberal MPP.

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Gila Martow, a former local Conservative riding association president, is the only registered PC candidate so far. The Tory nomination vote will be held Thursday night. The NDP has yet to select a candidate there.

The Greens still have to choose standard-bearers in both ridings.

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