Article content

One of the uncertainties of Ontario’s approaching election is whether voters are ready to forgive the New Democratic Party, and, if so, by how much?

It’s been more than 20 years since the demise of the province’s sole NDP government, which came to power in 1990 under Bob Rae and so unnerved Ontario’s usually placid voters that they’ve never quite gotten over it. After a single mandate the party was reduced from 74 seats to 17, and in five elections since has managed to exceed that number only once, to its current 21 seats in a 107-seat legislature. Andrea Horwath, entering her third campaign as leader, tends to be more popular than her party but has struggled to erase the residue of distrust, even while the other parties have put forward little in the way of attractive alternatives.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Kelly McParland: Has the Ontario NDP finally shaken off the ghost of Bob Rae? Back to video

So is this the year? The CBC’s poll tracker puts both Liberals and NDP far behind the Progressive Conservatives in popularity, though seat projections have Horwath’s party in second spot with the Liberals a distant third. No one is ready to concede the election yet, though, given suspicions that PC Leader Doug Ford’s potential for self-destruction remains a very real possibility. Should Ford’s opponents’ dream come true, and he blunders himself out of his commanding lead, the question is who would benefit more, Horwath or Premier Kathleen Wynne?