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Bill Kelly: Let the Ontario election campaign mudslinging begin

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

We’re still a couple of weeks away from the official start of the Ontario election campaign, but the attack ads have already started.

A third-party Facebook group has produced a couple of commercials that lambaste Kathleen Wynne and her government and the Liberals have countered with TV ads that highlight some of the controversial issues surrounding PC Leader Doug Ford.

Sadly, attack ads have become part of the lexicon of today’s politics and we’re the worse for it.

WATCH: Ontario Liberal Party releases attack ads targeting Doug Ford

Click to play video: 'Ontario Liberal Party releases attack ads targeting Doug Ford'
Ontario Liberal Party releases attack ads targeting Doug Ford

Attack ads don’t bother to tell us why we should vote for a particular candidate, but instead, tell us why we should hate their opponent.

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More often than not, they contain half-truths or outright lies that are contrived to appeal to the biases of partisan voters.

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A typical campaign these days is often full of cliches, with little detail on how they plan to accomplish their goals.

But what they lack in vision, they make up for with a heavy dose of vitriol toward their opponent.

It’s come to the point where frustrated voters end up voting for the candidate they hate the least if they vote at all.

If we want better government, we need to hold politicians to a higher standard.

That age-old political truism is more relevant than ever; people get the government they deserve.

Bill Kelly is the host of Bill Kelly Show on AM 900 CHML and a commentator for Global News

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