Bill Kelly: It’s a landslide for the Progressive Conservatives. Now what ?

It was over in a heartbeat.

It took about 15 minutes from the time the polls closed for the pundits to declare the Progressive Conservatives the runaway winners who will govern Ontario with a substantial majority in the legislature.

Last night was a night of celebration for the PC’s; after 15 years in the political wilderness, they’re in charge again. But as a new era begins in Ontario, we have to wonder: what now ?

There’s an old political truism that says campaigning is easy, but governing is hard — and the PCs  will learn that quickly.

During the campaign, Doug Ford never presented a detailed plan for how he intends to pay for the many promises he made, and in their rush to dump the Wynne government, Ontario voters seemed to give him a pass on the issue.

But now, it won’t just be the Opposition MPPs asking that question. Bond rating agencies and banks will demand that detailed information and any delays or inconsistencies in those numbers could impact Ontario’s credit rating, which could cost us millions of dollars.

The euphoria of victory will  soon give way to the intense scrutiny that falls on an sitting government.

Much was promised and much is expected of the Ford government. Now it’s time to deliver, and for any government, that’s the hard part.