Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is the subject of a new attack ad from Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives as the two parties increasingly face-off in key Ontario ridings.
The ad called Andrea Horwath is out of touch was blasted province-wide on the second day of the election campaign. It paints the NDP as an “expensive disaster” for Ontario.
The target of the new campaign commercial, however, is puzzling given that opinion polls have put the NDP tied with or behind the Ontario Liberal party. The latest Ipsos poll, conducted exclusively for Global News, gives the Liberal party 26 per cent among decided voters and the NDP 25 per cent.
PC campaign sources, speaking on background to discuss party strategy, told Global News internal polling indicates the NDP might have stronger support among left-of-centre voters, especially in ridings where the Progressive Conservatives are looking to grow their seat count.
“If we’re looking at seats we’re going to pick up, we’re in more fights with the NDP than we are with the Liberals across the board,” the source said.
The internal PC polling seems to be backed up by NDP polling data which highlights a number of ridings that could be toss ups between the two parties, including in Scarborough, Brampton, Brantford-Brant and Kitchener.
NDP campaign director Michael Balagus told Global News he’s “not surprised” to be placed in the PCs’ crosshairs.
“We are the biggest threat,” Balagus said.