Party leaders still must earn our trust – by Wayne Snider (Timmins Daily Press – january 31, 2012)

Wayne Snider is the city editor for The Daily Press , the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper. Contact the writer at news@thedailypress.ca

North’s 11 seats suddenly seem more relevant

The North may not have been a key political battleground during the last few Ontario elections, but it is starting to get more interesting.

Checking out the political landscape after last fall’s campaign, the Liberals came within one seat of getting a majority by relying heavily on the vote in the Greater Toronto Area. The Conservatives did well in rural Southern Ontario, while the NDP largely painted the North orange.

For the first time in recent memory, all three parties came out with a dedicated Northern Ontario policy during the campaign. Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak, four months into being the leader of the opposition in a minority government, is still selling ideas from his Changebook North.

While these ideas draw applause from supporters during functions like last week’s Timmins Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Hudak knows he still has a long way to go before winning back the North for the Tories.

The ideas should be an easy sell. But Hudak has to gain the trust of Northerners, who largely believe provincial politicians have turned their back on the region to gain favour in the vote-lucrative GTA.

For the Tories, the trust was lost in January 1999.

Then Premier Mike Harris bowed to political pressure from Toronto-based environmentalists to cancel the spring bear hunt.

The decision had a huge impact on tourism in the North and wildlife management.

Today, Hudak knows he is facing an up-hill battle in terms of winning that trust back.
And while he rails on the ruling Liberals for catering to special interest groups, Hudak knows similar actions cost his party a ton of Northern votes.

It’s a situation he is determined to change

“We paid a price in Northern votes the last number of elections,” he said during an interview at The Daily Press last week.

“In most contests in 2003 and 2007, we were a distant third in Northern Ontario”

Hudak understands Northerners have become cynical when it comes to provincial politics.

“I know voters are skeptical of all parties,” he said.

“The bottom line is that (the North) only has 11 seats and the GTA is very dominant in the media covering Queen’s Park. And we do have a government that is extraordinarily Toronto-centric, which is not healthy for the province.

“I’m asking voters to judge me on my record.”

Hudak is encouraged by last falls election results in the North.

For the rest of this column, please go to the Timmins Daily Press website: http://www.thedailypress.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3454402