McGuinty rules out possible coalition

Ontarians may not be enthusiastic about another four years of Liberal rule, according to the minority mandate voters handed the party, but they’re comfortable with the idea, Premier-elect Dalton McGuinty said while ruling out the possibility of a coalition.

“We are a middle-of-the-road party. We’re in the centre. We’re a progressive party. We want to keep moving forward,” he said Friday after his re-election Thursday night.

McGuinty doesn’t plan to try and recruit a member of a rival party to attain a majority or place a Progressive Conservative or NDP member in the Speaker’s chair, he said.

The Liberals won 53 seats — just one shy of the majority mark. McGuinty also lost four ministers, including the Environment Minister John Wilkinson.

He kept Dwight Duncan, who will retain the minister of finance post.

“I’ve asked him to get to work immediately on an economic update to be presented to Ontarians,” McGuinty said.

McGuinty put a positive spin on the results, calling the outcome a “major minority” for his party. The Liberals lost 18 seats.

On Friday, Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak, who made gains in rural Ontario but failed to crack the 416 area, warned that McGuinty better play nice and “respect the message of change” voters sent.

“I don’t think it’s healthy to see a government that’s so heavily concentrated in the city of Toronto and its immediate suburbs,” he said.

The PC leader said it will be “awfully difficult” for McGuinty to bring in any new tax hikes with a minority.

Hudak said he doesn’t plan to step down as leader after he failed to turn his commanding lead in pre-election campaign polls into a win.

The PCs did increase their seat count, to 37 from 25, but Hudak noted it was still a disappointing result.

“He failed,” Lydia Miljan, a political science professor at the University of Windsor, said.

“He gave trite answers. He gave slogans. He didn’t give the electorate a reason to vote for him.”

The NDP didn’t crack the 20-seat mark but leader Andrea Horwath was beaming after the results came in Thursday night. Her positive campaign that focused on job creation and affordability issues struck a chord with many voters and the party now holds 17 seats, up from 10 at dissolution.

Horwath said she’s prepared to work with the other parties. The dismal voter turnout (49.2 per cent) and the minority outcome are signals that leaders need to show more humility and put in a better effort to work together, she said.

“What people said very, very clearly last night is the status quo is not good enough … but we do want a stable Ontario,” she said.

Horwath’s influence may have a positive result for Toronto. During the campaign she promised to provide 50 per cent of the TTC’s operating costs.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford said he’s pleased with the results of Thursday’s vote and believes a minority government will be good for the city. He also insisted the city needs help from the province when it comes to transit funding.

The NDP won its first-ever provincial seat in Peel Region thanks to Jagmeet Singh’s win in Bramalea-Gore-Malton.

“People felt that I was genuinely concerned about them,” he said. “

With files from The Canadian Press