This just in — Ontario’s Tories have ceded first place to the opposition New Democrats.Not in polls, but platforms.With the June 7 election just weeks away, Andrea Horwath’s NDP is first out of the gate with a fully-costed, 97-page catalogue of campaign promises if they form Ontario’s next government. Or a shopping list, should the election produce a minority government that requires NDP support to prop it up.Caring and sharing (as in taxing) top the list — cheaper child care (averaging $12 a day, details to come); partial pharmacare for all ages; denticare for those who need it; and more health care spending; all bankrolled by higher taxes on the rich and corporations. Lower hydro rates also rank high.Read more: Horwath promises NDP will give Ontario full dental coverage, convert student loans to grantsOpinion | Can the Ontario Liberals’ spending spree keep them in the election race until June 7?NDP vows to ‘do better’ on child care than free preschool careIf all this sounds familiar, it is — last month’s Liberal budget was similar, but different. Premier Kathleen Wynne promised free child care for pre-schoolers, financed by even bigger deficit spending than the NDP, but the Liberals’ final campaign platform remains a closely guarded secret.In fact, Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives led the way on ideas last November when they unveiled The People’s Guarantee, but their campaign policies are now in limbo. As soon as Doug Ford replaced Patrick Brown as party leader last month, he suspended the PC platform until further notice — leaving the field wide open for New Democrats to get a head start.To their credit, the NDP is attempting to set the agenda. As they’ve been trying to do ever since Horwath’s flawed 2014 campaign, which famously deviated from the party’s ideals and let Wynne eat their lunch on the left.Now, the NDP is back — back to their roots as a ...
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