Wynne Hudak and Horwath ignore riding of SDSG during 2014 election

Cornwall Ontario — It’s ‘Indecision 2014’ for the province of Ontario. On Thursday June 12th the Province of Ontario goes to the polls. Around Cornwall there were a couple of debates, lawn signs were erected, and some rhetoric could be found in the editorial pages of local newspapers. However this was a very quiet and and uneventful election for Cornwall and SDSG.

In 2011, Premier and Liberal leader at the time Dalton McGuinty, Conservative leader Tim Hudak, and NDP leader Andrea Horwath all visited and made campaign stops in Cornwall. With the retirement of Jim Brownell, each party saw SDSG as prime real estate up for sale. Locally the Conservatives won by a large margin and Jim McDonell became the new MPP.

So why is it none of the party leaders visited Cornwall and SDSG this time around? Quite simple: Incumbent MPP Jim McDonell is expected to win this riding by a landslide. During a five week campaign, political parties have limited time and resources, so they prioritize on swing riding’s. Riding’s like SDSG who overwhelmingly support a single candidate become irrelevant.

It is not an absolute guarantee that Jim McDonell will win, stranger things have happened in politics, however in all probability the incumbent MPP will retain his seat.

According to CBC, advanced voting is down by about 6% compared to the last Provincial election, and we can expect voter turn out to decrease once again. Yes people should vote, however this has not been the election to inspire people to do so.

From Liberal scandals and wasted tax dollars, to Hudak and the Conservatives reckless plan to cut 100,000 jobs, to the NDP who were late releasing their platform and seem more interested in pandering to soft Liberal votes, it has been enough to make voters wish there was a ‘none of the above’ option on the ballot.

If we want more people to vote, the only way that is going to happen is if there is something worth voting for, otherwise voters will continue to be apathetic or feel disenfranchised. It truly is ‘Indecision 2014’. Good luck voters, you will probably need it.