Shift to attract NDP voters doesn't mean Ontario Liberals have conceded race, party says
'We have the momentum. We have the wind at our sails,' Crombie says
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OTTAWA — Newly-released interviews of Ontario’s Liberal leader suggests the party’s going to shift focus towards attracting NDP supporters — but the party insists they’re still in it to win it.
In an interview published to social media Tuesday by CityNews Reporter Richard Southern, Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie spoke of fostering a broader appeal to Ontario voters who want change
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“I issued an appeal last night to NDP voters, I said if you want to change the government because you want a strong healthcare system and a family doctor, you need to vote Liberal,” she told Southern in the interview, referring to Monday evening’s leaders’ debate.
When asked if this represents a shift to the left for the Ontario Liberals, Crombie insisted the move was to appeal to a wide range of voters.
“The shift is to a broader voter appeal, to all of Ontarians, who share the same concerns,” Crombie said — using access to healthcare and hospital wait times as examples.
“But right now, I’m going to talk to NDP voters, and I’m going to ask them if they too share my concerns.”
When asked if this means the Liberals have shifting their campaign to a battle for second place, Crombie denied it.
“I don’t really pay attention to polls, but you can really feel it at the doors,” she said.
“People tell us one after another after another, their personal healthcare crisis stories and how the system doesn’t work for them.”
Ontario Liberal spokesperson Bahoz Dara told the Toronto Sun the Liberals still have eyes on forming government, and compared Crombie’s appeal to a similar move by Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, who during the last provincial election appealed to voters across all party lines to support his efforts to reform Manitoba’s healthcare system.
“We’re trying to fix the healthcare system, and we’re asking for people who have traditionally voted NDP before to come and vote Liberal,” she said.
“We are looking to change the government, that is 100% the goal.”
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