No Ontario political party, especially the Conservatives, is attempting to court the province's 80% of voters, who live in cities and suburbs
No party understands that fashioning a pro-urban platform that appeals to residents in cities and suburbs -- more than 80% of Ontario's population --would bring it a decisive victory. Instead, all dither with demographic formulas that don't reach the electorate where it lives.
All politicians know that city residents are overwhelmingly liberal on social issues -- urbanites favour gay rights, abortion and the environment and they oppose capital punishment and immigration bashing. But Ontario politicians don't understand that city residents are also overwhelmingly liberal on economic issues -- urbanites favour competition, free trade and globalization. (Lawrence Solomon is executive director of Urban Renaissance Institute. www.Urban-Renaissance.com Email: LawrenceSolomon@nextcity.com.)
My Commentary:
I think Solomon should talk with a few ordinary Toronto residents. People are muttering something different in my ears--but then, I post from people like Bud.Solomon disagrees that urban voters would be in agreement with Ernie Eves on immigration – but I would like to know his sources for the statements he makes about their preferences
***"urbanites favour gay rights, abortion and the environment and they oppose capital punishment and immigration bashing"***
– but then, I suppose if the Liberals parachute enough immigrants into places like Toronto, the grateful will vote Liberal. The Libs been doing it for years, haven’t they?
"N.B.: I was curious (okay, suspicious) about a group that would call itself "Urban Renaissance" so checked out the url cited at the end of the column; it led to the kind of search engines one often finds at dead links. How appropriate.
Lawrence Solomon’s links—lead to search engines. Huh? Check Debbye out; she writes well.
