Politicians were out in full force in Toronto today, only two days before the federal byelection.
Liberal Adam Vaughan, one of the candidates for Toronto’s Trinity – Spadina riding downtown, found plenty of support today from Federal Liberal Deputy Leader Ralph Goodale and recently elected Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne.
Wynne joined Adam Vaughan to rally his supporters in the riding of Trinity – Spadina on Saturday, touting what she called the former Toronto councillor's track record as a "city builder."
With the premier by his side, Vaughan spoke of creating a better dialogue between the federal and Liberal governments.
“We have an opportunity to put a partnership in place that will see for the first time a government in Ottawa, cooperating with a government at Queen's park and cooperating with local leaders at City hall,” Vaughan said at a rally Saturday afternoon.
However, the legacy for that riding has been the popularity of the New Democrats who also brought some political star power to the area today with federal NDP Leader and Leader of the Opposition Thomas Mulcair.
Mulcair said that if voters in a riding known for sending left-leaning politicians to office at all levels of government want to elect a progressive party then they have an easy choice because “there’s only one progressive party and that’s the NDP.”
The byelection was triggered when NDP MP Olivia Chow stepped down in order to pursue a mayoral race in Toronto against incumbent Rob Ford.
Her departure left the large riding up for grabs and it’s been months of a battle between both parties with successful histories in the riding.
Cressy, outspoken on environmental issues like Line 9 and the Keystone XL pipeline, said he wants to continue Chow’s legacy.
“We have a history of having strong local progressive representatives who fight for us in the issues that matter,” he said. “In the next nine months we are looking at some key environmental decisions being made.”
This year the election is being held on the Monday just before Canada Day, something that both Liberal leader Justin Trudeau and Mulcair have taken shots at Prime Minister Stephen Harper about because for many a one-day gap will likely treated as a de-facto extra long weekend by many and that could weaken the number who show up at the voting booth.