The three main party leaders gathered in Parry Sound Friday to address the conference being held by the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities.
They were talking northern issues and doing it in a debate format.
Kapuskasing Mayor Al Spacek as head of the FONOM group was the moderator, and the questions ranged from infrastructure and highways, to the Ring of Fire, to hydro rates and climate change.
It was billed as a debate on northern issues, but with the three leaders angling in these early days to break away from the pack it was more about tone than substance.
Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford took on the tone of "The Fixer," once again vowing to clean up the mess he says was left by 15 years of Liberal policies.
"The party's over with Andrea Horwath and Kathleen Wynne. I’ll tell you one thing, the people of the north have to get a clear signal here. You have someone that is against all your industries. You know, I went into more factories and mines and logging companies and they're frustrated.” said Ford.
New Democratic Party Leader Andrea Horwath took on a cautionary tone, warning the people of Northern Ontario not to get suckered by Ford's salesmanship.
“They're worried, because Mr. Ford is not being up front with them about what his cuts are going to look like for them and their families. So, we have a number of weeks left in the campaign and I’m going to focus on what I think change for the better looks like." said Horwath.
For the Ontario Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne, the only one of the three leaders with an actual record to boast of or to defend, she took on a defiant tone.
"I am not going to campaign on slogans. Slogans do not help people. Slogans do not build more schools. Slogans do not keep people safe. Slogans do not put more jobs in place." said Wynne.
While the leaders traded words on the Ring of Fire, healthcare and jobs, sometimes saying what they would do, other times accusing another of what they would do, there were no new policy announcements and no clear winner.
For all his bluster and what he calls straight talk, Doug Ford's message is apparently resonating with voters.
The latest polls have him leading the race, suggesting the Ford nation playbook is winning out over the approach taken so far by Wynne and Horwath.
