PC Leader Doug Ford is all-in on making Highway 413 a wedge issue. Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca appears to be just fine with that.
In every campaign stop so far, Del Duca has painted the proposed highway as a massive waste of $10 billion that could be put to better use on social services. He's betting that 905 voters will be more attracted to fixing and building more schools than by saving a few seconds — or up to half an hour, if you believe the PCs — on their commutes.
On Wednesday, he framed it as a simple choice, putting a number on an <a href="https://www.qpbriefing.com/2021/03/22/del-duca-promises-to-use-highway-413-money-for-education-in-pitch-for-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">old promise</a>: build the highway, or build 200 new schools and repair 4,500 more.
"You've all heard me say this repeatedly: I am a father, and that is my most important job," said Del Duca, who never misses an opportunity to peg his policies to his daughters' futures. "A dad, a proud dad to two young girls. Talia, who's in Grade 9, and Grace, who's in Grade 5. And they both attend publicly-funded schools in our home community of Woodbridge."
Ontario's school repair backlog has been growing for many years — estimates put it at over <a href="https://fixourschools.ca/2019/11/12/total-school-repair-backlog-in-ontario-increases-to-16-3-billion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$16 billion</a>. Del Duca said he was confident that the $10 billion in diverted highway funding, plus $14 billion more in capital spending, would get the job done.
<div id="attachment_404996" style="width: 1930px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-404996" class="size-full wp-image-404996" src="https://www.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/del-duca-liberal-van-2022.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1080" srcset="https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/del-duca-liberal-van-2022.jpg 1920w, https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/del-duca-liberal-van-2022-405x228.jpg 405w, https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/del-duca-liberal-van-2022-843x474.jpg 843w, https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/del-duca-liberal-van-2022-768x432.jpg 768w, https://old.qpbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/del-duca-liberal-van-2022-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" />The Liberal campaign van (not minivan). Jack Hauen.</div>
He didn't mention, of course, that the PCs plan to <a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2022/04/28/ontarios-education-spending-to-rise-next-year-after-funding-fell-short-this-year.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">boost school spending</a> as well. But even Ford barely gave that promise any airtime compared to Highway 413 in <a href="https://www.qpbriefing.com/2022/05/04/ford-kicks-off-campaign-touting-highway-413/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his first stop of the campaign</a>.
Del Duca instead brought voters' attention to the PCs' education record pre-pandemic, when they <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6433115/ontario-teachers-strike-timeline/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">went "to war"</a> with teacher unions and put forward <a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2020/01/13/secret-document-shows-ford-government-changed-its-mind-before-making-online-course-mandatory-for-high-schoolers.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mandatory online learning</a>.
"All of that and more was a clear indication that, frankly, Conservatives just cannot help themselves," he said. "That when they're given a chance, one of their first actions is to go on the attack against publicly-funded education."
He also didn't mention that the school repair backlog grew a lot under the previous Liberal government.
The NDP noted that the Liberals closed 270 schools and left the $16-billion backlog.
"Our schools need investment so that Ontario’s students have safe, healthy schools to learn and thrive. Andrea Horwath’s NDP will fix what the Liberals and PCs broke, starting with clearing the school repair backlog," the party said in a statement.
The PCs haven't said how much Highway 413 will cost. Independent <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2021/10/08/the-hugely-controversial-highway-413-will-cost-taxpayers-billions-but-just-how-much-the-province-wont-say.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimates</a> range between around $5–10 billion. Del Duca, the former transportation minister, pegged it at $8 billion <a href="https://www.qpbriefing.com/2021/03/22/del-duca-promises-to-use-highway-413-money-for-education-in-pitch-for-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">last year</a>. But he appears to be sticking with $10 billion now.

Del Duca gives Ontarians a ‘choice’: Highway 413 or new schools

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