Hunter Cresswell 

Everybody’s a critic these days, here are the best in Ontario’s legislature.

Opposition critics play a key role in the Ontario Legislative Assembly, they question the decisions of those in power and they ask tough questions that need asking.“The best critic is the one who is able to put a minister, premier, or government in a bind and make them backtrack,” Crestview Strategy consultant and Liberal strategist Will Wuher said.

 surveyed people working in Ontario politics and related industries about who they believe are the most effective and influential opposition critics at Queen's Park. All Ontario MPP offices and government ministries were invited to participate.

 subscribers were also invited to take part in the survey. Subscribers include government and public relations professionals, industry and not-for-profit organizations stakeholders, the Ontario Public Service, media personnel, and more.

Almost 280 people responded to the survey’s questions between May 1 and 15. Respondents stated they align with all political parties represented in the legislative assembly. Almost half said they have over five years of experience working in Ontario politics and related industries.

Here are Ontario’s most influential opposition critics according to 

For Fife, being an opposition critic is all in the details. She researches, reads and follows the money.

“I try to connect investments, or lack thereof, to the people I’m elected to serve,” she told 

First elected as Waterloo’s MPP in a 2012 byelection, her experience doing research while working as a settlement worker in Toronto and a researcher at Wilfrid Laurier University lends itself to being an effective and influential opposition critic.

“For me, it’s all about following the money,” Fife said.

She said she pushes for sound and actionable provincial budgets but unallocated contingency funds in $4 billion slush funds that Premier Doug Ford can “play around with” erodes the credibility of his government.“The lack of transparency around funding and investments is deeply concerning,” Fife said.

She said that one of her focuses right now is hospital funding because investments in private, for-profit healthcare will cost taxpayers two to three times more than public health systems.

Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs Chair, Infrastructure, Highways, and Transportation critic

Oshawa MPP French said that being a critic can be challenging but she draws on her experience as a grade school teacher when on the assembly floor.

“When you are in opposition of grade seven and eight students, you don’t fear much after that,” she joked.

But she said that it’s not always easy.

“Even on a good day you don’t feel effective when you don’t get the answers you know are there and the people deserve,” French said.

For her, being an opposition critic is all about mitigating possible harm done by the ruling party.“If we weren’t so doggedly holding them to account, more damage would be done,” French said.

One of her biggest critiques of the government was the license plate rebranding. The new blue background, white lettered — the Progressive Conservative Party’s colours, French pointed out — plates were found to be too reflective to be read properly in certain circumstances. French said she pushed back on the plates and the government admitted that they were a “back of the napkin idea” that would get recalled, but they’re still out there on the road today.

Official Opposition Deputy Leader, Vice-Chair, Standing Committee on Justice Policy Vice-Chair, Northern Development and Indigenous and Treaty Relations critic

Ford’s relationship with Indigenous Peoples has been, at times, quite tense, and Kiiwetinoong MPP Mamakwa is seen as holding him to account.Two Indigenous leaders were thrown from the assembly chamber in March after voicing concerns over plans to develop and mine areas of Northern Ontario. When Mamakwa questioned Ford about meeting with the ousted leaders, he deferred to Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford despite the leaders saying they wanted to speak with only Ford.

More recently, Mamakwa called on Ford to increase support for mental health and addiction services in Northern Ontario jails in early June.

Nickel Belt MPP since 2007, Gélinas advocates for transparency in health care spending and improved long-term, homecare, mental health services, and autism care.

She’s denounced Health Minister Sylvia Jones’ support of plans to replace public health care with private, for-profit health service in Ontario.

Long-Term Care, Retirement Homes and Home Care critic

Niagara Falls MPP since 2014, Gates has advocated for seniors’ services in the assembly chambers.

He publicly opposed high staffing agency fees at long-term care homes and has advocated against seniors’ ‘renovictions’ — when renters are forced to vacate their homes so landlords can renovate them and then charge more for rent after the work is finished.

Opposition House Leader, Board of Internal Economy Commissioner, Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Solicitor General, and Legislative Affairs critic

As a former dairy farmer, Timiskaming-Cochrane MPP Vanthof has plenty to say about agriculture and rural affairs on the assembly floors.

-survey royalty MPPs Mamakwa and Gélinas, in calling for a bill that would create a 911 emergency response across Ontario to be reintroduced.

As housing critic, University-Rosedale MPP Bell has called for improving the safety of long-term care homes, restoring noise protection measures and a halt to commercial evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.In November she attacked Ford’s housing bill for purportedly weakening tenant protections and even went as far as calling for the plan to be scrapped in favour of a new one.

Affordability and Greater Toronto Area Issues critic

Toronto and affordability aren’t used much in the same sentence these days but Parkdale-High Park MPP Karpoche wants to change that. She has already tabled 14 bills since her election in 2018.

In April she called for more funding and staffing to increase the safety of Toronto public transit after a series of violent incidents.

Culture and Heritage and Women's Social and Economic Opportunity critic

When Andrew was elected Toronto-St. Paul’s MPP in 2018, she became the first openly queer and Black MPP in Ontario’s history.In February, she and MPP Gélinas pushed to remove HST – harmonized sales tax – from mental health services with the “Make Psychotherapy Tax-Free Act, 2023.”

When talking about Ottawa transit, it’s impossible to ignore Ottawa’s light rail train fiasco, and that’s true for Ottawa Centre MPP Harden too.He’s hosted a series of town hall meetings on the LRT systems in Ottawa and Toronto and has even called for an end to similar, public-private infrastructure projects.

Read about our survey’s top 10 most influential ministers here, 

https://www.qpbriefing.com/news/qp-briefing-survey-2023-most-influential-cabinet-ministers

QP Briefing Survey 2023: Most influential opposition critics

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