Kathleen Wynne concedes as Ontario Liberals trail NDP, PCs in polls

TORONTO (NEWS 1130) – With just five days to go until voters head to the polls in Ontario, Liberal leader — and incumbent premier — Kathleen Wynne has announced she is conceding.

The Liberals have been trailing the NDP and PCs in the polls, and Wynne admits her party cannot win the June 7th vote. At a news conference today in Toronto, Wynne admitted the polls show Ontarions want change.

But she says that change cannot be a majority government for Conservative Doug Ford or the NDP’s Andrea Horwath. Therefore, she says people should vote Liberal to ensure the other parties cannot win anything except a minority.

“The more Liberal MPPs that we send to Queen’s Park on June 7th, the less likely it becomes that either Doug Ford or the NDP will be able to form a majority government.”

“With a majority government Doug Ford would have too free a hand for the comfort of most people — they don’t trust his judgment,” Wynne says in a statement. “They don’t trust the choices he would make.”

She says she will keep campaigning up until Thursday and won’t say if she will stay on a Liberal leader after the election.

“We will fight for our values, for a practical approach and for a government that will be kept from extremes and forced toward a better balance for the people of this province. We have a terrific team of local candidates, they deserve your support. They will fight for your votes. And I will fight for them.”

Meantime, Horwath is urging people not to vote for the Liberals, saying it won’t lead to a minority government but rather will lead to a Progressive Conservative majority.

Ford had little to say about the announcement, noting only that the election is about change and people are fed up.

Asked if he was surprised by Wynne’s decision, Ford says his team is focused and has been focused on getting its message out.