National

Wynne on possible Doug Ford PC leadership bid: 'we are very different'

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 30 Oct, 2014 11:35 AM

BEIJING — While Premier Kathleen Wynne says she doesn't want to get involved in the Progressive Conservative leadership tilt in Ontario, she acknowledges that a Doug Ford victory would present "an exercise in contrast."

"I think it's important that we let the leadership race play out," she said Thursday. "I have no idea what decision Doug Ford will or will not make. But we are very different people. I will just say that."

After losing the mayor's race to former PC leader John Tory on Monday, Ford told radio station NewsTalk 1010 he was considering a run to succeed Tim Hudak as party leader.

The mayoral election and Ford's musings followed Wynne to China where she and two of her fellow premiers — Quebec's Philippe Couillard and Prince Edward Island's Robert Ghiz — took part in a trade mission this week.

"I was happy that John won," she told reporters in Beijing. "He's somebody I know I can work with."

As for the Conservative leadership race, she said she wouldn't wade into it.

Then she added: "I will say it would be certainly an exercise in contrast if Doug Ford were to be the leader but they will go through their process."

When a reporter told Wynne she would have an easier time defeating Ford than Conservative health critic Christine Elliott, she laughed and said: "Never, never, never make those kinds of predictions."

Elliott is one of five declared candidates. The others are fellow caucus members Lisa MacLeod, Vic Fedeli and Monte McNaughton and Conservative MP Patrick Brown.

The new leader will be announced in early May.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Report Pleads For B.C. Government Funding To Help End Domestic Violence

VICTORIA - A new report that pleads with the B.C. government to invest in the fight against domestic violence highlights a brutal set of statistics in the province for 2014.

Report Pleads For B.C. Government Funding To Help End Domestic Violence

Canada Pension Plan’s Hidden Costs Make It Three Times More Expensive Than Reported

TORONTO - The Canada Pension Plan is hiding the fact that its administrative costs have more than tripled since 2006 because of transaction and external management fees, according to a new report from a conservative think-thank.

Canada Pension Plan’s Hidden Costs Make It Three Times More Expensive Than Reported

Mounties Consider Charges As ATV Crashes Into Okanagan Public Library

VERNON, B.C. - Two women may be facing charges after crashing an ATV into the front window of a public library in the North Okanagan.

Mounties Consider Charges As ATV Crashes Into Okanagan Public Library

Virgin Atlantic Drops Vancouver

VANCOUVER - Virgin Atlantic is dropping its only Canadian destination, Vancouver, when summer seasonal service ends Oct. 11. The service operated five flights per week.

Virgin Atlantic Drops Vancouver

PM Stephen Harper says divided UK not in global interest

LONDON, England - Stephen Harper says breaking up the United Kingdom would not serve the greater global interest, nor the interest of ordinary people throughout the country.

PM Stephen Harper says divided UK not in global interest

Few Jobless In Toronto Are Collecting Employment Insurance Benefits

OTTAWA - Just 17 per cent of unemployed Torontonians are collecting employment insurance benefits, one of the city's lowest rates ever as it confronts a higher jobless rate than the provincial and national average.