Demonstrators gather outside Doug Ford’s rally in Kitchener
Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford was in Kitchener Friday night, holding a campaign rally at Bingemans.
“It's time to paint Kitchener-Waterloo blue in '22. So on June 2, everybody let's do it, let's get it done and God bless the people of Ontario,” Ford told supporters.
As Ford made his pitch to voters inside, outside, demonstrators weathered rain and thunder to speak out against his leadership.
“When I started teaching right after Mike Harris, I taught kindergarten, so my first year I had 27 kids,” said teacher Jennifer Garneau Duncan. “Then the next year, when the Liberals came in, they were down to 20. Now it’s back up to 27, which is an insane amount for kindergarten.”
Educators were one of several groups – each advocating for their own priorities and interests – that lined the entrance to Bingeman’s ahead of Ford’s rally.
Other demonstrators carried signs with references to the environment, healthcare and housing.
Some of the messages targeted protections for drinking water and trees, capping class sizes, creating a greater supply of affordable housing and protecting public healthcare.
Many placards were aimed at repealing Bill 124, which limits wage increases for public-sector workers, including nurses.
Members of the Ontario Nurses Association (ONA) made up the largest portion of demonstrators hoping to get their message across to Ford on Friday.
“We‘re here to show him… we need help. Registered nurses in this province are beyond the breaking point. We are at the point of collapse now,” said Erin Ariss with the ONA.
“We need to see his oppressive wage legislation repealed. Beyond that, we need to have a sustainable workforce with manageable workload, Ontario is 30,000 RNs short.”
The Ontario election is June 2.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
BREAKING Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.