If the first official day of the campaign is any indication, political parties see Waterloo Region and its surrounding area as key to winning the provincial election.
Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne and NDP leader Andrea Horwath both visited Kitchener today, while Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak made an appearance in Brantford.
Wynne was the earliest arriver of the day, going for a morning jog in Victoria Park before touring Christie Digital.
Speaking to supporters and media from the tech company, she spoke at length about the economy and took issue with the PC ‘million jobs plan.’
“The issues we are facing … can’t be solved with one simple slogan,” she said.
Wynne praised Waterloo Region for its “world-class innovation” and said the region stands as a model for the “interconnectedness” of the province’s economy.
Over the noon hour, Horwath contrasted major scandals at Queen’s Park with “the real world” and how similar behaviour would be treated outside the legislature.
“You deserve a better government – a government that values your tax dollars and invests them in your priorities,” she said.
Later in the afternoon, Hudak toured a manufacturing plant in Brantford.
He did not speak to reporters at that event, but earlier in the day, at a factory in Mississauga, Hudak framed the election as a “single-issue campaign” focused on the economy.
“They’re going to promise you all kinds of things each and every day, but they know in their hearts they can’t afford them,” he said of Wynne and Horwath.
So why all the focus on our neck of the woods?
Analysis conducted by the Laurier Institute for the Study of Public Opinion and Policy (LISPOP) shows the Liberals and PCs running neck-and-neck in the race to form the next government.
That means the election could hinge on a few key seats – two of which sit in Waterloo Region.
“Kitchener has a bunch of highly competitive seats. The leaders are going to be around,” says Laurier political science professor Barry Kay.
Kay considers both Kitchener Centre and Kitchener-Waterloo up for grabs, albeit with different parties most likely to do the grabbing.
In Kitchener Centre, he says, Daiene Vernile will attempt to hold the seat for the Liberals against a strong challenge from PC candidate Wayne Wettlaufer.
In Kitchener-Waterloo, Kay expects the Liberals to be less of a factor in a close race between NDP incumbent Catherine Fife and PC challenger Tracey Weiler.
“If the Conservatives are to have a shot at a majority … they’re going to have to crack into the cities, and not just with one or two seats,” he says.
Also on Wednesday, Green Party leader Mike Schreiner officially launched his campaign with a speech outside Queen’s Park.
He pledged to restore “honesty and integrity” to the provincial realm.
The election takes place June 12.
With files from The Canadian Press
