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Many observers considered the campaign notoriously high in mudslinging, even though all sides disavowed this tactic during the televised debate. Both the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives (Tories) indulged, but many of the most notorious incidents came from the Conservative side. One bizarre incident took place on September 12, when a press release from the Tories referred to Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty as an " evil reptilian kitten-eater from another planet", which was roundly condemned as a petty and juvenile insult. In another incident towards the end of the campaign, Premier Eves referred to Mr. McGuinty as having a "pointy head," a remark he later conceded was inappropriate. Many observers have commented that the negative tone apparently backfired, creating more sympathy for the Liberal leader.
Another embarrassing Tory gaffe occurred when Eves couldn't say how much his election promises would cost. These gaffes were magnified by a generally unsympathetic media which was poorly treated by the Tory campaign team. An important blow to the Tory campaign was a Fraser Institute study which demonstrated that despite Tory promises, Ontario had a fairly severe deficit.
For its part, the Ontario New Democratic PartyThe Ontario New Democratic Party (formerly known as the Ontario Cooperative Commonwealth Federation is a democratic socialist/ social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a section of the federal New Democratic Party. The NDP was founded i (NDP) led a theatrical campaign. Leader Howard HamptonHoward Hampton (born May 17, 1952) is the leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) and a Member of Provincial Parliament from the northern riding of Kenora--Rainy River. He was born in Fort Frances, Ontario to a blue collar family. He was a good s made an appearance in front of the Toronto home of millionaire Peter MunkPeter Munk O. Born: November 8, 1927 in Hungary-) is a Canadian businessman and the CEO and founder of Barrick Gold. He is also a chairman with Trizec Properties and chairman and CEO of Trizec Canada Inc. He was previously chairman and CEO of Southern Pac to denounce Eves' tax breaks, claiming that they would save Munk $18 000 a year. He attempted to literally nail Jell-O to a wall to dramatize the elusiveness he accused his opponents of regarding hydro privatization, and used a piece of Swiss cheeseSwiss cheese is the generic name for several related varieties of cheese, originally made in Switzerland. It has a distinctive appearance, as a block of the cheese is cratered with holes (although not all kinds of Swiss cheese has this feature; see below), comparing the holey cheese to his opponents' platforms. [1]
Another campaign issue was the treatment of the Green Party of OntarioThe Green Party of Ontario contests provincial elections in Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's second-largest Green Party after the Green Party of British Columbia. Although it shares the same Ten Key Values as other North American Greens, it is sometimes cr, which denounced a CRTC decision not to allow leader Frank de JongFrank de Jong (Born in Luther Township, Ontario in 1955) is a Canadian politician and environmentalist and the current leader of the Green Party of Ontario. He has been a member since 1987 and the leader since 1993. He earned a B. from the University of W to participate in the leaders' debate.