It was a poltical stink bomb like no other when Chrystia Freeland abrubtly resigned as Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. It sent shock waves that cross all party lines.

For all the breathlees surprise, Justin Trudeau should have seen it coming! He fired Freeland mere days before she was scheduled to deliver the Fall Economic Statement. To make matters worse, he still expected her to table the FES in the Commons.

The whole affair not only called Trudeau's leadership into question it also highlighted Jagmeet Singh's spinelessness as the NDP leader. On Monday, he called for Trudeau to step down. On Wednesday he told CTV's Anne Marie Mediwake it wasn't the right to time commit to voting non-confidence against the minority Liberals. Tow days later, (when nothing has changed), Singh says his party will vote to bring down Trudeau's government at the earliest opportunity.

Meanwhile, Trudeau has shuffled his cabinet and, all indciations are, he's not ready to step down.

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Meet the OTL Front Bench. 

John Wright is a veteran pollster, taking the political pulse in Canada and the U.S. He's also a founding host of On the Ledge.  

Keith Leslie is a regular contributor to CHCH News and spent more than more than half of his career at Canadian Press reporting from Queen’s Park. Keith joined On the Ledge in July, 2018.  

Tim Hudak brings more than two decades of experience as an MPP in Ontario and five years as the Leader of the Ontario PC Party to On the Ledge.  

Kathleen Wynne shares her unique perspectives as the first woman elected Premier of Ontario when she joins the crew around the table at On the Ledge.  

Dave Trafford is a “Podcast Journalist”, the Chief Executive Producer at Story Studio Network, and a Recovering News Director, (having led the news operations at Global News Toronto, Newstalk 1010 and AM640 radio in Toronto) with more than forty years of experience in Canadian media. He and John launched the podcast the same day the 2018 Ontario election campaign kicked off!

This is the penultimate episode of On the Ledge - your Ontario politics podcast - for 2024!

There's no shortage of programs, commitments, or promises to solve the housing shortage in Ontario. So why do we have an issue? Because, you've got to build houses to eliminate the shortage AND we're just failing to get shovels in the ground and homes built.

(Some great reporting and commentary on this from Ed Keenan at the Toronto Star)
 
Meanwhile, Ontario Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie caught a good deal of attention with her land transfer exemption plan for first time home buyers and seniors. It would reduce the cost of an average home by more than $13k. The assumption is it makes it easier for younger Ontarians to enter the housing market and for seniors to downsize.

AND we can't seem to get through a week lately without talking about Donald Trump and his tariff threats. This week, Premier Doug Ford says he's ready to pull the plug on Ontario power being exported into the US.

YOU CAN NOW LEAVE US A VOICE MESSAGE ABOUT THE SHOW!
Let us know what you think. 
Go to davetrafford.com and hit the TALKBACK button to leave us a message 

Meet the OTL Front Bench. 

John Wright is a veteran pollster, taking the political pulse in Canada and the U.S. He's also a founding host of On the Ledge.
 
Keith Leslie is a regular contributor to CHCH News and spent more than more than half of his career at Canadian Press reporting from Queen’s Park. Keith joined On the Ledge in July, 2018.
 
Tim Hudak brings more than two decades of experience as an MPP in Ontario and five years as the Leader of the Ontario PC Party to On the Ledge.
 
Kathleen Wynne shares her unique perspectives as the first woman elected Premier of Ontario when she joins the crew around the table at On the Ledge.
 
Dave Trafford is a “Podcast Journalist”, the Chief Executive Producer at Story Studio Network, and a Recovering News Director, (having led the news operations at Global News Toronto, Newstalk 1010 and AM640 radio in Toronto) with more than forty years of experience in Canadian media. He and John launched the podcast the same day the 2018 Ontario election campaign kicked off!

In this week's episode of On the Ledge - your Ontario politics podcast!

The Auditor General's released her 2024 report and there's a lot of red meat in it for the Opposition and the Media - but does any of the scathing criticism stick to Ford Nation?

Metrolinx is a mess and it got messier this week when CEO Phil Verster called it quits. The government was clearly caught off guard when Verster gave two weeks notice. He leaves after 7 years at the helm of the transit agency with next to nothing to show for it.

And we dive into the Ford Offensive on FOX. The Premier made the case for Canada on FOX News and his audience of ONE was Donald Trump.

YOU CAN NOW LEAVE US A VOICE MESSAGE ABOUT THE SHOW!
Let us know what you think. 
Go to davetrafford.com and hit the TALKBACK button to leave us a message 

Meet the OTL Front Bench. 
John Wright is a veteran pollster, taking the political pulse in Canada and the U.S. He's also a founding host of On the Ledge.
 
Keith Leslie is a regular contributor to CHCH News and spent more than more than half of his career at Canadian Press reporting from Queen’s Park. Keith joined On the Ledge in July, 2018.
 
Tim Hudak brings more than two decades of experience as an MPP in Ontario and five years as the Leader of the Ontario PC Party to On the Ledge.
 
Kathleen Wynne shares her unique perspectives as the first woman elected Premier of Ontario when she joins the crew around the table at On the Ledge.
 
Dave Trafford is a “Podcast Journalist”, the Chief Executive Producer at Story Studio Network, and a Recovering News Director, (having led the news operations at Global News Toronto, Newstalk 1010 and AM640 radio in Toronto) with more than forty years of experience in Canadian media. He and John launched the podcast the same day the 2018 Ontario election campaign kicked off!

In this week's edition of On the Ledge - your Ontario politics podcast:

We break down the epic landslide win for the Progressive Conservatives in Nova Scotia; look at the Team Canada approach to Trump's tariff threats and the need to build more nuclear power generation in Ontairo.

YOU CAN NOW LEAVE US A VOICE MESSAGE ABOUT THE SHOW!
Let us know what you think. 
Go to davetrafford.com and hit the TALKBACK button to leave us a message 

Meet the OTL Front Bench. 
John Wright is a veteran pollster, taking the political pulse in Canada and the U.S. He's also a founding host of On the Ledge.
 
Keith Leslie is a regular contributor to CHCH News and spent more than more than half of his career at Canadian Press reporting from Queen’s Park. Keith joined On the Ledge in July, 2018.
 
Tim Hudak brings more than two decades of experience as an MPP in Ontario and five years as the Leader of the Ontario PC Party to On the Ledge.
 
Kathleen Wynne shares her unique perspectives as the first woman elected Premier of Ontario when she joins the crew around the table at On the Ledge.
 
Dave Trafford is a “Podcast Journalist”, the Chief Executive Producer at Story Studio Network, and a Recovering News Director, (having led the news operations at Global News Toronto, Newstalk 1010 and AM640 radio in Toronto) with more than forty years of experience in Canadian media. He and John launched the podcast the same day the 2018 Ontario election campaign kicked off!

In this week's edition of On the Ledge - Your Ontario Politics Podcast:

We pick apart the pre-campaign-campaign-ads.

Ford is right on brand and Crombie misses the point. (It's not even clear who the Liberal ad supports!) But Marit Stiles won the week with her performance in Question Period.

YOU CAN NOW LEAVE US A VOICE MESSAGE ABOUT THE SHOW!
Let us know what you think. 
Use this LINK https://www.speakpipe.com/OnTheLedge and LEAVE YOUR MESSAGE!

Meet the OTL Front Bench. 
John Wright is a veteran pollster, taking the political pulse in Canada and the U.S. He's also a founding host of On the Ledge.
 
Keith Leslie is a regular contributor to CHCH News and spent more than more than half of his career at Canadian Press reporting from Queen’s Park. Keith joined On the Ledge in July, 2018.
 
Tim Hudak brings more than two decades of experience as an MPP in Ontario and five years as the Leader of the Ontario PC Party to On the Ledge.
 
Kathleen Wynne shares her unique perspectives as the first woman elected Premier of Ontario when she joins the crew around the table at On the Ledge.
 
Dave Trafford is a “Podcast Journalist”, the Chief Executive Producer at Story Studio Network, and a Recovering News Director, (having led the news operations at Global News Toronto, Newstalk 1010 and AM640 radio in Toronto) with more than forty years of experience in Canadian media. He and John launched the podcast the same day the 2018 Ontario election campaign kicked off!

On the Ledge this week!
 
Kathleen Wynne wonders why school kids are less respectful and worse behaved than we were in the day.
 
Keith Leslie says we should all be ASHAMED of the staggering stats coming out of the 20224 Who's Hungry Report at the Daily Bread Food Bank.
 
John Wright draws a direct line between the national immigration strategy, the static housing starts and the sharp increased use of food backs across Canada.
 
Tim Hudak likes the idea of having the feds create an automatic income tax filing. That would help a lot of Canadians who live in poverty.
 
AND...DT gives kudos to Bonnie Crombie for her response to the Dougie Dollars handout.
 
YOU CAN NOW LEAVE US A VOICE MESSAGE ABOUT THE SHOW!
 
Let us know what you think. 
 
Use this LINK https://www.speakpipe.com/OnTheLedge and LEAVE YOUR MESSAGE!
 
Meet the OTL Front Bench.
 
John Wright is a veteran pollster, taking the political pulse in Canada and the U.S. He's also a founding host of On the Ledge.
 
Keith Leslie is a regular contributor to CHCH News and spent more than more than half of his career at Canadian Press reporting from Queen’s Park. Keith joined On the Ledge in July, 2018.

Tim Hudak brings more than two decades of experience as an MPP in Ontario and five years as the Leader of the Ontario PC Party to On the Ledge.
 
Kathleen Wynne shares her unique perspectives as the first woman elected Premier of Ontario when she joins the crew around the table at On the Ledge.
 
Dave Trafford is a “Podcast Journalist”, the Chief Executive Producer at Story Studio Network, and a Recovering News Director, (having led the news operations at Global News Toronto, Newstalk 1010 and AM640 radio in Toronto) with more than forty years of experience in Canadian media. He and John launched the podcast the same day the 2018 Ontario election campaign kicked off!

In this week's edition of On the Ledge -you Ontario politics podcast.

We can't NOT talk about Donald Trump's return to the White House! Our Front Bench weighs in on where the Democrats failed and how the GOP managed to grow its base into an unlikely coalition that landed Trump back behind the Resolute Desk.

We also run through the pros and cons of voter-based subsidies for the provinicial political parties and do we need new laws to prevent protests outside places of worship.

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YOU CAN ALSO WATCH THE SHOW ON YOUTUBE
 
Meet the OTL Front Bench.
 
John Wright is a veteran pollster, taking the political pulse in Canada and the U.S. He's also a founding host of On the Ledge
 
Keith Leslie is a regular contributor to CHCH News and spent more than more than half of his career at Canadian Press reporting from Queen’s Park. Keith joined On the Ledge in July, 2018.
 
Tim Hudak brings more than two decades of experience as an MPP in Ontario and five years as the Leader of the Ontario PC Party to On the Ledge.
 
Kathleen Wynne shares her unique perspectives as the first woman elected Premier of Ontario when she joins the crew around the table at On the Ledge.
 
Dave Trafford is a “Podcast Journalist”, the Chief Executive Producer at Story Studio Network, and a Recovering News Director, (having led the news operations at Global News Toronto, Newstalk 1010 and AM640 radio in Toronto) with more than forty years of experience in Canadian media. He and John launched the podcast the same day the 2018 Ontario election campaign kicked off!

In this episode of On the Ledge - your Ontario politics podcast our Front Bench sifts through the remains of the 2024 Fall Economic Statement.

• No one on the pod thinks Ford's plan to give every child, woman and man a $200 cheque is money well spent - UNLESS the Dougie Dollars are meant to buy votes.

• The province won't come close to hitting it's housing targets.

• The LCBO took a revenue hit this year. Is that a symptom of the summer strike? Meantime, the booze in grocery stores plan was so poorly rolled out, retailers say the bottle return requirement means it's not worth it for them to sell beer and wine.

• Why isn't Ford Nation more aggressive in the effort to solve homeless encampments?

• Oh ya, and we read the room on what to expect in next week's US election!

YOU CAN NOW LEAVE US A VOICE MESSAGE ABOUT THE SHOW! Let us know what you think. Comment on the discussion. What would you like us to talk about. Use this LINK and LEAVE YOUR MESSAGE!
 
YOU CAN ALSO WATCH THE SHOW ON YOUTUBE
 
Meet the OTL Front Bench.
John Wright is a veteran pollster, taking the political pulse in Canada and the U.S. He's also a founding host of On the Ledge
 
Keith Leslie s a regular contributor to CHCH News and spent more than more than half of his career at Canadian Press reporting from Queen’s Park. Keith joined On the Ledge in July, 2018. 


Tim Hudak brings more than two decades of experience as an MPP in Ontario and five years as the Leader of the Ontario PC Party to On the Ledge.
 
Kathleen Wynne shares her unique perspectives as the first woman elected Premier of Ontario when she joins the crew around the table at On the Ledge.
 
Dave Trafford is a “Podcast Journalist”, the Chief Executive Producer at Story Studio Network, and a Recovering News Director, (having led the news operations at Global News Toronto, Newstalk 1010 and AM640 radio in Toronto) with more than forty years of experience in Canadian media. He and John launched the podcast the same day the 2018 Ontario election campaign kicked off!

In this edition of On the Ledge - your Ontario politics podcast!

The Ledge is back!

And the consensus is Ford Nation's running up the score in the fourth quarter - heading for a campaign. But the NDP is still reviewing third quarter plays while Bonnie Crombie's Liberals are stuck on the sidelines.


Former Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak and former Ontario Premier Kathleen agree there's alway a good deal of excitement when the House reconvenes after a lengthy recess - but we may have triggered the Premier when we played a Question Period exchange between Doug Ford and Marit Stiles.

MPPs are back in their seats at Queen's Park and, remarkably, NDP Leader Marit Stiles finally got the Doug Ford's attention - coaxing the premier to get out of his chair to "respond" to oppo questions. (Let's be clear, there were no "answers". That's why they call it "Question Period"!)

Thanks for listening!

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What would you like us to talk about. Use this LINK and LEAVE YOUR MESSAGE!
 
YOU CAN ALSO WATCH THE SHOW ON YOUTUBE
 
Meet the OTL Front Bench.
 
John Wright is Executive Vice President of Maru Public Opinion. He and his team provide public opinion measurement, interpretation, and advice and counsel to senior executives and public affairs/public relations leaders. He’s also a founding host of On the Ledge.
 
Keith Leslie spent more than three decades at Canadian Press and more than half that time reporting from the CP Bureau at Queen’s Park. Keith joined On the Ledge in July, 2018.
 
Tim Hudak brings more than two decades of experience as an MPP in Ontario and five years as the Leader of the Ontario PC Party to On the Ledge.
 
Kathleen Wynne shares her unique perspectives as the first woman elected Premier of Ontario when she joins the crew around the table at On the Ledge.
 
Dave Trafford is a “Podcast Journalist”, the Chief Executive Producer at Story Studio Network, and a Recovering News Director, (having led the news operations at Global News Toronto, Newstalk 1010 and AM640 radio in Toronto) with more than forty years of experience in Canadian media. He and John launched the podcast the same day the 2018 Ontario election campaign kicked off!

In this edition of On the Ledge - your Ontario politics podcast.

Former Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, former PC Ontario Leader Tim Hudak, pollster John Wright from Maru Public Opinion, veteran Queen's Park commentator Keith Leslie and Story Studio Network's Dave Trafford weigh in on the latest stories and developments at Queen's Park.

This week:

• Rob Benzie at the Toronto Star reports Ford Nation will be sending each Ontarian a cheque for $200. It will be included in the Fall Economic Statement scheduled for October 30th.
• Another Ontario school board is fiscally tone deaf - spending $145 thousand dollars for trustees to travel to Italy to buy art work for a new school.
•  Paper bags are coming back to the LCBO.
• The Ford governent is curbing bike lanes in cities across the province
• AND...there is a complete DISCONNECT among all levels of government when it comes to coordinating infrastructure projects.

Listen to the show:
On Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/on-the-ledge/id1388004807
On Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/46BNcFqlmx6w86VrVbGqHk?si=ffa5f9ffbade4a1e
And WATCH on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@davetraffordpodcasts