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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2017-01-25, Page 44 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, January 25, 2017 5Huron �'°� Expositor Trump inauguration political wake-up call PUBLISHED WEEKLY — EST. 1860 P.O. Box 69, 8 Main Street Seaforth Ontario NOK 1 WO phone: 519-527-0240 fax: 519-527-2858 www.seaforthhuronexpositor �p] POSTMEDIA al NEIL CLIFFORD Advertising Director neil.clifford@sunmedia.ca SHAUN GREGORY Multimedia Journalist shaun.gregory@sunmedia.ca DIANNE MCGRATH Front Office seaforth.classifieds@sunmedia.ca NANCY DEGANS Media Sales Consultant ndegans@postmedia.com SUBSCRIPTION RATES 1 YEAR $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 2 YEAR $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) SENIORS 60 WEEKS $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 120 WEEKS $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) Publications Mail Agreement No. 40064683 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT P.O. 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Member of the Ontario Community Newspaper Association and the Canadian Community Newspaper Association. We acknowledge the 11141 financial support of the anaaa Government of Canada. 1 is no coincidence politi- cians such as Kathleen Wynne and Justin Trudeau are trying to reach out to con- stituents on the eve of the inauguration of an American president who achieved a measure of political success because of such populism. Our prime minister has embarked on a series of road trips to various points in the nation to meet directly with Canadians and to hear their views. Ontario's premier has sug- gested she might do .the same, and this week personally reached out to an Amherst - burg woman whose personal budget has been hammered by skyrocketing electricity bills. Even if such attention to regular folks is carefully orchestrated by organizers and handlers, it's unusual to launch such an outreach -- even one that might be superficial -- outside of an election campaign. Trudeau's is the rnost surpris- ing. He and his national Liberals have been in office just 15 months. It's far too early for a return to what appears to be the campaign trail, especially after an election that granted the Lib- erals a majority government. Ditto for Wynne, whose provincial Liberals also achieved majority status in mid -2014. She doesn't face the electorate for another year and a half, and yet Ontario's premier seems to be nervous. You can blame it on Donald Trump, who upended the political establishment in the U.S. by taking his message -- as shallow and superficial as it may have been -- directly to the people while sidestepping established political and media outlets. Trump gave voice to a part of the popula- tion that believed it was mostly ignored in past elections, and that voice is part of the reason why he will be sworn in as president on Friday. Wynne has expressed trepi- dation about the same voices, mostly in response to a report that found the GTA to be the only region in Ontario flour- ishing economically. She has resolved to make herself more available to Ontarians living outside of the GTA, and per- haps that conversation with the woman from Amherstburg is a start. It's no accident that Wynne's conversation was about elec- tricity. It's an issue that has touched every household in the province, some not so much but others in a substan- tial manner. When she does venture outside of Toronto and its suburban communities, the premier will more than likely get an earful. The electricity issue even grazed Trudeau in Peterborough last week, although he quickly deflected the issue into Wynne's comer. That's the one thing about populism that Trump under- stood: it works best if you're an outsider. But that changes for him on Friday, and so will the people's expectations. Peter Epp O'Leary must work on conservative side Teaders lead. Followers follow. J If there's one thing the Canadian public has picked up on about Kevin O'Leary, it's that he marches to the beat of his own drum. That's a good thing. The TV personality, and now Con- servative leadership candi- date, has no problem stand- ing out from the pack and going with his gut. This has been sorely lack- ing in the snoozefest that the leadership contest has been to date. Canadians just aren't worked up about ><t. None of the candidates are really stir- ring the passions of party members. O'Leary, for better and worse, does get people excited. He's against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's planned national carbon price, which is loathed by many Canadians of all stripes. Yet he also downplays the dangers of ISIS and spoke out against our involvement in the fight against it. He latgr came up with, "there's nothing proud about being a warrior," an insult to Canada's military. These are views that go against the Conservative grain. 'They're non-negotia- ble items. This is O'Leary's biggest liability to date. It's the one he'll have to spend the next few months working on. He can get media attention, there's no doubt about that. He can raise funds. And with high-profile sup- porters like former Ontario pre- mier Mike Harris and former senator Marjory LeBreton, he can get people on board. These aren't problems. The problem is whether or not he's actually a Conserva- tive. Donald Trump won the Republican nomination while holding views that weren't necessarily typical Republi- can perspectives on issues. It set much of the GOP establishment against him. Yes, he still triumphed. But Trump is an exception. Not the rule. It's hard to believe someone like Harris would back a federal Tory leader- ship candidate who doesn't hold conservative views. It's just that we really haven't seen them yet. At least, not enough of them. That said, O'Leary is a posi- tive addition to the race. He might well win it. He's got his work cut out for him, though. Canadian Conservatives are passionate about ideas. Policies matter. They aren't just going to elect a flashy, rich social media celeb as leader, even if the same cynical approach worked for the Liberals. Kevin O'Leary's got to knuckle down and work on his Conservative chops. SEAFORTH HURON EXPOSITOR N HOURS OF OPERATION MONDAY: 9:00-4:00 • TUESDAY: CLOSED • WEDNESDAY: 9:00-4:00 • THURSDAY: 9:00-4:00 • FRIDAY: 9:00-4:00 • SATURDAY & SUNDAY: CLOSED ADVERTISING DEADLINE: FRIDAY AT 2:00 • PHONE 519-527-0240 • FAX: 519-527-2858 www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com