Both NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and PC Leader Doug Ford are scheduled to make stops in Windsor this week -- and with Ontario's election just over a week away, things are heating up on the campaign trail.
Doug Ford is being criticized because he has yet to present a full costed platform for his party despite repeated calls from his opponents to show his plan for the province.
At a news conference in Port Colborne, Ont., the Progressive Conservative leader was asked repeatedly when he would lay out how he intends to fund the billions in promises he has made during the campaign, but would only say that it will be before the June 7 vote.
Ford said he has already presented his plan through policy announcements in recent weeks, but none of those announcements explain exactly where the money will come from.
Ford has consistently said he will trim four per cent of the budget without cutting any jobs.
The Tories, who had a hefty lead in the polls going into the campaign, are now competing with the NDP for first place.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, meanwhile, defended her hydro plan Tuesday, reaffirming her pledge to lower rates and buy back shares of Hydro One.
Horwath, facing criticism from the Tories for her plan, says one of the first acts of a New Democrat government will be to gather expert advice on how to best conduct the share buy-back of the partially privatized utility.
She listed companies including Heinz, Panera Bread, and Dell, who initially went public and then later bought back shares.
Horwath says the NDP would use the dividend paid by Hydro One to the province to buy back shares, which the Progressive Conservatives say would benefit shareholders.
Horwath has pledged to slash rates by 30 per cent through a number of measures and spend up to $4.1 billion buying back shares of Hydro One.
-With Files from the Canadian Press
