- On October 16th, 2002, Mike Harris announced his resignation as premier of Ontario in the third year of his second term as premier, effective as soon as a leadership convention was cioncluded with the selection of a new leader of the PC Party and therefore a new premier of Ontario.
- On October 15th, 2012, almost exactly ten years later, Harris`s political arch enemy Liberal Dalton McGuinty announced his resignation as premier of Ontario, effective as soon as a leadership convention could be held and a new leader and premier selected.
- This is where the similarities end!
- When Mike Harris decided to step down, he had fulfilled the madate he had described in The Common Sense Revolution in 1995 more faithfully and completely than pretty much any political leader had been able to do before or since.
- Premier Harris in his nearly eight years in power had revitalized the Ontario economy by cleaning up the spending, tax, regulatory and union mess left behind from the previous NDP government and the dead hand of socialism. The economy and employment were once again growing and Ontario was once again among Canada`s leaders rather than Canada`s basket cases. The provincial deficit had been drastically reduced and the province`s fiscal situation was again under control. Also the control of the government was once again put in the hands of the elected representatives rather than the monopoly public sector unions which stopped growing and being compensated out of all relationship to the economy`s growth and the taxpayers`ability ot pay. Education and health care had been substantially reformed and improved. So Harris left behind him a record of promises kept, healthy provincial economy, a fiscally sound government, a talented cabinet team including some excellent potential premiers and a party in good shape with a majority in the legislature and a full year in which to select and make known to the public a new premier.
- Harris`s personal popularity had taken a short term hit to 33% over the Ipperwash Dudley George shooting but by any objective measure Mike was leaving at the top of his game. It seems that three factors played a role in his resignation. The first was that he didn`t want another term in government because he had accomplished what he came to Queen`s park to do and so the honest approach was to resign before the next election and long enough before the election to enable a new leader to become known to the voting public. Secondly, he thought it was about time that he entered the business world and began to make real money which he certainly has done since then. And thirdly he was then going through a difficult time in his marriage and was separated from his wife.
- Now we have Dalton McGuinty who resigned just one year into his third term, with a minority government disdained by the opposition and increasingly by the public, with his personal popularity mired around 25% and falling, with slow economic growth and high unemployment and a provincial debt he doubled in his two terms and a deficit the size of California`s even though California`s economy and population is triple Ontario`s, with a new and bitter animosity from the groups who kept McGuinty in power - the monopoly public sector unions of Ontario some 1.3 million members strong - for whom he had bankrupted the province for eight years to provide unaffordable compersation increases and now was getting tough with albeit too little, too late, and with a quarter billion dollar scandal over two power plants which were cancelled at great cost for strictly partisan political reasons and which is becoming a bigger and more disgusting scandal of Liberal opportunism and treachery with every new information release about it. McGuinty is also resigning without a single credible replacement as premier from his pitifully weak cabinet.
- So there is your tale of two resignations - one by a successful premier leaving at the top of his game with his province and his party in good shape and the other by a failed premier leaving at the bottom of his game with his province and his party in terrible shape. Harris quit even though he could have done a McGuinty by staying to win a third term election and then resigning a year later. But then Harris is an honourable man whereas McGuinty is a Gliberal.
- Good riddance, DOLTon McGuilty!
- On October 15th, 2012, almost exactly ten years later, Harris`s political arch enemy Liberal Dalton McGuinty announced his resignation as premier of Ontario, effective as soon as a leadership convention could be held and a new leader and premier selected.
- This is where the similarities end!
- When Mike Harris decided to step down, he had fulfilled the madate he had described in The Common Sense Revolution in 1995 more faithfully and completely than pretty much any political leader had been able to do before or since.
- Premier Harris in his nearly eight years in power had revitalized the Ontario economy by cleaning up the spending, tax, regulatory and union mess left behind from the previous NDP government and the dead hand of socialism. The economy and employment were once again growing and Ontario was once again among Canada`s leaders rather than Canada`s basket cases. The provincial deficit had been drastically reduced and the province`s fiscal situation was again under control. Also the control of the government was once again put in the hands of the elected representatives rather than the monopoly public sector unions which stopped growing and being compensated out of all relationship to the economy`s growth and the taxpayers`ability ot pay. Education and health care had been substantially reformed and improved. So Harris left behind him a record of promises kept, healthy provincial economy, a fiscally sound government, a talented cabinet team including some excellent potential premiers and a party in good shape with a majority in the legislature and a full year in which to select and make known to the public a new premier.
- Harris`s personal popularity had taken a short term hit to 33% over the Ipperwash Dudley George shooting but by any objective measure Mike was leaving at the top of his game. It seems that three factors played a role in his resignation. The first was that he didn`t want another term in government because he had accomplished what he came to Queen`s park to do and so the honest approach was to resign before the next election and long enough before the election to enable a new leader to become known to the voting public. Secondly, he thought it was about time that he entered the business world and began to make real money which he certainly has done since then. And thirdly he was then going through a difficult time in his marriage and was separated from his wife.
- Now we have Dalton McGuinty who resigned just one year into his third term, with a minority government disdained by the opposition and increasingly by the public, with his personal popularity mired around 25% and falling, with slow economic growth and high unemployment and a provincial debt he doubled in his two terms and a deficit the size of California`s even though California`s economy and population is triple Ontario`s, with a new and bitter animosity from the groups who kept McGuinty in power - the monopoly public sector unions of Ontario some 1.3 million members strong - for whom he had bankrupted the province for eight years to provide unaffordable compersation increases and now was getting tough with albeit too little, too late, and with a quarter billion dollar scandal over two power plants which were cancelled at great cost for strictly partisan political reasons and which is becoming a bigger and more disgusting scandal of Liberal opportunism and treachery with every new information release about it. McGuinty is also resigning without a single credible replacement as premier from his pitifully weak cabinet.
- So there is your tale of two resignations - one by a successful premier leaving at the top of his game with his province and his party in good shape and the other by a failed premier leaving at the bottom of his game with his province and his party in terrible shape. Harris quit even though he could have done a McGuinty by staying to win a third term election and then resigning a year later. But then Harris is an honourable man whereas McGuinty is a Gliberal.
- Good riddance, DOLTon McGuilty!
