Marit capitalizes on Bonnie's breakdown, but taking down Doug requires serious self-control.
In the political landscape of Ontario, a battle for attention is underway. The incumbent Premier, Doug Ford, has been dominating headlines and airwaves, but his opponents are trying to change the narrative. The strategy of flooding the zone, as some call it, generates white noise and redirects media and voters to minor themes, obscuring the big story. This tactic has been employed by Ford's Progressive Conservatives (PCs) for some time, but it's now becoming a central challenge for the opposition. Marit Stiles, the new leader of the Ontario NDP, finds herself in a unique position. After the Ontario Liberals' implosion at their weekend convention, the NDP is now the main opposition party. Stiles now has a second chance to tackle the root problem, which is Ford's media dominance. The Angus Reid poll released on September 16th, 2025, shows that large majorities of Ontarians give poor marks to the Doug Ford PCs. However, 45% still say they would vote PC. This presents a mystery: the group who rate the PCs poorly yet support them electorally remains unspecified. One of the opponents, Crombie, offers few ideological reasons to prefer her over Ford. She also has high negatives that the PCs could drive higher, and the Liberals' vote inefficiency doesn't help. Framing Ontario politics as a choice between Ford and Crombie helps explain why only 27% believe Ontario is on the right track, but 45% would vote for the PC party. In contrast, Ford's response to Prime Minister Carney's request for nation-building projects was poor and offensive. His request for federal help building his fantasy tunnel under highway 401, a move that made Carney's entire nation-building concept look dumb, did not help his cause. A better provincial partner would seek federal help on a plan to revive Ontario's industrial base, but Ford doesn't appear to believe there's a jobs problem. This stance is in stark contrast to California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has successfully used trolling to counteract the flood-the-zone strategy. The opposition's central challenge is to be able to articulate the One Big Story. A counter-tactic of pivoting from the latest distraction to the big story could put Ford on the defensive and create policy contrast opportunities. Stiles' low voter awareness is a symptom, and a previous attempt to fix it with a name recognition advertising campaign did not work. However, Stiles now has a second chance. Learning from past mistakes, she is gearing up for a renewed effort to tackle Ford's media dominance and present a clear, compelling vision for Ontario's future. The battle for attention is far from over, but the stage is set for an interesting showdown.
Read also:
- United States tariffs pose a threat to India, necessitating the recruitment of adept negotiators or strategists, similar to those who had influenced Trump's decisions.
- Weekly happenings in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Southwest region's most popular posts, accompanied by an inquiry:
- Discussion between Putin and Trump in Alaska could potentially overshadow Ukraine's concerns
