Factbox-Leading candidates, policy promises in Canadas Ontario election

div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpReuters – Ontario, Canadas most populous province, will hold an election on June 2 with incumbent Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford favored in the polls.p

pAndrea Horwath of the New Democrat Party and Steven Del Duca of the Liberal party are his main competitors.pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

pFord may win 35 of the vote, ahead of Del Duca with 28 and Horwath with 24, an Abacus Data poll published on Monday showed. p

pHere are the main candidates and some of their main campaign promises:p

pDOUG FORDp

pFord, 57, swept to power in 2018, ending 15 years of Liberal rule in Ontario. p

pResponding to high real estate prices, Ford has committed to adding 1.5 million new homes in the province over the next 10 years. To soften the blow of surging inflation, Ford is pledging to reduce provincial gasoline and fuel taxes for six months if he wins. p

pFords government, if elected, would also expand eligibility and the amount of a lowincome family tax credit. His government has passed an increase the minimum wage to C15.50 12.07 per hour from C15 that will kick in on Oct 1.p

pFord is also promising to invest significantly in infrastructure, including to increase hospital capacity and improve road and rail transport.p

pSTEVEN DEL DUCAp

pLiberal Del Duca, 48, is running to become Ontario premier for the first time, touting Ontario as “a place to grow” under his leadership. p

pDel Duca would repurpose money Ford has allocated to his highway infrastructure project to spend C10 billion 7.8 billion to build and repair schools. He is also pledging to cut public transit fares to C1 per ride across the province, lower the cost of living by building more homes, raise the minimum wage to C16 an hour, and bring back rent controls discontinued in 2018. p

pANDREA HORWATHp

pHorwath, 59, represents the largest opposition party in the legislature. With the slogan, “They broke it, well fix it,” the party plans to address the housing crisis in part by creating an annual speculation and vacancy tax on residential property. p

pThis is the fourth time she has run to be the provincial leader.p

pHorwath says she would cancel “wasteful projects” prioritized by Ford, such as his highway infrastructure project, freeze taxes for low and middleincome families, and promises to raise the minimum wage to 20 in 2026.p

p1 1.2840 Canadian dollarsp

p1 1.2844 Canadian dollarsp

Reporting by Jenna Zucker, editing by Steve Scherer and Tomasz Janowskip

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