Have Doug Ford’s Broken Promises Created The New Blue Party of Ontario?

In a speech in Waterloo Square MPP for Cambridge, Ontario, Belinda Karahalios spoke about the restrictive public health measures as not just being a violative of Ontarians’ Charter Rights and an unscientific approach to dealing with COVID-19, but also a prime example of the ongoing corruption in the Ontario PCs and federal Conservatives 

MPP Karahalios summed up the long background of corruption with the two Conservative parties, stating to the crowd of supporters and anti-lockdown protesters that:

For years my husband [Jim Karahalios] and I tried to make our best effort to get the elitist PC Party and Conservative Party of Canada, to get those Backroom Boys, to listen to families and taxpayers. We were saddened to see the worst of these bad actors in the Ontario PCs come to fruition in public policy that has affected each of us today.

Instead of listening, they tried to destroy us; first by suing us in 2017 to inflict financial harm, to stop our campaign Axe the Carbon Tax, and vote fraud. We won in court, then by rigging a convention election against us for an internal party position, then by kicking my husband out of a leadership election [2020 CPC leadership race], and then finally last July they kicked me out of the Ontario PC Party caucus plus another 18 volunteers and supporters, they kicked them right out of the party. 

I’m telling you this story not to distract from what we are protesting here today. I’m telling you this story that this contempt for working people and families you are seeing, many of you are seeing it for the first time in the last year, this is a pattern of behaviour that is deeply seeded in the Ontario PC Party.

Karahalios then went on to connect the corrupt top-down elitist behaviour the Ontario PC Party displays internally to their ignoring of the Canadian Charter when passing Bill-195, the deceptively named, Reopen Ontario Act, that seems to only ever shut the province down more.

MPP Karahalios said, “[Bill-195] gave Doug Ford the sole power for a year to do what he wanted, without a vote, without any debate in your legislature, without your MPP having any ability to do anything about it,” which is a reflection of how the Karahalios’ have described how the PC Party has function internally for the past several years.

Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky added his own disparaging remarks on the anti-lockdown protestors attending events around the province including the event attended by MPP Karahalios. She responded at the rally by saying, “It is quite ridiculous, truly, that local politicians like Mayor Dave Jaworsky are ridiculing and criticizing protests like this when he had nothing to say at protests that occurred last year in Waterloo Region,” referring to the Black Lives Matter protests last year. 

MPP Belinda Karahalios is one of three members of the Ontario legislature publicly opposing the lockdown regime in Ontario, the others being independent MPP Randy Hillier and independent MPP Roman Baber. While both independent MPPs Randy Hilliar and MPP Roman Baber inexplicably remain on the boards of their local Ontario Progressive Conservative riding associations, (something that is highly unusual for an independent MPP) MPP Belinda Karahalios aligned with her husband, long time Conservative strategist Jim Karahalios, has formed a new conservative party, the New Blue Party of Ontario.  

As reported on by The National Telegraph, MPP Karahalios was ejected from the conservative party and had her local PC riding association dissolved for voting against Bill-195 that granted Doug Ford unprecedented freedoms and the ability to bypass the Ontario legislature to enact draconian restrictions. 

Such restrictions were ultimately rejected in mass this month, by 20 Ontario police forces for violating constitutional freedoms; a deeply embarrassing situation resulting in an awkward press conference where Doug Ford mimicked one of Justin Trudeau’s teary-eyed public apologies. This tactic was seen by many as disenfranchised voters as crocodile tears.  The entire fiasco could have been avoided if Doug Ford kept his campaign promise to allow free votes from caucus members prior to the Ontario PC election victory. 

The many broken promises of the Doug Ford Ontario PC party and the corruption within its executive seem to be the primary motivation behind driving Belinda and Jim Karahalios to launch the New Blue Party of Ontario. It is peculiar that MPP Hilliar and MPP Baber have not actively pursued New Blue as a logical safe haven for them as the 2022 election is looming.  Perhaps their ongoing affiliation with their local Ontario PC party riding associations is an issue. 

As Premier Doug Ford’s popularity in Ontario is in freefall and the Ontario PC party is hemorrhaging support, rumours of a replacement leader are plentiful, all while the Ontario Liberal Party where memories of Kathleen Wynne scandals are still fresh and it struggles to gain any interest from voters. Are we witnessing a generational perfect storm that will allow New Blue Ontario to be seen as the refuge for Ontario voters that are fed up with liberal scandals and conservative overreach and corruption?  

Any objective person would agree that Doug Ford has a political career for one reason, and one reason only; Rob Ford. Rob Ford was elected as mayor largely as a response, some said he was a symptom of extreme overreach, excessive pet projects by far-left politicians out of touch with the average voter. 

As Doug Ford has slid into his Liberal costume, complete with Trudeau tears, could New Blue Ontario be a symptom of Doug Ford and his Ontario PC party abandoning conservative principles and excessive broken promises?  Is Doug Ford himself the catalyst that helps spawn the New Blue Party of Ontario? Only time will tell.