Premier says he's running despite anaemic economic growth
By ANTONELLA ARTUSO, QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU CHIEF
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty’s going for the three-peat.
One year before provincial voters head to the polls again, McGuinty tossed aside rumours he might step down and reaffirmed he’ll seek a third mandate to govern despite difficult economic times and disappointing polling results for his party.
”I have the same sense of enthusiasm and energy and, I think, most importantly idealism that I had when I first got the job in 1990,” McGuinty said of his leadership. ”It’s not about tempting fate. It’s about continuing to assume responsibility.”
His comments came Tuesday just hours before the government released second quarter economic results that show the province experienced anaemic growth of 0.6%, and the forecast points to a very modest recovery over a number of years.
“We have to a very large extent historically hitched our economic wagon to the American star,” McGuinty said. “They have remained our single most important export market. Their economy continues to grow at a very moderate pace. And we cannot entirely unhitch our wagon from that.”
According to Ontario Economic Accounts, the province saw a modest bump in consumer spending, a slight decline in residential construction and a 0.8% increase in GDP.
Tory Finance Critic Peter Shurman said Ontario lags the country in GDP growth while the price of consumer goods rises at a faster rate than elsewhere in Canada.
“We’re on the wrong track. We’re trending the wrong way on pretty well every economic indicator at this point,” Shurman said.
PC Leader Tim Hudak said voters can opt for the Conservative party when they head to the polls on Oct. 6, 2011, and keep more of their money.
“Or a Dalton McGuinty government that’s increasingly tired and out of gas and focused on a bizarre set of priorities like putting cell phones in our classrooms or banning chocolate milk,” Hudak said.
McGuinty said his focus remains firmly on the health and education files, health because it helps provide stability for families and education because it gives people hope for a better life.
Increasing the percentage of Ontarians who graduate from high school and attain a post secondary education will also help the economy rebound in the long run, he said.