Ontario Liberals, NDP dangle differing platforms to same pool of voters

Some Ontario voters who consider themselves politically non-aligned — setting aside their desire to boot Doug Ford and his PC government out of office — often bemoan the unwillingness of the Liberals and NDP to co-operate at election time. 

Those voters underestimate how much animosity there is between the Liberal and NDP campaigns. 

"Liberals and New Democrats have a far more bitter rivalry than Liberals and Conservatives because we're competing for the same voter pool," says Dan Moulton, a partner at Crestview Strategy and a part-time adviser to Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie's campaign. 

"There are certain values that progressive voters have that they don't always see reflected in the governing style of the Liberal Party," says Kim Wright, founder of Wright Strategies and a part-time adviser to NDP Leader Marit Stiles's campaign. 

United only by their desire to defeat the Progressive Conservatives, the differences between Stiles' New Democrats and Crombie's Liberals are on full display as Thursday's election draws nearer, particularly as each party tries to pitch itself as the only real alternative to Ford. 

The two rivals released their platforms on the same morning at the end of last week and while some promises are similar, the contrasts are notable.

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One of the starkest differences between the two parties's platforms is found in their plans to put money back in taxpayers' pockets. 

The Liberal proposal is aimed solely at middle-income earners: an income-tax cut that would chop two percentage points off the provincial tax rate on annual earnings between $51,446 and $75,000.

The NDP proposal is aimed at low-to-moderate income earners: a tax rebate, pitched as a 'grocery rebate," in which individuals earning less than $50,000 and households earning less than $65,000 get the full amount, while the rebate is reduced for those who earn more. 

The answer to the question of which party offers you a bigger tax break depends on your income, the size of your household and whether you have children.

The answer to the question of which party is promising more tax relief in total seems clearer:

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The NDP and Liberal platforms do share a number of promises in common: doubling rates for the Ontario Disability Support Program, billions of dollars to be invested to get everyone in Ontario a family doctor within four years and a promise of universal mental health care under OHIP.