The Ontario Liberals are accusing new Progressive
Conservative leader John Tory of winning his job because he was
born with a silver spoon in his mouth and not on merit, but the
public may find this hard to swallow.
Premier Dalton McGuinty’s assistants distributed
silver-coloured spoons bearing Tory’s name and buttons showing a
cartoon character noted as filthy rich at the PC convention. This
prompted the Conservative leader to reply he worked hard for what
he has.
His father is a lawyer who has long advised Ken
Thomson, whose fortune based on communications is among the world’s
biggest, and a director of a communications company Tory ran. It
would be naïve to suggest this does not help open doors.
But, Tory countered, “it doesn’t matter who you
are, if you don’t get results you get fired and we had growth year
after year.”
The Liberals also suggest Tory obtained an
unusually easy entry to leadership considering he had never been
elected to any public office.
The Conservatives desperately need a new face to
erase memories of their mismanagement in government.
It also would be difficult to find anyone who has
paid more dues working on causes in the community and backrooms of
a party – Tory has been immersed in politics almost since he could
walk.
The Liberals anyway should be wary of accusing
others of getting a head start through family connections. McGuinty
is not exactly the boy next door who made his own way in politics.
His father, Dalton senior, a university professor, was a member of
the legislature and when he died his reputation in the riding
helped his son to step into his shoes.
The last Liberal premier before McGuinty, David
Peterson, also was no barefoot boy who had to claw his way from the
wrong side of the tracks.
Peterson’s family owned an electronics business
and he and his two brothers sold it and netted $3 million
each.
When today’s Liberals suggest an opponent has too
much money, it is worth recalling Peterson while premier was noted
for having a “lifestyle of the rich and famous,” a label lifted
from a popular TV show, and it even helped get him kicked out of
government.
The Liberal premier elected in London needed to
spend more time in Toronto and bought a home in upscale Rosedale.
The opposition parties said Peterson’s Ontario was a non-stop
parade of gala openings and arrivals and departures by helicopters
and limousines.
It was among reasons voters dumped Peterson —
others included his calling an election a year early.
Politicians around the legislature have not
normally been rated according to their wealth. Liberal Finance
Minister Greg Sorbara became identified as wealthy recently when a
company of which he had been a director was investigated by police
and Conservative Frank Klees was similarly described when he ran
for leader in the race won by Tory.
Some of great wealth have found getting elected
in Ontario as impossible as slipping through the eye of a needle.
They included auto-parts manufacturer Frank Stronach, Roy Thomson,
and Hal Jackman.
But Tory is not in the same league for wealth as
these tycoons. Whether his wealth made his path easy should not be
an issue.
Eric Dowd is a veteran member of the Queen’s
Park press gallery.
