You asked, we delivered.
We know chipping Doug Ford down to a minority will require a Province-wide effort, and when we relaunched, the question of whether or not we would be able to expand outside Toronto weighed heavily on us.
But ultimately, we didn't think we could research all 124 ridings in Ontario.
We didn't think we'd be able to get our local understanding right without deep knowledge on the ground--and we can't guarantee having local volunteers across Canada--and we didn't want to commit to making endorsements in areas we didn't understand.
Sure, we could try to rely on resources like 338Canada, and while this is an excellent resource, we know analyzing polls only takes you so far. Understanding the issues locally is an important factor. And for us to feel confident about something as important as endorsing a Unity Candidate, we want to be as careful and thorough as we can.
And we definitely can't canvas and flyer everywhere in Ontario.
Plus, it's clear the Doug Ford--in his many attempts to be the backseat Mayor of Toronto--has a very special relationship with us, and likewise, there are a lot of Toronto-specific problems created by Doug Ford. We can't expect areas like, for example, Huron-Perth to concern themselves with the heartbreaking closure of the Ontario Science Centre (I'm never going to not be mad about that) when they have local hospital ERs that cannot stay open all the time... except, perhaps, for the issues of corruption and the wasted expense in Toronto, while the rest of Ontario is ignored.
When we came across Cooperate For Canada, we'd found a great solution; a group that could co-ordinate people outside Toronto with similar aims. If you are outside Toronto, sign their pledge and include your postal code, and they will connect you to teams in your area.
Still, we know that there are others of your out there who might be looking for some guidance to DIY this, and so we have a section of our website for you, with some information on how we make our endorsement calls, plus links to some of our resources that you can share and use in your own communities. We hope this can help you organize in your own ridings.
In any case, some issues are common for all of us in Ontario. Over the next while, we will be creating more shareable information on Ford's Failures: detailing some of the many ways Doug Ford is failing the province.
If you're organizing in your local community and need some help from us, let us know! We'll do what we can.
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