Two more Wynne cabinet ministers say they won't run again in next June's Ontario election

Deputy Premier Deb Matthews of London and Treasury Board President Liz Sandals said they will leave elected office when the campaign begins.

Thestar.com
Oct. 6, 2017
By Rob Ferguson

Premier Kathleen Wynne will be running for re-election next June 7 without two more cabinet ministers, including her confidant and Deputy Premier Deb Matthews of London.

Matthews and Treasury Board President Liz Sandals, a former education minister, announced Friday they will leave elected office when the campaign begins.

Both maintained they have confidence in Wynne, who is trailing the Progressive Conservatives in most polls and facing criticism from segments of the business community for raising the minimum wage to $14 next January and $15 in 2019.

"I am confident…the people of Ontario will give her and the team the mandate to continue to serve," Matthews, 63, said in a Twitter statement, noting she will remain co-chair of the Liberal re-election campaign.

"Despite the progress to date, there is much more to do," added Matthews, the MPP for London North Centre since 2003 and minister of advanced education and skills development.

Sandals, 69, said she made "the difficult decision to retire" after a summer of discussion with her husband and children. She has been in elected politics for 30 years, first as a school trustee and later as an MPP.

"This was a challenging decision to make because, while I'm ready to become a full-time grandmother, I've never had more faith in Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Ontario Liberal Party."

Sandals and Matthews follow Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid, who revealed last month he won't run for re-election but expressed support for Wynne as the "best alternative."

Duguid, 55, had a mild heart attack in 2016, calling it a reminder he is "mortal."

Wynne also lost environment minister Glen Murray during the summer, as he quit cabinet and his Toronto Centre seat to head the Pembina Institute.

The pending retirements have strategic implications for the Liberals, in power at Queen's Park since 2003, heading into the election where Wynne will seek a second majority.

Matthews is the lone surviving Liberal MPP in London - once a party stronghold - where the New Democrats have gained two ridings in recent years. Progressive Conservatives hold the seats surrounding London.

Sandals represents Guelph, eyed by Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner, who is hoping for a breakthrough in the spring vote.

The announcements give the ministers' Liberal riding associations time to line up candidates as the governing party fights off challenges from the Conservatives under Patrick Brown and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

Opposition parties have been hammering the government on the long-term costs of borrowing billions to cut hydro rates 25 per cent, hospital overcrowding and other issues.

Brown recently unleashed new attack ads against Wynne as "untrustworthy," featuring headlines critical of the Liberals from the Star and other news outlets.

Wynne credited Matthews for her role in reforming the Ontario student assistance program to provide free tuition for 210,000 young people, and Sandals for shepherding the updated sex education curriculum.

In a brief statement, Horwath thanked Matthews and Sandals for "their years of public service."