Horwath sees riding ripe for the taking in HWAD

With the provincial election campaign heading into its final throes, NDP leader Andrea Horwath says she sees an opportunity to gain ground in the city's new Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas riding.

Horwath's bus rolled up to the Coach and Lantern in Ancaster Monday evening, as she and NDP candidate Sandy Shaw met with a steady stream of supporters.

It's a riding that has been Liberal for close to two decades, with Ted McMeekin serving as MPP and cabinet minister. But with polling for the Liberals trending downward, the NDP sees an opportunity, Horwath told CBC News. She's served as a Hamilton Centre MPP since 2004.

"We are feeling the excitement on the ground and in ridings across the province," she said. "There's a lot of people who are saying they are not going to go back to Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals, and with 10 days left, the choice is becoming pretty clear — whether they are going to vote for Doug Ford, or myself. That's the decision people are trying to make.

"That makes our candidates very excited about the opportunity."

The latest polls from CBC News' Poll Tracker show the Progressive Conservatives with a slight edge in the popular vote, at 35.9 per cent, compared to 35.2 per cent for the NDP. The Liberals trail in third at 21.9 per cent.

Despite the close margin in the popular vote, the PCs still have a better regional distribution of that vote and so are favoured to win more seats. The NDP's odds of winning the most seats is now more than one in five, while odds of a PC majority are now a coin toss, polls show. The Liberals appear to have hit their floor in support.

In a statement, the Liberal party said Horwath's plan and platform "just won't work."

"Ontario is currently back on a solid fiscal track and we can't afford to have Andrea Horwath pull it all back," the statement reads. "The Ontario Liberal plan builds on the work we've already done by making it more affordable to raise a child in Hamilton, by making sure people can access mental health care in the community and by giving every senior the best possible care."

Similarly, PC spokesperson Melissa Lantsman said that the NDP is "not ready to govern."

"We would ensure that the people of Hamilton are able to choose the projects that are best for them. This includes the $1 billion earmarked for the LRT," she said in a statement.

"A Doug Ford PC Government would ensure that the $1 billion stays in Hamilton regardless of whether they choose the LRT or another method of transportation. We'd also ensure that we deliver effective relief — whether that's a 10 cent/litre break at the pumps, a 12 per cent reduction on your hydro bills or a 20 per cent tax cut for the middle class. These are measures the NDP just can't match."

Horwath also called the face that the PCs have yet to release a costed platform as "disrespectful to voters."

"Voting started on Saturday … it's disrespectful not to show people what it is you have in mind."