Andrea Horwath makes her pitch to voters 'tired of Kathleen Wynne'

Voters in Ontario are "tired" of the Liberals and "disappointed" in Premier Kathleen Wynne, so they'll be looking for another party to vote for in the 2018 election, says NDP leader Andrea Horwath. 

Horwath is heading into her third campaign, hoping to lift the New Democrats from the third-place status where they have been stuck in every election since 1995.  

"What I hear people saying these days is that they're tired of Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals. They're very disappointed by the performance of this premier," said Horwath in my year-end interview with her. 

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"Our hydro system is a mess, our hospitals are not in great shape, our long-term care system is falling apart, it's a long, long list," said Horwath. "I think people have decided that we can't afford to have more damage done to our province by Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals."  

That's why the NDP leader believes voters are "taking a hard look" at both her and PC leader Patrick Brown. She said those voters "might be a little bit worried about" what they'll get from the PCs.

"They've watched this Liberal government cut services. That's why our hospitals are struggling the way that they are," said Horwath. "If we see more of that from the Conservatives, that's the wrong direction for this province." 

Horwath spent much of her time at Queen's Park in 2017 spotlighting the issue of overburdened hospitals, revealing such controversies as a patient spending weeks in a TV lounge and the more than 4,300 patients put in hallways at Brampton Civic Hospital in a one-year stretch.

In her interview, the NDP leader raised what she called "the horror stories coming out of long-term care ... bruises that are unexplainable, deterioration of health and well-being."

Hydro, Pharmacare, mental health  

"We should be able to have a long-term care system that we can be confident that our loved ones are getting not only the care they need but the dignity and quality of life that they deserve," said Horwath. "These are things that are important to New Democrats, they always have been, and we're going to continue to offer solutions to the things that people think are important."  

Hydro is another key theme for the NDP, including its promise to reverse the privatization of Hydro One and to cut hydro bills by 30 per cent from their peak. 

Over the past year, the party has also announced policies on universal Pharmacare for a limited number of prescription drugs, and a mental health action plan. 

The NDP's full campaign platform will be released in the coming months "in plenty of time for people to get a sense of exactly where we're headed," Horwath said.

I asked her to name the key issues she intends to address in that platform to differentiate herself from the Liberals.

"We're concerned about people and their everyday lives," said Horwath. "We're concerned about how much people are having a hard time paying the bills, struggling to make ends meet. We're concerned about young people and their opportunity for the future."

She declined to commit to income tax cuts targeted at low- and middle-income earners. "I don't see tax cuts being a big issue for us," said Horwath.

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She also declined to say whether she will step down if she fails to win the election or at least gain official opposition status. 

"Let's just take one step at a time and see what happens in 2018," said Horwath. "Then I'll have to determine what to do from there on."