Ontario Liberals, NDP trade barbs as Ford defends candidate after homophobia allegations

Ontario's Liberal leader called on Wednesday for the New Democrats to stop criticizing his party's candidates, calling the strategy "desperation tactics" that he said would help the Progressive Conservatives' re-election efforts.

Steven Del Duca refused to comment when he was asked about allegations raised by the NDP that the Liberal candidate in Chatham-Kent-Leamington was fraudulently registered for next month's election, saying he wouldn't engage with "petty back-and-forth" with Andrea Horwath's party over candidate issues.

The accusations follow criticism raised by the NDP about other Liberal candidates who were dropped before the nomination deadline, leaving the Liberals without a full slate for next month's election.

"I think it's a really sad comment with 16 days left to go in this campaign that (NDP Leader Andrea Horwath) and the Ontario NDP have resorted to desperation tactics," Del Duca said at a child-care-focused announcement in Toronto.

The Liberal leader said he was "disappointed" that the New Democrats were attacking him rather than solely targeting the Tories, which is something he said his party was focused on.

"Every time the Ontario NDP attacks me and attacks Ontario Liberals, (Progressive Conservative Leader) Doug Ford and his team smile," Del Duca said, repeating a line he first teased at Monday night's leaders' debate. "Well, I don't want Doug Ford smiling come June 2, I want him to be shown the door."

Candidate nomination issue is serious, Horwath says

Horwath said the candidate nomination issue is a serious one that Del Duca should respond to, not frame as an attack against him.

"He has to step up and take responsibility for these things," she said at an announcement in Kingston, Ont., on Wednesday. "How can you trust somebody to be the premier of the province if you can't trust them to follow the rules when it comes to the nomination of candidates?"

The NDP wrote to Elections Ontario about the nomination issue, alleging that the Liberal candidate in the riding was nominated using signatures gathered in support of a dropped candidate. The NDP asked for an investigation into the matter.

Elections Ontario declined to comment on whether an investigation had been opened.

Ford defends Tory candidate 

Meanwhile, Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford stood by a Tory candidate after a published report said he was involved with organizations that published homophobic views.

Ford, who was speaking on NDP turf in Hamilton, said Will Bouma did not write the articles in question, though the Liberals, NDP and Greens all condemned the articles and their views.

Bouma commented on the story in a Twitter post saying he is "a proud, loving, and supportive father to a daughter, who is a member of the LGBTQ community," and stated that his "views are clear."

"I support the rights of all of my constituents regardless of orientation. I had no involvement in writing these articles," his post read.

The latest revelations about candidates and escalating tensions between the Liberals and NDP came halfway through the province's election campaign.

Horwath said she's still campaigning for a majority government and brushed off questions about whether now is the time for a more unified strategy among parties on the left, maintaining her position that the NDP are progressive voters' "best shot" at defeating the Tories.