

On The Ledge - your Ontario politics podcast
Dave Trafford and iContact Productions
The Ledge, n: slang for the legislature. Mostly used by members of the legislative press gallery. On the Ledge posts weekly when the Ontario Legislature is sitting. But there have been times when we've had to "recall" the Ledge for an emergency session to address pressing matters of Ontario politics when Queen's Park isn't sitting!Our OTL team includes former Ontario Premier, Kathleen Wynne, former Progressive Conservative Leader, (and Wynne's erstwhile parliamentary sparring partner), Tim Hudak, Queen's Park broadcast commentator Keith Leslie, John Wright, our veteran pollster and co-founding host, and Dave Trafford, Chief Executive Producer at Story Studio Network.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 25, 2018 • 14min
The Writ Race - Part 1 - May 25, 2018
Thirty days. Thirty podcasts! Dave Trafford, Executive Producer of iContact Productions and John Wright, CEO - Insight of Dart Insight and Communications take a daily swipe at the Ontario campaign until election day on June 7th. They chase the race and follow the leaders. What should you expect? What didn't you expect in this campaign? DAY 17: Okay. I know it looks like we missed a day on the trail...and we did, but only because John Wright tangled with a dog and ended up with a K-9 bite! The headline reads: POLLSTER BITTEN BY DOG. The good news for John is he didn't have a Poll on him at the time of the encounter. We know what dogs do to polls! So, this is part one of two on this 17th day. And we take advantage of John's experience as a pollster to take a deep dive on methodology and how we should be interpreting polls published during this campaign.You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!)Follow Dave on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and XAnd you can leave us a voice comment here!For more information go to Dave's website.

May 23, 2018 • 21min
The Writ Race May 23, 2018
Thirty days. Thirty podcasts! Dave Trafford, Executive Producer of iContact Productions and John Wright, CEO - Insight of Dart Insight and Communications take a daily swipe at the Ontario campaign until election day on June 7th. They chase the race and follow the leaders. What should you expect? What didn't you expect in this campaign? DAY 15: Another day another poll telling us the NDP and the PCs are neck and neck across the province. As John Wright points out, the final outcome will depend on where the 'vote is thick' for either party. At this point, there still appears to be a good deal of movement. The latest Pollara poll conducted for Macleans reflects the trends we saw in the Ipsos poll earlier in the week. But the positive/negative ratings are changing. Andrea Horwath's are up. Doug Ford's are down. That ambivalence is reflected anecdotally among voters who say "I'd prefer to vote PC but I'm unsure about Ford. I like Horwath but I'm unsure about the NDP. I may just stay home on election day." So, this race is going to come down to who is the most likeable leader and which party can get their vote out. You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!)Follow Dave on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and XAnd you can leave us a voice comment here!For more information go to Dave's website.

May 22, 2018 • 16min
The Writ Race May 22, 2018
Thirty days. Thirty podcasts! Dave Trafford, Executive Producer of iContact Productions and John Wright, CEO - Insight of Dart Insight and Communications take a daily swipe at the Ontario campaign until election day on June 7th. They chase the race and follow the leaders. What should you expect? What didn't you expect in this campaign? DAY 14: This election is Doug Ford's to lose and he's getting closer and closer to doing just that. The latest Ipsos poll done for Global News suggests it's a dead heat between the PCs and the NDP. Compare that to the Ipsos number released the day the writ race began on May 9 and the Tories had an 11 point lead over the New Democrats. The seat projection done by Global says the Liberals will be reduced to about half a dozen seats. So the last 14 days of this campaign will be a hammer and tong battle for the minds and hearts of 'the little guy' in the 905 region.You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!)Follow Dave on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and XAnd you can leave us a voice comment here!For more information go to Dave's website.

May 22, 2018 • 16min
The Writ Race May 21, 2018
Thirty days. Thirty podcasts! Dave Trafford, Executive Producer of iContact Productions and John Wright, CEO - Insight of Dart Insight and Communications take a daily swipe at the Ontario campaign until election day on June 7th. They chase the race and follow the leaders. What should you expect? What didn't you expect in this campaign? DAY 13: The polls say this Ontario election is coming down to Ford vs. Horwath. Listening closely, and both the PCs and the NDP are battling over the same voter. Ford's "for the little guy" left behind by elites and tone deaf government that wastes hard earned money. Horwath's NDP is for the vulnerable who've been disenfranchised and get by pay cheque to pay cheque. Worth noting that Trump and Sanders were in the same place during the 2016 US Presidential campaign - both appealing to a disconnected, angry voter who felt ignored by government and big business.You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!)Follow Dave on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and XAnd you can leave us a voice comment here!For more information go to Dave's website.

May 20, 2018 • 15min
The Writ Race May 20, 2018
Thirty days. Thirty podcasts! Dave Trafford, Executive Producer of iContact Productions and John Wright, CEO - Insight of Dart Insight and Communications take a daily swipe at the Ontario campaign until election day on June 7th. They chase the race and follow the leaders. What should you expect? What didn't you expect in this campaign? Day 12: The latest Abacus Poll shows the collapse of the Liberal vote and the NDP is within the margin of error of Doug Ford's PCs. It's Game On! and the game is clearly an NDP - PC showdown with 17 days to election day in Ontario. If politics is the art of the possible then it will be interesting to see how Andrea Horwath and Doug Ford manage 'the possibilities'?You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!)Follow Dave on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and XAnd you can leave us a voice comment here!For more information go to Dave's website.

May 20, 2018 • 14min
The Writ Race May 19, 2017
Thirty days. Thirty podcasts! Dave Trafford, Executive Producer of iContact Productions and John Wright, CEO - Insight of Dart Insight and Communications take a daily swipe at the Ontario campaign until election day on June 7th. They chase the race and follow the leaders. What should you expect? What didn't you expect in this campaign? Day 11: NDP Leader Andrea Horwath slaps Kathleen Wynne with her gauntlet then throws it down in front of Doug Ford. Horwath says Wynne is not a factor in this election. It's down to her and Doug Ford.You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!)Follow Dave on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and XAnd you can leave us a voice comment here!For more information go to Dave's website.

May 18, 2018 • 21min
The Writ Race May 18, 2018
Thirty days. Thirty podcasts! Dave Trafford, Executive Producer of iContact Productions and John Wright, CEO - Insight of Dart Insight and Communications take a daily swipe at the Ontario campaign until election day on June 7th. They chase the race and follow the leaders. What should you expect? What didn't you expect in this campaign? Day 10: More than a third of the way through Ontario Election 2018! And it looks like the Ballot Question is "Do you want change" and the resounding answer is "HELL YA!". The problem here is voting for 'change' is a dangerous thing. It avoids or ignores issues that are facing Ontarians - issues that are going to have an effect on the way people live and work in this province for the next 50 years. The infrastructure/transit file is a perfect example of too many chefs in the kitchen. We will end up with an overpriced meal that no one wants to eat! Then there's the 'STINK' over the next three weeks for the Tories. Today, the York Regional Police Fraud Unit has confirmed they've launched an investigation into the alleged data breach at 407 ETR and accusations that the stolen data was used to create IDs in order to nominate PC candidates. John Wright says the post Victoria Day polls will set the tone and pace for the final 15 days of the campaign.You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!)Follow Dave on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and XAnd you can leave us a voice comment here!For more information go to Dave's website.

May 18, 2018 • 21min
The Writ Race May 17, 2018
Thirty days. Thirty podcasts! Dave Trafford, Executive Producer of iContact Productions and John Wright, CEO - Insight of Dart Insight and Communications take a daily swipe at the Ontario campaign until election day on June 7th. They chase the race and follow the leaders. What should you expect? What didn't you expect in this campaign? DAY 9: More accusations of scandal levelled at the PCs. But John Wright points out, the Tories have dealt with each one quickly. The Premier tried to call out insurance companies for basing auto premiums on where drivers live. The problem is, it opened her up to criticism about her government's inability to follow through on a promise to lower rates.You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!)Follow Dave on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and XAnd you can leave us a voice comment here!For more information go to Dave's website.

May 16, 2018 • 16min
The Writ Race May 16, 2018
Thirty days. Thirty podcasts! Dave Trafford, Executive Producer of iContact Productions and John Wright, CEO - Insight of Dart Insight and Communications take a daily swipe at the Ontario campaign until election day on June 7th. They chase the race and follow the leaders. What should you expect? What didn't you expect in this campaign? Day 8: The Liberals are calling out the Tories for two controversial candidates but that seems to be helping the NDP. Doug Ford's PCs commit to cutting 10 cents off the price at the gas pumps but can't/won't say how they'll make up the $1 billion gap in revenue. All three parties say they'll have to run deficits!You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!)Follow Dave on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and XAnd you can leave us a voice comment here!For more information go to Dave's website.

May 15, 2018 • 15min
The Writ Race May 15, 2018
Thirty days. Thirty podcasts! Dave Trafford, Executive Producer of iContact Productions and John Wright, CEO - Insight of Dart Insight and Communications take a daily swipe at the Ontario campaign until election day on June 7th. They chase the race and follow the leaders. What should you expect? What didn't you expect in this campaign? Day 7: Here we are at the quarter turn in this election race and the latest Ipsos polling reinforces what Dave and John have been saying the past few days. This has quickly turned in to a race between the NDP and the PCs. Doug Ford's Tories still lead with 40% but Andrea Horwath's New Democrats are surging.You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!)Follow Dave on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and XAnd you can leave us a voice comment here!For more information go to Dave's website.


