|
Many supporters of the No side are saying that Mike Harris, Dalton McGuinty, and Stephen Harper all got second chances to fight a general election as leader, so John Tory should too. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending or your point of view, Tory's results are not comparable to any of the three aforementioned leaders.
Tory had more than ample prep time for the recent election - he was leader for over three years before election day. Conversely, Mike Harris and Stephen Harper were only leaders for 117 days and 100 days respectively before the election. Both of these leaders still managed to improve more than Tory however. Dalton McGuinty's prep time was closer to Tory's, although still a few months less, but he managed to raise his party's pop. vote by 9% over 1995 and the percentage of seats in legislature by 10% in an election no one expected the Liberals to win.
Simply put - Tory had the longest prep time and the worst results.
Numbers matter and the charts below show that our leadership matters too.
We need a leader who can get results.
Many supporters of the No side are saying that Mike Harris, Dalton McGuinty, and Stephen Harper all got second chances to fight a general election as leader, so John Tory should too. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending or your point of view, Tory's results are not comparable to any of the three aforementioned leaders.
Tory had more than ample prep time for the recent election - he was leader for over three years before election day. Conversely, Mike Harris and Stephen Harper were only leaders for 117 days and 100 days respectively before the election. Both of these leaders still managed to improve more than Tory however. Dalton McGuinty's prep time was closer to Tory's, although still a few months less, but he managed to raise his party's pop. vote by 9% over 1995 and the percentage of seats in legislature by 10% in an election no one expected the Liberals to win.
Simply put - Tory had the longest prep time and the worst results.
Numbers matter and the charts below show that our leadership matters too.
We need a leader who can get results.
% of Seats in Legislature
| Leader |
Seats Held on First Day as Leader |
Seats Held after First Election as Leader |
Change in Seats |
| John Tory |
24 / 103 = 23.30% |
26 / 107 = 24.30% |
1.00% |
| Mike Harris |
17 / 130 = 13.08% |
20 / 130 = 15.38% |
2.31% |
| Stephen Harper |
72 / 301 = 23.92% |
99 / 308 = 32.14% |
8.22% |
| Dalton McGuinty |
31 / 130 = 23.85% |
35 / 103 = 33.98% |
10.13% |
Time as Leader Before General Election
| Leader |
Became Leader |
General Election |
Days as Leader before General Election |
| Stephen Harper |
March 20, 2004 |
June 28, 2004 |
100 |
| Mike Harris |
May 12, 1990 |
September 6, 1990 |
117 |
| Dalton McGuinty |
December 1, 1996 |
June 3, 1999 |
914 |
| John Tory |
September 18, 2004 |
October 10, 2007 |
1117 |
Popular Vote of Party
| Leader |
Last Election Before Leader |
First Election As Leader |
Change |
| John Tory |
34.60% |
31.64% |
-2.96% |
| Mike Harris |
24.70% |
23.50% |
-1.20% |
| Dalton McGuinty |
31.10% |
39.90% |
+8.80% |
* Stephen Harper is not listed as the Conservative Party first election was with Stephen Harper as leader.
|
