Will Doug Ford hold his lead in the polls following Monday night’s televised Ontario leaders’ debate?

“You can vote for any 3 of these parties, but I tell ya, they’re going to jack up your taxes like you’ve never seen before and they’re going to make life more expensive,” said the PC leader as he stuck to his campaign messages and remained mostly unrattled despite the attacks from all around him.

Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca also fended off attacks from both Doug Ford and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath over his time in cabinet during the previous Liberal governments.

“Respectfully Ms. Horwath, every time you attack me, as you’ve done for a year, Doug Ford smiles,” Del Duca quipped.

As for reflections on the COVID 19 pandemic and the thousands of elderly nursing home residents who died after contracting the virus, this got some attention including from Andrea Horwath.

“I would’ve made sure that an iron ring was put around seniors in long term care,” Horwath insisted, “How shameful that there was no protection for seniors in long term care and instead this government protected their buddies.”

Horwath, Del Duca and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner have all promised to take profits out of long term care, but at no time did any of the three press Doug Ford on his vision for the future of nursing homes in this province.

But Schreiner did make an impact during the debate, with clear concise messaging on the need for climate action and reduced pricing on electric vehicles.

“We finally have a Green MPP at Queen’s Park who’s punched well above his weight over the last four years,” he said referring to himself, “And I need more Green MPPs from places like University-Rosedale’s Dianne Saxe.”

Schreiner also mentioned by name the green candidate for Parry Sound-Muskoka.

Schreiner is visiting that riding and University-Rosedale Tuesday in his bid to increase his party’s standing in the legislature beyond one MPP.

Advance voting begins on Thursday. Election day is two weeks later on June 2nd.