For the first time since 2006, the name of the Ontario Minister of Health, Christine Elliott, does not appear on the ballots. After a grueling term marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, the one who has long been one of the pillars of the province’s progressive conservatives has decided to bow out.
For the past 15 years, it was impossible to talk about the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario without mentioning Mr.me Elliott. The wife of former federal finance minister Jim Flaherty, who died suddenly in 2014, was first elected in 2006 in the riding of Whitby, a suburb of Toronto. The seat had previously been held by her husband, who had left it for its federal equivalent.
In 2009, Christine Elliott tried to be elected leader of her party, a race she lost to Tim Hudak. Six years later, second try and second defeat, this time against Patrick Brown. Finally, in 2018, a third failure, this time against Doug Ford, elected Premier of Ontario a few months later. The latter then appointed her Minister of Health – and Deputy Prime Minister.
Why stay in politics after three unsuccessful leadership races? “Christine wanted to do her part and serve the public,” says public affairs consultant Alex Chreston, who has volunteered on each of Ms.me Elliott since 2006. Especially since the Ford and Flaherty families had known each other for a long time, he notes: Doug Ford’s father was a provincial Conservative deputy at the same time as Jim Flaherty.
Christine Elliott, however, has visibly come to the end of the line after four years at the head of the Ministry of Health, much of which in the midst of a pandemic. “It was tough, all the decisions weighed on her,” says her son, Galen Flaherty. “Have the last few years been difficult for her? Certainly. But it shows that she put the interests of the public before her own, ”believes Mr. Chreston.
When her departure was announced last March, several members of the Ontario health community praised the work she had accomplished. “Your commitment to children’s health will always be recognized,” wrote Dr.r Ronald Cohn, president of SickKids Children’s Hospital in Toronto. “Thank you for your dedication in managing the health system during this difficult time,” noted Dr.r Kevin Smith, President of the University Health Network Toronto.
A Franco-Ontarian doctor in the ranks
While psychologist Sylvain Roy, a native of northern Ontario, also recognizes the minister’s devotion, he is very critical of the mental health cuts she made in 2018. These $335 million cuts have “upset the former president of the Association of Psychologists of Ontario and sparked a political flame in him: in March 2022, the Franco-Ontarian was named Liberal candidate in Newmarket-Aurora, the riding that Mme Elliott represented.
The Liberal candidate particularly deplores the communication problems that the Ford government had during the pandemic. “There was a lot of back-and-forth,” he says, which meant medical professionals “sometimes didn’t know what was going on day-to-day.” Christine Elliott “did her best”, but investing more in mental health in 2018 would have helped to better “absorb” the impact of the pandemic, he judges.
The trained neuropsychologist believes his expertise gives him a unique perspective on post-pandemic reality. And if he does not win on June 2, the Liberal candidate is already thinking of continuing the political adventure. “What motivated me to show up from the start, it will still be there,” he says.
A Ford government heavyweight
When Christine Elliott announced her departure last March, opposition parties at Queen’s Park suggested she was leaving a sinking ship. That does not seem to be the case: the Progressive Conservatives are ahead in all the polls, and the electoral forecasting site 338Canada also estimates that they will keep its riding of Newmarket-Aurora. (The party’s new candidate, Dawn Gallagher Murphy, declined to grant us an interview.)
His departure will, however, undoubtedly change the face of a possible next Ford government: in March, a columnist for the Toronto Star described it as a “safeguard”.
“It is obvious that the Minister [Elliott] was an advisor Doug Ford and his cabinet trusted, especially during the pandemic,” notes Kyle Jacobs, a former political adviser to the premier of Ontario.
“I think his influence has been felt in the current government,” says Galen Flaherty of his mother. The Toronto lawyer does not cite a specific example, but nevertheless notes that Mr.me Elliott and Mr. Ford share the same values. What would a Ford government look like without its mother? Mr. Flaherty prefers not to venture into this terrain. But “I have complete confidence in Doug Ford and in his mission,” he says.