Wynne: 'It's a tough election, there's no doubt about that'

It's day two of the May long weekend and all of the Ontario party leaders are making movesaround the province.

NDPLeader Andrea Horwathis in Ottawa before she heads south to Kingston.

PC Leader Doug Ford is back in the Toronto area, but he's not making any announcements today.

After a day off, Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne is back inMississauga today, her fourth trip to the area during the campaign. Reporters questioned Wynneon whether she's worried that some key Liberal strongholds will be lost on June 7.

Here's where we are on day 12:

Latest from the campaign

• NDP pledges to end gas pump 'gouging' but details are vague
  • Andrea Horwath is pledging to set weekly gas prices that wouldn't change on long weekends if she is elected premier, but was vague with how price stabilization would happen.
• Doug Ford hammered over allegations stolen data helped boost campaign
  • Doug Ford blamesformer PC leader Patrick Brown for the current problems the party is facing with the 407 ETRdata breach controversy.

Themoment

Wynne: "This is a tough election"

6 years ago

Duration 1:04

Kathleen Wynne is questioned by a reporter for spending a lot of time in Mississauga ridings that have been traditionally liberal strongholds.

Kathleen Wynneknows this election is anything but"in the bag."

That was part of her response to areporter who questioned ifshe is playing "defence" by focusing her energy in places like Mississauga, which leaned strongly Liberal in the last election.

"If you're asking me if we are in a horse race in this election: absolutely.This is a tough election, there is no doubt about that," Wynnesaid.

Wynneparticipated in theInspirational Steps 5K run in the GTA suburbthis morning, an event she says draws participants from around the region.

She touched on child care, minimum wage and seniors care as important issues.

"There are really, really important issues at stake in this election and it should be a tough election and people should be questioning us," Wynne said.

In 2014, the Liberals won all of the Mississauga ridings with about 50per cent of the vote. Full Ontario 2014 riding results breakdown here.

Wynnedenied she's spent too much in Mississauga, saying she'll be in the north later this week.

Poll Tracker

Here's the latest data from the Ontario poll tracker as of May 20. The NDP gained where the PC party dropped. No change for the Liberals who remain in third.

Get the full breakdown here.

Riding to watch

Newmarket-Aurora, population: 117,418, written by Lucas Powers

Long held by former Tory MPP Frank Klees before his retirement, the Liberals pulled off an unexpected victory in Newmarket-Aurora in 2014.

Liberal MPP Chris Ballard was able to capitalize on resurgent Grit support in the area, which observers credited primarily to changing demographics. He went on to serve in Kathleen Wynne's cabinet.

Ballard will face a very strong PC candidate in Christine Elliott, however. The former MPP, deputy Tory leader and three-time leadership candidate has deep experience and significant name recognition. While she doesn't live in the riding, her candidacy came as a relief to many local PC supporters.

Elliott stepped into the role after the party overturned the nomination of Charity McGrath after the entire board of directors of the local riding association resigned in protest. McGrath's team faced accusations of using shady tactics to secure the nomination.

It's likely that either Ballard or Elliott would serve in a cabinet role should their party formgovernment.

Melissa Williams is running for the NDP in the riding. There are also six other candidates on the ballot, representing a host of lesser-known Ontario parties.

Where the leaders are

Ford:Asian Heritage Month celebration in North York (1 p.m.), Meet & Greet with Roman Baber at Cusina Lounge in North York (3 p.m.)
Horwath:Event atAbbotsford Housein Ottawa (8:45 a.m.), event at Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning in Kingston (2 p.m.), visit to Stevenat PeterboroughNaval Association in Peterborough (7 p.m.)
Schreiner:Campaiging in Riverside Park in Guelph (11 a.m.), BBQ with Guelph supporters (8 p.m.)
Wynne:Participates in 5K run in Mississauga (9 a.m.), Visit to seniors residencein Mississauga (1 p.m.), Visit to Jollibee in Scarborough (5:15 p.m.)

Subscribe to our The Campaigner newsletter

Like what you just read? You can now get The Campaigner delivered directly to yourinbox.Sign uphere to subscribe.

For more Ontario election coverage

Ontario Poll Tracker|Get the latest projections here
Vote Compass|See how your views compare with the parties' platforms
Complete election coverage|Links to all our stories
HelpCBCtrack political ads on Facebook|Learn how here