Who is Steven Del Duca? What Does he Mean for Regent Park?
With the Provincial Liberals rebuilding after a blowout loss, what do we know about their new Leader?
Ontario’s three party system is in an interesting place. It seems everything Doug Ford says or does makes headlines, and Andrea Horwath has solidified herself as a household name but there seems to be a big red hole in our three-party system. Since Kathleen Wynne’s blowout loss in 2018, it seems the Liberals have been laying low and with a provincial election a year away and the intense criticism that Ford has come under due to his reactionary handling of the pandemic (and more), it begs the question - Who the heck is Steven Del Duca?
Steven Del Duca is the current Provincial Liberal Leader. Elected as party leader on March 7th, 2020, he won the vote with 58.8% of the ballot, receiving 1258 delegate votes.
The son of two immigrant parents, Del Duca is a proud Liberal. According to his official website, he’s been an active Liberal since he was 15, and has played various roles around the party since. His first time elected into legislature was in September 2012, when he served in the Cabinet as Minister of Transportation, and as Minister of Economic Development and Growth. He holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree from Osgoode Hall and studied Political Science and Canadian History at the University of Toronto and Carleton University.
On his official website, he is aware that the Liberal party is in dire need of a “rebuild” and that the road ahead for the party is going to be long and arduous. Del Duca himself lost the 2018 election in his riding in Vaughan-Woodbridge and does not hold a seat currently.
Del Duca vaguely claims to provide real solutions and real progress, he believes that the economic and social safety net that exists now is inadequate to deal “with the disruption of automation and digitization”. With a community like Regent Park, of which many residents are working-class people supporting their families, an emphasis on a strong economic and social safety net is sure to be popular. Speaking from my own personal experience, the reason my family was able to stay afloat during the initial stages of the pandemic was because of government assistance.
With the election still a ways away, Del Duca has not yet released an official platform, but his main talking points have been centered around an air of responsibility and maturity that he believes he brings. He has spoken about his aims to bring progress and create opportunities for Ontarians.
As they’re still being developed, we, unfortunately, can’t get into specifics regarding his policies, but what has he said and done? He’s received criticism from the NDP and made criticisms himself of the Conservatives,
In April of 2021, Del Duca joined Breakfast Television and criticized the province’s decision to allow 3 paid sick days, saying “it’s not enough”. He then went on to call for Doug Ford’s resignation, calling it “a pattern of deceit”, related to garding Ford’s heavily criticized methods on long-term care, paid sick leave, and his alleged knowledge of MPP Rod Phillip’s vacations to the Caribbean during the lockdown.
In a statement to iPolitics, an on-line publication covering Canadian politics, he said “Based on everything I’ve seen and heard, and all the discussions and the tragic circumstances of the last 12 or 13 months, I’m at a point where I do not believe mixing profit with care in this space at all is compatible anymore”.
This comes after the Doug Ford administration came under extremely heavy criticism for the conditions of Long Term Care Facilities many of which are operated by the private for profit sector. I spoke with Saima Islam, a Regent Park community member (and fellow journalist at Regent Park the Focus Media Arts Centre) she says she thinks it’s “unlikely for me to put my parents in a retirement home when they’re older. I think culture definitely plays a part because there’s a sense of wanting to stay around family and caring for family members even when their old and take care of your elders the way they took care of us”. On the topic of Del Duca’s commitment to deprivatize long term care facilities, she says its “not something that I will personally benefit from”.
Despite his criticisms, he’s said that he “would be prepared to work with anyone, regardless of what party they may belong to,”. In an interview with insauga.com, a digital news publication.
Del Duca has also stood up as a supporter of Israel, in April of 2021, he delivered a video message in which he showed his support for Israel’s 73rd birthday. He stated, “Ontario has built a long-lasting and mutually beneficial friendship with Israel for many years”.
I spoke with Sadid Ahmed, an Islamic religious leader in Regent Park. When asked about his take on Del Duca’s support of Israel, he said: “Why would I support a political leader who wants to support and aid Israel in achieving their goal? They have been torturing the people of Palestine for so long now and Muslims in general. Those are my people, my brothers, my sisters”. When I asked him about how he believes citizens of Regent Park would react to Del Duca’s stance, he said: “Regent Park is composed of a majority Muslim community. With all of the members very close with each other. We support our fellow neighbours and help each other grow and raise awareness together. Seeing what’s happening in Palestine obviously hurts us and we try to do whatever we can AS A COMMUNITY to support them with any way possible. I’m sure my reaction would be very similar to the reactions of the community members in Regent Park when I say that they would have negative thoughts toward the liberal leader and his statement of us having a beneficial relationship with Israel. That makes all of us feel like we are helping the enemy, we are helping the bad people, we are helping and aiding in a genocide.”
The NDP also put out an “attack ad” on him, criticizing his past as Kathleen Wynne’s “Right Hand Man”. Calling him out for “freezing hospital funding, laying off nurses, and privatizing Hydro One”.
In a diverse, densely populated community like Regent Park, we can only wonder what Del Duca’s impact would be on a ground level. I can’t imagine his support of Israel will go over well with the large Muslim community in Toronto. His centrist view of being willing to work with anyone regardless of party affiliation is sure to go over well, as should his criticism of Doug Ford and push for removing long-term care from the private sector.
Based on my lived experience, I can attest to the unpopularity of the current provincial conservatives in Regent Park. The strict lockdowns have made it extremely difficult for many working-class people, so it’s natural to assume people are looking for something different. Will voters go with the ol’ reliable Liberal party? Or is there the slightest possibility that the Conservative policies pushed Regent Park farther left than ever before?
With a minimal platform, the question is, If elected, will Del Duca really be the person to bring change and progress to Ontario? Or will he be just another establishment, status quo Liberal? His contradictory nature on privatization, playing a role in cutting healthcare and hydro, and yet committing to deprivatize the long-term care sector paint an interesting picture of him. Only time will tell.
Written by
Daiem Mohammad
Journalist
FOCUS Media Arts Centre
Ontario’s three party system is in an interesting place. It seems everything Doug Ford says or does makes headlines, and Andrea Horwath has solidified herself as a household name but there seems to be a big red hole in our three-party system. Since Kathleen Wynne’s blowout loss in 2018, it seems the Liberals have been laying low and with a provincial election a year away and the intense criticism that Ford has come under due to his reactionary handling of the pandemic (and more), it begs the question - Who the heck is Steven Del Duca?
Steven Del Duca is the current Provincial Liberal Leader. Elected as party leader on March 7th, 2020, he won the vote with 58.8% of the ballot, receiving 1258 delegate votes.
The son of two immigrant parents, Del Duca is a proud Liberal. According to his official website, he’s been an active Liberal since he was 15, and has played various roles around the party since. His first time elected into legislature was in September 2012, when he served in the Cabinet as Minister of Transportation, and as Minister of Economic Development and Growth. He holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree from Osgoode Hall and studied Political Science and Canadian History at the University of Toronto and Carleton University.
On his official website, he is aware that the Liberal party is in dire need of a “rebuild” and that the road ahead for the party is going to be long and arduous. Del Duca himself lost the 2018 election in his riding in Vaughan-Woodbridge and does not hold a seat currently.
Del Duca vaguely claims to provide real solutions and real progress, he believes that the economic and social safety net that exists now is inadequate to deal “with the disruption of automation and digitization”. With a community like Regent Park, of which many residents are working-class people supporting their families, an emphasis on a strong economic and social safety net is sure to be popular. Speaking from my own personal experience, the reason my family was able to stay afloat during the initial stages of the pandemic was because of government assistance.
With the election still a ways away, Del Duca has not yet released an official platform, but his main talking points have been centered around an air of responsibility and maturity that he believes he brings. He has spoken about his aims to bring progress and create opportunities for Ontarians.
As they’re still being developed, we, unfortunately, can’t get into specifics regarding his policies, but what has he said and done? He’s received criticism from the NDP and made criticisms himself of the Conservatives,
In April of 2021, Del Duca joined Breakfast Television and criticized the province’s decision to allow 3 paid sick days, saying “it’s not enough”. He then went on to call for Doug Ford’s resignation, calling it “a pattern of deceit”, related to garding Ford’s heavily criticized methods on long-term care, paid sick leave, and his alleged knowledge of MPP Rod Phillip’s vacations to the Caribbean during the lockdown.
In a statement to iPolitics, an on-line publication covering Canadian politics, he said “Based on everything I’ve seen and heard, and all the discussions and the tragic circumstances of the last 12 or 13 months, I’m at a point where I do not believe mixing profit with care in this space at all is compatible anymore”.
This comes after the Doug Ford administration came under extremely heavy criticism for the conditions of Long Term Care Facilities many of which are operated by the private for profit sector. I spoke with Saima Islam, a Regent Park community member (and fellow journalist at Regent Park the Focus Media Arts Centre) she says she thinks it’s “unlikely for me to put my parents in a retirement home when they’re older. I think culture definitely plays a part because there’s a sense of wanting to stay around family and caring for family members even when their old and take care of your elders the way they took care of us”. On the topic of Del Duca’s commitment to deprivatize long term care facilities, she says its “not something that I will personally benefit from”.
Despite his criticisms, he’s said that he “would be prepared to work with anyone, regardless of what party they may belong to,”. In an interview with insauga.com, a digital news publication.
Del Duca has also stood up as a supporter of Israel, in April of 2021, he delivered a video message in which he showed his support for Israel’s 73rd birthday. He stated, “Ontario has built a long-lasting and mutually beneficial friendship with Israel for many years”.
I spoke with Sadid Ahmed, an Islamic religious leader in Regent Park. When asked about his take on Del Duca’s support of Israel, he said: “Why would I support a political leader who wants to support and aid Israel in achieving their goal? They have been torturing the people of Palestine for so long now and Muslims in general. Those are my people, my brothers, my sisters”. When I asked him about how he believes citizens of Regent Park would react to Del Duca’s stance, he said: “Regent Park is composed of a majority Muslim community. With all of the members very close with each other. We support our fellow neighbours and help each other grow and raise awareness together. Seeing what’s happening in Palestine obviously hurts us and we try to do whatever we can AS A COMMUNITY to support them with any way possible. I’m sure my reaction would be very similar to the reactions of the community members in Regent Park when I say that they would have negative thoughts toward the liberal leader and his statement of us having a beneficial relationship with Israel. That makes all of us feel like we are helping the enemy, we are helping the bad people, we are helping and aiding in a genocide.”
The NDP also put out an “attack ad” on him, criticizing his past as Kathleen Wynne’s “Right Hand Man”. Calling him out for “freezing hospital funding, laying off nurses, and privatizing Hydro One”.
In a diverse, densely populated community like Regent Park, we can only wonder what Del Duca’s impact would be on a ground level. I can’t imagine his support of Israel will go over well with the large Muslim community in Toronto. His centrist view of being willing to work with anyone regardless of party affiliation is sure to go over well, as should his criticism of Doug Ford and push for removing long-term care from the private sector.
Based on my lived experience, I can attest to the unpopularity of the current provincial conservatives in Regent Park. The strict lockdowns have made it extremely difficult for many working-class people, so it’s natural to assume people are looking for something different. Will voters go with the ol’ reliable Liberal party? Or is there the slightest possibility that the Conservative policies pushed Regent Park farther left than ever before?
With a minimal platform, the question is, If elected, will Del Duca really be the person to bring change and progress to Ontario? Or will he be just another establishment, status quo Liberal? His contradictory nature on privatization, playing a role in cutting healthcare and hydro, and yet committing to deprivatize the long-term care sector paint an interesting picture of him. Only time will tell.
Daiem Mohammad
Journalist
FOCUS Media Arts Centre
Dear Friends of Regent Park
ReplyDeleteThere is a 4th Party not mentioned in this story. The Green Party of Ontario has a robust plan to deal with the Social and Climate injustices in Ontario . Mr Del Duca is a puppet like any other Liberal . Look what is happening in British Columbia.. The NDP of BC is tearing down Trees on the Vancouver Island. Justin Trudeau is pushing a pipeline through Wet’suwet’en territory. The Liberals HAVE also responsability at the conditions of the Long Care Homes and Retirement Homes were most people died during the PANDEMIC previous LIBERAL governments have been cutting the budget and allow the path for Privatization.. so go ahead vote liberal
It will be more of the same old.. time to vote for Change
Vote for the Green Party.