The sentiments are nice, but to Team Sandra, I say: keep working like you are way, way behind. Work like you’ve never worked on a campaign. Don’t leave anything to chance!

…Indeed, over the last century, all three major parties have generally fared badly in provincial elections when they were headed by leaders who hailed from the city of Toronto or were from their party’s left wing.

The only people to lead their party to victory and become premier while holding a Toronto riding were George Drew (Conservative-High Park) from 1943 to 1948 and Bob Rae (NDP-York South) from 1990 to 1995.

Combined, these facts are a big reason why Sandra Pupatello will likely win the Liberal leadership race to succeed Dalton McGuinty and become Ontario’s next premier.

Historically, the path to success for Liberal leadership contenders has been simple: Play up your outside-of-Toronto roots and appeal to the fiscal business-minded conservatives in the party.

It’s a strategy that McGuinty deployed masterfully in winning the 1996 leadership contest, where his final-ballot opponent was Gerard Kennedy, then a downtown Toronto MP with a background as a food bank organizer.

It’s a strategy that will surely propel Pupatello to victory…

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Impressive group.  Impressive candidate, too, but you knew that already.

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Wildrose is going to win a huge majority! The Quebec Liberals are going to a distant third place! The Cons are going to lose in Calgary Centre!

This poor, um, poll is accurate plus or minus 115 percentage points out of 100.

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…and here’s one.

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I’ve always liked and admired her, as regulars know.  She is fearless.

At this point, however, her campaign manager – my pal Carter – is better known than she is.  That said, it’s a long race, and I know the pair of them are going to make it fun.

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Was up in Kincardine, Ont. at a Holiday Sin Bin last night, bored. So I looked at old photos on the iPhone. Found this one, from a few weeks ago up at the cabin. That’s Roxy, Canada’s Best-Loved Political Dog, in the woods as they were turning.

Boy, do I miss that place.

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Ouch.

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