Ford's PCs are focused on Windsor-Essex this election. Here's why

Windsor-Essex has become a battleground in the lead-up to the June 2 Ontario election as the Progressive Conservatives try to captureseveral ridings traditionallyheld by the Liberalsand most recently the New Democrats.

NDPLeader Andrea Horwathwas in the region Thursday withlocal candidates.

"The people of Windsor know the New Democrats always fight for them," said Horwathin an interview at a campaign stop.

But there's evidence the NDP's hold on the area could be slipping, possibly due in part to several high-profile auto announcements made by Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau just before thecampaign.The region couldalso bein play becausetwo NDP incumbents decidednot to seek another term in office.

In addition to Horwath,Ford hasmade stops in the area this week. He'sscheduled to make an announcement in Windsor Friday.

Meanwhile, one of Horwath's stops is Essex. The NDP's Taras Natyshak had represented the riding since 2011 and announced late last year he wouldn'trun again.

In 2013, Windsor city councillor Percy Hatfield won Windsor-Tecumseh in a byelectionfor the New Democrats, thenwon in the provincial election the following year. He's also not running this time.

So far, polling suggeststhe PCs have a big lead in the southwest, including in Essex, according to CBC's Poll Tracker.

'Electric vehicle revolution'

The biggest announcement for the region came in March, when Trudeau and Ford unveileda $4.9-billion electric vehicle battery plant to be built in Windsor that would create 2,500 jobs and even more spin-offemployment.

At the time, Ford said the plant was "game changing."

"[It] willhelp guarantee that Ontario is at the forefront of electric vehicle revolution," he said.

"That's really going to push this region forward," said Rakesh Naidu, president and CEO of the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce.

"There is a lot of positive news and optimism in the air."

Ford and Trudeau made yet another stop in Windsor on May 2, just days before the campaign started, announcing Stellantis plants in Windsor and Brampton would get upgraded to support the company's push to make EVbatteries and vehicles.

The Windsor regionis built around anautomotive industry that's seen a huge downturn in recent years, resulting in thousands of lost jobs and plants shutting down.

That makesthese announcements"fundamental" to the future of the city and the region, according to Wayne Petrozzi, professor emeritus in the department of politics and public administration at Toronto Metropolitan University.

"This was a city down on its luck," said Petrozzi, who was born and raised in Windsor. "This investment really breathed new life into the city and its future."

He addedit also "plays into the narrative" Ford is trying to paint.

"It says, 'I stand for the working people,'" he said.

Petrozzisaid Ford's announcements are also meantto pivot attention away from the first half of his term in office where the PC government did not support the changing auto industry by cancelling electric vehicle rebates, for example.

"It's quite a contrast to four years ago when they basically ignored the region."

Progressive Conservative strategist Rob Gilmour saidhe's seeing unprecedented labour support for the PCs, including an endorsement from the International Brotherhood of Boilermakersthis election.

"It turned a lot of heads," he said, noting labour unions do not typically support the PCs.

Pandemic fallout

However, who Windsorites decideto vote forcould also dependon whether the fallout from the pandemic factors in.

Aldo DiCarlo, the outgoing mayor of Amherstburg, located in Essex County, said the debate is polarizing.

"It is probably even a little more contentious than usual," he said.

"There was a lot of passion, good and bad, throughout the pandemic regarding restrictions."

Windsor was hit hard by COVID-19as hospitals were short staffed and patients flooded in.

But many people opposed the strict lockdown measures, and most recently, various levels of governments drew criticism for the handling of theblockades at theAmbassador Bridge thatcost millions of dollars in trade.

However, DiCarlo and Petrozzi aren't so sure the pandemic willtrump the recent funding announcements.

"This is not just words. This is action," said Petrozzi.

"I think [the pandemic] is likely to recede into the back's of peoples' minds," he added.

"They're going to choose to focus on a future that looks a lot brighter."