Windsor NDP confident orange stronghold will remain, despite Ford leadership win

It was one of the shortest leadership campaigns in Canadian historybut that didn't stop Doug Ford from visiting Windsor during the race, despite it being an NDP stronghold.

That was a week ago.

On Mondaythenewly chosen PC party leadergave his first news conference, saying hethinks the PCs can make a breakthrough here in Windsor-Essex.

"We're going to win areas that have never went PC before," said Ford, specifying Windsor as one of those areas.

Ford also mentioned his commitment to bringing more jobs to the province, cutting hydro rates, and attracting U.S. business on this side of the border.

Orange crush

Despite Ford's rhetoric Monday, local NDP leaders said they are not worried about Ford having a stake in the area.

"It may sound good at the moment but populism doesn't increase your wage. Populism doesn'tget you better benefits for yourself, your children, and for education for the future," said Windsor-West MPBrian Masse. "Those things are popular at the moment because they might be based insensationalization."

Masse said that personal issues have taken over politics inOntario's conservative party.

"It's clearly a house divided. That's going to carry on in the future," he said.

Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Percy Hatfield said he wasn't "overly surprised" that Ford won the leadership, but that his policies won't stand up in Windsor.

"It all happened on the day we turned our clocks ahead, but it seemed to me the conservatives turned their policies back maybe 20 years," he said.

Ford is against green energyand cap and trade and is "anti education" said Hatfield.

"I don't see the conservatives having much strength in the local area they never have before. I don't see people saying 'Let's follow Trumpism,'" said Hatfield.