3 GTA By-Elections Today

OK, so I admit this one snuck up on me. But there are three by-elections going down today across the city: two in Liberal ridings of York South-Weston and Markham and one in the PC riding of Burlington.

As this Toronto Star article points out, by-elections can indeed be tough for ruling parties, as it gives voters an opportunity to voice their frustrations before a general election.

One of the hot-button topics these days is the minimum wage. The Liberals are currently being pounded by the NDP in the Legislature at their failure to honour their commitment to raise the minimum wage above $8.

As Robert Benzie points out in his article "[Liberal] candidate Laura Albanese, put out a flyer last week titled "fighting for a fair minimum wage," saying she will press for a higher level and noting the Liberals boosted the rate by more than $1 since 2003." Oops.

While I personally think that the Ontario Liberals are in no danger of loosing any ground (or the October election for that matter) this sure sounds like an interesting bunch of contests. It also looks a little nice for democracy, as the candidates come from wide backgrounds, including a news anchor, a small businessman, a lawyer, a former regional government chair, a nurse, a teacher, and a York University student.