As Ontario’s historic winter provincial election approaches, Liberal Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Kingston and the Islands, Ted Hsu, is making his case for another term.
Kingstonians will go to the polls on Feb. 27 to decide who will be their next representative to the provincial parliament. Hsu is running as the incumbent for the Liberal party in the first winter provincial election since 1883 and is looking to capitalize on his previous success.
Before his time in office, Hsu, ArtSci ’84, attended Queen’s studying physics before attending Princeton University to receive a PhD in the same field. He worked in research, the private financial sector, and as the treasurer for the Kingston and the Islands Federal Liberal Association before getting into politics.
“Being a science guy, I do like to look at the details, and I do think that the tough problems that we have require politicians who are willing to sweat the details and put aside the slogans,” Hsu said in an interview with The Journal. Hsu says his science background gives him an edge in politics, explaining the importance of being open to new ideas and ensuring you “measure twice and cut once.”
Hsu’s political career started in 2011 when he defeated Conservative candidate Alicia Gordon by 2000 votes to become one of Ontario’s two federal of parliament in that election. He chose not to run for reelection federally in 2015 but returned to politics in 2022 by running and being elected as the Kingston and the Islands MPP.
READ MORE: Ted Hsu takes Kingston and the Islands
The candidate’s initial involvement in politics and decision to seek reelection stems from his need to provide a better future for his children and the young people of Canada. He emphasized his priority, if elected, is to advocate for their long-term interests.
One of these long-term interests Hsu referenced as a major issue is housing prices, adding he wants to increase affordability by incentivizing the building of more units. He explained this part of his platform is removing development charges for units under 3,000 square feet in an effort for that reduced cost to be ed onto the buyers. These charges fall between 0.5 and two per cent.
Hsu suggested in certain circumstances, land transfer taxes—an additional tax set by the province based on a property’s purchase price—should be negated. He cited the example of an organization selling property to a developer committed to building affordable housing, arguing that they should be exempt from paying land transfer taxes. Hsu emphasized his proposals are aimed at ing the current economy.
“It’s not setting up some big government bureaucracy to build houses, it’s putting in incentives to make sure that the private sector is building what we need and building it at the right speed,” Hsu said.
Hsu spoke to issues relating to funding for post-secondary education, explaining the 2019 tuition cut by 10 per cent due to the Ford government was for populist reasons and the tuition cut is part of the issue contributing to overall post-secondary funding. He blames the Ford government’s pledge of only one billion dollars in funding for post-secondary education, referencing the convened to propose adequate funding came back with a recommendation of $2.5 billion.
“They [the Conservative government] like the populist stance that gets some votes because they can say they cut tuition. But they also cut funding, so you’re getting less of your tuition, you’re getting institutions that are struggling and cutting corners, cutting programs, and making your education, on average, less valuable,” Hsu said.
Polls for the provincial election are now open, as Ontarians can cast their votes early by visiting their local election office until 6 p.m. before election day on Feb. 27. Additionally, Ontarians can vote at their assigned location according to their address on election day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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