Bill Murdoch is retiring; Toronto can remain safely in Ontario (for now)

Rest easy, Toronto. The man whose Ontario does not include Hogtown is formally announcing his retirement today. Bill Murdoch, MPP for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound—and the man who proposed splitting Toronto into its own province so that we didn’t contaminate the rest of “his” Ontario—is leaving Queen’s Park after 20 years as an MPP. He’s been a thorn in the sides of Tory leaders since Mike Harris, and Murdoch is keeping it classy until the end: according to the Star, he spent some time last week allegedly bullying a candidate for town councillor in Hanover, Ontario. Bill Murdoch’s office has contacted The Informer and disputes some of the claims made in Coyle’s column. Coyle refused to speak with us about this matter.

• Conservative MPP Bill Murdoch to ride off into the sunset [Toronto Star]
• Coyle: Channelling the worst of Harris era [Toronto Star]

UPDATED: July 7, 12:53 p.m.