TORONTO — Ontario's political party leaders have criss-crossed the province, released their platforms and made their pitches over the past month — now it's decision day for voters.
It has been an unusual election, with candidates battling icy stairs, brutal snowstorms and frigid temperatures while canvassing in the first winter campaign since 1981.
Most Ontario elections also haven't included a party leader leaving the province during the campaign, but Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford made two trips to Washington, D.C. — as premier — to push back against threatened American tariffs.
Ford called the snap, $189-million election saying he needs a new mandate to deal with four years of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has made repeated threats to put tariffs on Canadian goods that could greatly harm Ontario's economy.
The other three major party leaders say this election was unnecessary, in part because Ford already had a large majority government with well over a year left in its mandate.
Ford made tariffs and the economy the focal point of his campaign, while Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie centred her campaign on a promise to connect every Ontarian to a family doctor, and NDP Leader Marit Stiles spoke a lot about health care and affordability.
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner was the first to release a fully costed platform, with many promises on various provincial policy issues including building more housing, protecting farmland and improving affordability.
The party is hoping to not only hold onto Schreiner's seat in Guelph and another in Kitchener Centre they picked up in a 2023 byelection, but also to add a third in Parry Sound-Muskoka — a seat the Greens have long had their eye on and where they came second in 2022.
Just before the start of the election campaign, Ford said he needed "the largest mandate in Ontario's history," but he ended the campaign with a slightly different tune.
"I don't look at the numbers," Ford said Wednesday morning in Windsor. "I just want to win."
The Progressive Conservatives won 83 out of 124 seats in the 2022 election, with the NDP capturing 31, the Liberals getting eight and the Greens snagging one. At dissolution, the Tories had 79 seats, the NDP had 28, the Liberals had nine and the Greens had two. There were six independents.
If Ford's government wins re-election, it will be his third term as premier, and when asked if he would eventually seek a fourth term, he said he wants to serve even longer than Hazel McCallion was Mississauga mayor. She won 12 successive elections.
"Man, I want to be premier forever," Ford said.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles headed into election day saying her goal is to flip Progressive Conservative seats, but most of her campaign stops on the final day were in NDP-held ridings.
"The sun is out," she said with a nod to the challenging conditions through the winter campaign.
"It is shining today, right? The clouds have parted. This is the opportunity we have, and I know that Ontarians want to see that change. So please, everybody, get out there. Vote. Vote for change. Vote for your values. Vote to elect New Democrats in every riding across this province."
Weather advisories were in effect across much of the province on Thursday morning, as Environment Canada said snowfall was possible in areas such as the Greater Toronto Area and Ottawa.
It also issued snowfall warnings for some northern regions including Thunder Bay, where accumulations of 15 to 25 centimetres are expected.
Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, meanwhile, spent time campaigning in Oakville — a riding the Liberals hope to take from the Tories — and canvassing in Mississauga.
Crombie was mayor of Mississauga for three terms and is hoping that her record and name recognition there turn all six ridings in the city from blue to red.
But the Progressive Conservatives are fighting hard to prevent that, paying particular attention to Mississauga East-Cooksville, where Crombie is running, in the hopes of keeping her out of the legislature.
Several candidates who have served as cabinet ministers have been out in the riding campaigning for PC candidate Silvia Gualtieri, who is also the mother-in-law of former Progressive Conservative leader and current Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown.
Ford made his final campaign stop on Wednesday in the riding, meeting with the Polish community. It is a community to which Crombie belongs, but she brushed off any significance of the visit.
"I feel the wind in our sails," she said in Oakville. "I'm feeling a lot of momentum in Oakville, in Mississauga, and across the province of Ontario. Thank you for the question. Please vote for change and please vote Ontario Liberal."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2025.
Allison Jones, The Canadian Press
