Today is the Ontario election. Across the province, Ontarians will be headed to the polls to decide if Premier Doug Ford will be elected for a third term.
Premier Doug Ford called the election on January 28 — over a year early — in response to tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump, which are now set to hit most Canadian goods on March 4, following a 30 day pause.
But tariffs haven’t been the only focus this election. Two and a half million Ontarians do not currently have a family doctor — something party leaders have made promises to tackle.
Affordability is also top of mind for voters this election. The province remains far behind Ford’s 2022 campaign promise of building 1.5 million new homes by 2031, and many Ontarians are feeling the effects of the province’s housing and affordability crisis.
At rabble, we’ll be posting live election updates tonight, February 27, both here on this page, as well as on social media, as polls close at 9 p.m. across the province.
8:25 p.m.
Results are expected to be delayed in four ridings, due to delays at polling stations. The affected ridings are Humber River-Black Creek, Parkdale-High Park, Spadina-Fort York, and York Centre. Results are expected to be announced between 9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
8:40 p.m.
Additional delays are expected in the ridings of King-Vaughan, Orleans, and Algoma-Manitoulin.
9:00 p.m.
Most polls in the province have now closed. Those who are still waiting will be able to cast their vote if they remain in line.
There are 124 seats in Ontario Legislature; 63 seats are needed to form a majority government. In the 2022 election, the PCs won 83 seats, winning their second majority government in Ontario. Premier Doug Ford is hoping to further strengthen his majority this election.
9:15 p.m.
The PCs are now leading in 36 ridings, and has won 41. The NDP is leading in 14, and has been elected in seven. The Liberals are leading in 12 ridings, and have won four. The Greens have won two seats.
In Hamilton Centre, where Independent candidate Sarah Jama is running, the NDP is leading in the polls. rabble spoke to Jama about her campaign a couple of weeks ago.
The CBC is now projecting a PC majority government for the third time in a row, which has not happened since 1959.
9:30 p.m.
Doug Ford is projected to win his Etobicoke North riding, and Green Party leader Mike Schreiner is projected to win in Guelph. NDP Leader Marit Stiles is also projected to win her riding of Davenport.
9:45 p.m.
CBC is now predicting the NDP will form Ontario’s official opposition. This is the third time in a row the NDP has formed the the province’s official opposition, staring in 2018. Currently, the NDP is leading or has won 24 seats, with the Liberals leading or wining 13 seats.
9:55 p.m.
The Ontario Greens have won two seats, maintaining their caucus growth from one to two. In addition to Green Party leader Mike Schreiner, incumbent Aislinn Clancy, who won the Ontario Green’s second seat in a 2023 Kitchener Centre byelection, has been re-elected.
10:05 p.m.
Independent candidate Bobbi Ann Brady is projected to win in riding Haldimand-Norfolk. Last election, Brady made history as Ontario’s first Independent MPP who hadn’t previously won as part of a political party. Previously, Brady worked as the campaign manager for former PC MPP Toby Barrett.
10:35 p.m.
In his election night speech, Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner congratulated Ford on his election victory, emphasizing that he and the other Green Party MPP Aislinn Clancy would continue to hold his government to account.
“I say to Mr. Ford, congratulations on a majority government,” he said. “The two Ontario Green MPPs will do our job to hold your government accountable.”
Although the Greens held their seats, Schreiner also expressed his disappointment that the Green’s caucus didn’t win another seat.
“I know that tonight was not the results we had wanted, and I know they’re not the results that Matt wanted,” he said. “If there was ever anyone who deserved to be an MPP it’s Matt Richter.”
Matt Richter lost to PC incumbent Graydon Smith in the riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka. Schreiner also addressed progressive voters in Ontario, urging them to continue to organize.
“Tonight, I say to progressive voices across the province, ‘don’t agonize, organize,'” he said. “We owe it to the people of Ontario to fight for progressive values.”
10:50
Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie addressed her supporters in her election night speech, after loosing her seat to PC candidate Silvia Gualtieri, announcing that she will be staying on as party leader.
Crombie said she plans to continue to hold Doug Ford accountable on improving healthcare accessibility and protecting the Greenbelt.
“The people of Ontario deserve more than they’ve gotten from you from the last seven years,” she said. “You promised to protect Ontario, but you neglected Ontario. We’re going to make sure that you go back to protecting us.”
Crombie also emphasized that the Liberals regaining their official party status, which requires 12 seats in the legislature — about 10 per cent of the assembly — is a “building block”, and that the party will use the momentum continue to “push forward and to grow.”
“They said the Ontario Liberal Party was dead,” she said. “Tonight, you proved them wrong.”
11:25
Premier Doug Ford emphasized two things in his speech — the economy and strength.
He spoke about growing Ontario’s manufacturing, tech sector, and life science facilities while in office, emphasizing the need to protect Ontario’s economy.
“We have to fight hard to protect our progress,” he said. “We asked the people for a mandate to make Ontario the most competitive place in the G7 to invest, create jobs, and do business. The people said yes.”
Ford also touted his successes at bringing “sanity to bike lanes,” as well as his “crack down on crime” and his closures of supervised drug consumption service sites.
His speech also addressed Trump’s tariff threats — the reason Ford said he called this election early — saying Trump had underestimated Canada.
“Donald Trump thinks he can break us,” he said. “He thinks he can divide and conquer, pit region against region. He is underestimating us. He is underestimating the resilience of the Canadian people, the Canadian spirit.”
“Canada won’t start a fight with the U.S., but you best believe we’re ready to win one,” he finished.
Currently, the PCs are projected as winning or leading in 81 ridings. In 2022, they won in 83 seats.
11:45 p.m.
NPD Party Leader Marit Stiles was the last to speak of the night. Stiles also addressed Trumps’ tariff threats — and offered her help to Premier Doug Ford to fight the threat.
“I really do want to offer him any possible help that we can in the face of Donald Trump,” she said. “The threat is real, and I strongly believe we can overcome it with a strong team Ontario and team Canada approach.”
Stiles said she would continue to fight for real rent control for Ontarians, a better and safer school system, as well as combat the rising cost of food. She also said she was prepared for another election, and one day, to deliver a government that is for the people of Ontario.
“You want a government that’s gonna stand up for you, and one day I will deliver that government,” she said.
Stiles added that peaceful, fair elections are at the core of Canadian democracy. And that despite not getting all the results she had hoped for, the NDP had been chosen to do a “very important job” — form the official opposition.
“In Canada, free, fair, and peaceful elections are what we do,” Stiles said. “It’s a big piece on why we are going to keep our country. You got that, Donald?”
At the time of writing this, the NDP are leading or winning in 26 ridings, an 18.5 per cent share.
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