Ford’s PCs win 80 seats for a third decisive win. Pictured: Premier Doug Ford and his wife Karla. Photo Credit: Doug Ford/X.
Ontario residents have awarded Premier Doug Ford with a third consecutive majority government and four more years at Queen’s Park.
The Thursday, Feb. 27 election was not originally scheduled to take place until June 4, 2026. In late January, however, Premier Doug Ford asked Lieutenant Governor Edith Dumont to dissolve his majority government after determining that he required a new mandate to negotiate with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Since being elected to a second but non-consecutive term as President on Nov. 5, 2024, Trump has been threatening to enact 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian exports to the United States, citing border security and drug trafficking among other grievances.
Trump has also created immense concern both provincially and federally by repeatedly arguing that Canada should become the 51st state.
Despite receiving criticism from opponents for calling a late-winter early election, Ford maintained a commanding lead in most opinion polls throughout the campaign. While it had been anticipated that Ford’s 83-seat caucus might grow even larger, he ended up losing a few close ridings and was hovering around 80 seats late on election night.
Ford struck a positive tone in his victory speech, where he thanked Ontarians for their trust and promised to protect the province from Trump’s threats.
“From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for being here, for sharing this incredible moment with me,” Ford said while addressing supporters.
Another major story of the evening was Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie failing to win seat against Progressive Conservative challenger Silvia Gualtieri. Crombie did, however, lead the Liberals back to party status, as she was projected to win more than 12 seats.
Crombie pledged to stay on as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party during her concession speech.
Crombie and Ford grappled with an efficient NDP vote in key locations, which helped re-elect Marit Stiles as leader of the official opposition. However, were only projected to win 25 total seats late on election night, which represents a loss of six seats from 2022.
“Folks, we’ve been tasked again to serve the people again as their official opposition,” Stiles said in her concession speech.
Despite not forming the new government, NDP supporters at the election night event with Stiles appeared excited that the party was returning as the official opposition for a third straight term.
Although Ford’s Progressive Conservative coalition grew substantially in the past two election cycles, the governing party held only one of the four seats located in the Niagara Region heading into the 2025 campaign. That seat belongs to Sam Oosterhoff, who has served as Niagara West MPP since 2016. The other three seats have been occupied by NDP MPPs Jeff Burch (Niagara Centre) Wayne Gates (Niagara Falls) and Jennie Stevens (St. Catharines).
The PCs retained Oosterhoff’s seat but were ultimately unable to break through in any of the other ridings, and all four incumbents were re-elected on Feb. 27.
With the provincial election now in the rearview mirror, the attention will turn to federal politics, where all signs point to a national vote being held this spring.
Nick Redekop completed his Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree in Labour Studies at Brock University. He has previously served in municipal and federal politics. In his free time, Nick enjoys following sports, taking part in outdoor activities, and reading biographies. Nick resides in Niagara Falls
