Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives swept to a 76-seat majority on June 7, 2018, ending 15 years of Liberal government in one of the most dramatic reversals in Ontario political history. The legislature was dissolved on May 9 for a 29-day campaign across 124 ridings — 17 more than the previous election following a redistribution that aligned most provincial boundaries with federal ridings. Turnout was 58%, the highest since 1999 and up nearly 7 points from the 2014 election's 51.3%.

The election was defined by the collapse of Kathleen Wynne's Liberal government, whose approval ratings had fallen to as low as 12% — the lowest of any premier in Ontario history — driven by rising hydro rates, the partial privatization of Hydro One, and accumulated governing fatigue after a decade and a half in power. Five days before election day, Wynne took the unprecedented step of conceding publicly that the Liberals would not form government, urging voters to elect local Liberal candidates to deny the PCs or NDP a majority.

Results

The PCs won 76 seats with 40.5% of the popular vote. The NDP won 40 seats with 33.6%, becoming the Official Opposition for the first time since 1995. The Liberals were reduced from a 58-seat majority in a 107-seat legislature to just 7 seats in 124 — losing official party status, which required 8 seats. The Green Party won its first-ever Ontario seat. Turnout was 58%, with approximately 5.7 million ballots cast.

Among the tightest races, Liberal Mitzie Hunter held Scarborough-Guildwood by just 74 votes. NDP candidate Sara Singh won Brampton Centre by 89 votes. PC candidate Jeremy Roberts took Ottawa West-Nepean by 175 votes.

Party Leaders

Doug Ford (PC) — Born in Etobicoke on November 20, 1964, Ford grew up in a political family — his father Doug Ford Sr. served as a PC MPP from 1995 to 1999. Ford attended Scarlett Heights Collegiate Institute and briefly enrolled at Humber College before joining the family business, Deco Labels and Tags, where he became president in 2002. He entered politics as a Toronto city councillor in 2010 during his brother Rob Ford's mayoralty, and ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2014. Ford won the PC leadership on March 10, 2018, on the third ballot with 50.6% of allocated points, in a truncated 44-day race triggered by Patrick Brown's resignation on January 25 after sexual misconduct allegations. Christine Elliott finished a close second, and the contested result produced lasting internal tensions. Ford won Etobicoke North with 52.5%.

Andrea Horwath (NDP) — Born in Stoney Creek on October 24, 1962, Horwath earned a BA from McMaster University and worked as a labour activist before being elected to Hamilton City Council in 1997. She won Hamilton Centre in 2004 and became NDP leader on March 8, 2009, on the third ballot with 60.4% — the first woman to lead the party. The 2018 election was her third campaign as leader, following modest results in 2011 (17 seats) and 2014 (21 seats). She led the NDP to 40 seats and Official Opposition status — the party's best showing since winning government under Bob Rae in 1990 and its return to second-party status after 23 years. She won her riding with 65.3%.

Kathleen Wynne (Liberal) — Born in Richmond Hill on May 21, 1953, Wynne earned degrees from Queen's University and the University of Toronto before working as a conflict resolution mediator in Ontario schools. She was elected to the legislature in Don Valley West in 2003 and served as Education Minister under Dalton McGuinty. She won the Liberal leadership on January 26, 2013, defeating Sandra Pupatello, and was sworn in as the first woman and first openly gay premier in Ontario history. Wynne won her own majority in 2014 but her government's approval collapsed under the weight of rising electricity bills and the partial privatization of Hydro One. Her June 2 concession — five days before election day — was without precedent in Canadian politics. She held her own riding with 38.9% but resigned as Liberal leader on election night.

Mike Schreiner (Green) — Born on June 9, 1969, in Kansas, Schreiner moved to Canada in 1995 and built a career in sustainable food systems, co-founding Local Food Plus and other organic food enterprises. He became Green Party leader in 2009 and won Guelph with approximately 45% of the vote — the first Green MPP in Ontario history. His election meant four parties were represented in the legislature for the first time since 1951.

Campaign Issues

Hydro rates and the privatization of Hydro One were the dominant issue. The Wynne government had sold a majority stake in Hydro One despite campaigning against privatization in 2014, and rising electricity bills became the defining symbol of Liberal governance failures. Ford promised a 12% cut to hydro rates.

The Patrick Brown scandal reshaped the election before the campaign even began. On January 24, 2018, CTV News reported sexual misconduct allegations against PC leader Brown, who resigned the next day under caucus pressure. The resulting 44-day leadership race brought Ford — a polarizing outsider with name recognition from his brother's controversial Toronto mayoralty — to the helm of a party that had been preparing for a more conventional campaign.

The minimum wage increase and Bill 148 divided the parties. The Wynne government raised the minimum wage from $11.60 to $14 per hour on January 1, 2018, with $15 planned for 2019. Ford opposed the increase and, after winning, froze the minimum wage at $14.

Ford's campaign signature was "buck-a-beer" — a promise to lower the minimum price of a can of beer from $1.25 to $1.00. The promise drew outsized media attention. He also pledged to repeal the Wynne government's updated sex-education curriculum and scrap Ontario's cap-and-trade carbon pricing system.

Notable Outcomes

The Liberal collapse was the worst result for any incumbent governing party in Ontario history. The party went from a 58-seat majority to 7 seats, losing official party status and the funding, research staff, and legislative privileges that accompany it. Several prominent cabinet ministers were defeated, including Attorney General Yasir Naqvi in Ottawa Centre. The NDP's surge to 40 seats returned them to Official Opposition for the first time in 23 years, sweeping much of downtown Toronto and Hamilton — areas that had been Liberal strongholds. Schreiner's victory in Guelph put four parties in the legislature for the first time since 1951.