Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives won an expanded majority on June 2, 2022, capturing 83 of 124 seats in an election marked by the lowest voter turnout in Ontario history. Ford visited the Lieutenant Governor on May 3 to dissolve the legislature, launching a roughly 30-day campaign. All 124 ridings were contested, the same number as 2018 when the map was expanded from 107 seats. Turnout collapsed to approximately 44% of eligible voters, shattering the previous record low of 48.2% set in 2011.

The PCs improved from 76 seats in 2018 to 83, consolidating their grip on the Toronto suburbs and much of southern Ontario. The NDP dropped from 40 to 31 seats but remained the Official Opposition despite placing third in the popular vote behind the Liberals. The Liberal Party gained just one seat — from 7 to 8 — falling short of the 12-seat threshold for official party status for the second consecutive election. Both opposition leaders resigned on election night.

Results

The PCs won 83 seats with 40.8% of the popular vote. The NDP won 31 seats with 23.7%. The Liberals won 8 seats with 23.9% — finishing second in the popular vote but third in seats, a stark illustration of first-past-the-post vote distribution. The Greens held their single seat in Guelph with 6.0%. Independent Bobbi Ann Brady won Haldimand-Norfolk, becoming the first person elected as an independent MPP in Ontario without previously winning under a party banner.

The PCs won their large majority with the support of only about 18% of all eligible voters. Multiple analysts described it as an apathy election in which the opposition failed to present a compelling alternative.

Party Leaders

Doug Ford (PC) — Ford entered the election as a first-term incumbent who had governed through the pandemic's most disruptive period. Born in Etobicoke on November 20, 1964, he spent most of his career at the family label-printing business before entering Toronto municipal politics in 2010. He won the PC leadership on March 10, 2018, after Patrick Brown's resignation, and led the party to a 76-seat majority three months later. His pre-election moves — eliminating licence plate sticker renewal fees and cutting the gas tax — positioned the PCs as the affordability party. Ford won Etobicoke North with 55.5% of the vote.

Andrea Horwath (NDP) — Born in Stoney Creek on October 24, 1962, to a father of Hungarian descent who had immigrated from Slovakia and a mother of French and Irish descent, Horwath earned a BA from McMaster University. She served on Hamilton City Council before winning a 2004 by-election in Hamilton East before moving to the redistributed Hamilton Centre. She became NDP leader on March 7, 2009, on the third ballot with 60.4% — the first woman to lead the Ontario NDP. The 2022 election was her fourth as leader, following campaigns in 2011 (17 seats), 2014 (21 seats), and 2018 (40 seats). She won her riding with 57.3% but announced her resignation on election night. She was subsequently elected mayor of Hamilton in October 2022.

Steven Del Duca (Liberal) — Born in Etobicoke on July 7, 1973, Del Duca worked as a political staffer and labour relations executive before winning a 2012 by-election in Vaughan. He served as Minister of Transportation and Minister of Economic Development under Premier Wynne, then lost his seat in the 2018 PC wave. He won the Liberal leadership on March 7, 2020, with 58.8% on the first ballot. Del Duca lost again in Vaughan-Woodbridge to the PC incumbent by roughly 6,700 votes — the second consecutive defeat in the same riding — and resigned as leader on election night. He was later elected mayor of Vaughan in October 2022.

Mike Schreiner (Green) — The Kansas-born food-systems entrepreneur who became the first Green MPP in Ontario history in 2018 won re-election in Guelph with 54.5% of the vote, more than doubling the second-place PC candidate. He had led the party since 2009 and used the campaign to draw attention to Highway 413 and farmland protection.

Campaign Issues

Highway 413 — the proposed 59-kilometre highway through the Greenbelt connecting Highway 401 to Highway 400 northwest of Toronto — was a central wedge issue. Ford championed it as critical infrastructure; all three opposition leaders pledged to cancel it and redirect the funds. The NDP and Greens framed it as paving over farmland.

Healthcare and Bill 124 dominated debate. The bill, enacted in 2019, capped public-sector wage increases — including for nurses — at 1% per year. With hospitals struggling through post-pandemic staffing shortages, nursing unions and healthcare advocates made repeal a major campaign demand. The NDP, Liberals, and Greens all pledged to repeal it; Ford refused.

Housing affordability drew competing plans. Both the PCs and NDP promised 1.5 million new homes over ten years. The Liberals proposed vacancy taxes and rent control restoration. Cost-of-living concerns were widespread, though the PCs' pre-election licence plate and gas tax cuts helped blunt the opposition's affordability message.

Notable Outcomes

The record-low turnout of approximately 44% overshadowed the PC victory itself. The previous Ontario record was 48.2% in 2011. For the second consecutive election, the Liberals failed to win official party status, remaining stuck at 8 seats despite finishing second in the popular vote. Both opposition leaders resigned on election night — Horwath after four campaigns as NDP leader, Del Duca after losing his own riding for a second time. Both would win municipal mayoral races four months later. The PC dominance of the 905 suburban belt around Toronto formed the foundation of the expanded majority, while the NDP and Liberals were largely confined to downtown urban cores and a handful of eastern Ontario and northern ridings.