Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives won a third consecutive majority on February 27, 2025 — 80 of 124 seats — in a snap winter election called more than a year before the scheduled June 2026 fixed election date. Ford requested dissolution on January 28, telling Ontarians he needed a fresh mandate to confront the threat of American tariffs after U.S. President Donald Trump announced 25% duties on Canadian goods. Writs were issued on January 29 for a 30-day campaign across 124 ridings. Turnout was 45.4% of eligible voters, only marginally higher than the record-low 44% set in 2022.

The election produced a legislature nearly identical to the one dissolved in January. Only 9 of 124 seats changed hands. The PCs lost 3 seats from their 2022 total of 83 but held a comfortable majority. The Liberals gained 6 seats to reach 14 — enough to reclaim official party status for the first time since their 2018 collapse — while the NDP dropped from 31 to 27. The Greens held their 2 seats and independent Bobbi Ann Brady was re-elected in Haldimand-Norfolk.

Results

The PCs won 80 seats with 43% of the popular vote. The NDP won 27 seats with 18.6%, forming the Official Opposition despite finishing third in the popular vote behind the Liberals, who won 14 seats with 29.9%. The Greens won 2 seats with approximately 4.8%. The vote-seat disconnect was striking: the Liberals earned nearly 30% of the vote but won barely 11% of the seats, while the NDP's geographically concentrated support in Toronto and northern Ontario translated more efficiently into ridings.

Key seats that changed hands included Etobicoke-Lakeshore and Ajax, both flipping from PC to Liberal. Toronto-St. Paul's returned to the Liberals after two elections in NDP hands. The PCs picked up Hamilton Mountain for the first time in roughly 30 years and Algoma-Manitoulin, last held by Conservatives in the 1980s.

Party Leaders

Doug Ford (PC) — Born in Etobicoke on November 20, 1964, Ford attended Scarlett Heights Collegiate Institute and briefly enrolled at Humber College before joining the family business, Deco Labels and Tags, a label manufacturer co-founded by his father. He became company president in 2002. Ford entered politics as a Toronto city councillor in 2010 during his brother Rob Ford's mayoral term, ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2014, then won the PC leadership on March 10, 2018, on the third ballot with 50.6% of allocated points after Patrick Brown's resignation. He won Etobicoke North comfortably for a third time. Ford became the first Ontario premier to win three consecutive majorities since Leslie Frost in 1959.

Bonnie Crombie (Liberal) — Born in Toronto on February 5, 1960, Crombie grew up in the city's west end and earned an MBA from York University's Schulich School of Business. She worked in marketing at McDonald's and the Walt Disney Company before entering politics. After serving as the federal MP for Mississauga-Streetsville from 2008 to 2011, she was elected mayor of Mississauga in 2014 and served until early 2024. She won the Ontario Liberal leadership on December 2, 2023, on the third ballot with 53.4% of weighted points. Crombie lost her own seat in Mississauga East-Cooksville to the PC candidate by 3.4 points but committed to staying on as Liberal leader.

Marit Stiles (NDP) — Born in St. John's, Newfoundland, on September 20, 1969, Stiles grew up on a small farm outside the city and earned a BA in political science from Carleton University. She worked as a researcher for the federal NDP and later as director of research and public policy at ACTRA. After serving as a Toronto school board trustee, she was elected MPP for Davenport in 2018. Stiles was acclaimed NDP leader on February 4, 2023, after no other candidates came forward. She won re-election in Davenport.

Mike Schreiner (Green) — Born on June 9, 1969, in Kansas, Schreiner moved to Canada in 1995 and became a citizen in 2007. A food-systems entrepreneur who co-founded Local Food Plus and other organic food businesses, he became Green leader in 2009 and won Guelph in 2018 as the first Green MPP in Ontario history. He won a third term in 2025. The Greens also held Kitchener Centre, where Aislinn Clancy — who had won a November 2023 by-election — was re-elected.

Campaign Issues

The Trump tariff threat dominated the campaign from start to finish. Ford framed the snap election as a mandate to defend Ontario against American protectionism, announcing a $5-billion "Protect Ontario Account" and $10 billion in employer tax deferrals. When Trump granted Canada a 30-day reprieve during the campaign, opposition parties tried to pivot to domestic issues, but Ford successfully maintained the economic security narrative.

Healthcare remained a deep concern. An estimated 2.5 million Ontarians lacked access to a family doctor, and emergency rooms across the province had faced unprecedented closures. The Liberals promised to connect every Ontarian to a family doctor; the NDP pledged 3,500 new doctors over four years.

The Greenbelt scandal lingered in the background. Ford's government had removed 7,400 acres from the Greenbelt in December 2022 to benefit select developers. Two cabinet ministers resigned over the affair. Ford reversed the changes, but the RCMP opened a criminal investigation in October 2023 that remained active through election day. Opposition parties raised the issue but it did not appear to shift many votes.

Notable Outcomes

Ford's third consecutive majority matched a feat not seen in Ontario since Leslie Frost's three wins in 1951, 1955, and 1959 — a span of 66 years. The Liberals reclaimed official party status with 14 seats, restoring access to research funding and legislative privileges lost after their 2018 collapse. Crombie became one of Ontario's rare party leaders to lose their own riding while leading their party to gains province-wide. Independent MPP Bobbi Ann Brady became the first person in Ontario in nearly a century to be both elected and re-elected as an independent, winning Haldimand-Norfolk with nearly 64% of the vote.