Ontario Premier Doug Ford is sending Ontarians to the polls next month, nearly a year-and-a-half ahead of schedule, True North has learned.
Sources have told True North and other media outlets that Ford is slated to have the legislature dissolved next Wednesday, with an election slated for February 27.
The move comes as Ford points to the need to navigate the threat posed by looming U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods.
“We need a mandate from the people, we need a mandate to possibly spend billions of dollars to protect people’s jobs, to protect businesses, and to protect communities, and there’s only one group of people, I mean, one group that is gonna give me the mandate and that’s the people. That’s democracy,” said Ford.
The Ontario Progressive Conservatives have been gearing up for an early vote for months, nominating candidates and putting themselves on an election footing.
Ford has articulated his rationale for an unscheduled election, stressing the importance of democratic consent for significant financial decisions aimed at protecting jobs, businesses, and communities within Ontario.
Ontario does have scheduled elections every four years, but as in all Canadian provinces, elections can, in fact, be called effectively at any time with a request by the premier to the lieutenant-governor, the provincial counterpart to the Governor General.
However, this decision has not gone unchallenged. NDP Leader Marit Stiles has criticized the move, asserting that the current government already holds sufficient power to address the tariff issues without calling for an early vote.
“He has a mandate, he is the premier of a province, he has a majority government, he can pass any legislation he basically wants to,” said Stiles.
“This isn’t about standing up to Mr. Trump, this is about Mr. Ford wanting to gain more seats.”
Stiles further accuses Ford of using the election as a diversion from pressing local issues, notably the province’s healthcare system, which has been under strain.
Echoing similar sentiments, Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie has labelled the prospective election as “unnecessary” and potentially “divisive.”
“President Trump’s tariffs should be treated as a threat, not as an excuse to call an unnecessary early election,” said Crombie.
She argues that the call for an early election is more of a political manoeuvre than a genuine response to the tariff threat.
The speculation about an early election has been brewing since last spring, predating Donald Trump’s recent re-election.
