TORONTO – Ontario Premier Doug Ford is expected to call a snap election next Wednesday, according to reports by both CBC and the Canadian Press.
If that happens, voters will be heading to the polls on Feb. 27.
Ford, first elected in 2018 and re-elected with an overwhelming majority in 2022, has suggested Ontarians need to give him a new mandate to allow him to deal with the threat of tariffs being imposed on Canadian goods by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump has said he plans to enact a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods crossing the border, a move that could have a dramatic impact on the Canadian and Ontario economies.
Ford, who already has a huge majority in the legislature, could be calling the vote as a means to get out in front of a potential Conservative government being elected federally, in a province where history suggests voters end to cast ballots for a party not in power in Ottawa.
Should the election be called, Ford will go against NDP Leader Marit Stiles, Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie and the Green Party’s Mike Schreiner, who have said Ford is also trying to get out in front of the conclusion of an RCMP investigation into the Greenbelt scandal in southern Ontario.
Since Trump was elected, Ford has been seen wearing a blue Canada Is Not For Sale hat and he’s threatened retaliation if the U.S. president levies tariffs on Canadian goods, including threats to cut off power to northern states and to pull all American booze off LCBO shelves.
Federally, the Liberal leader is scheduled to be elected on March 9. Parliament is currently prorogued and both the NDP and Conservatives have said they plan to force an election at their earliest possible chance.
In Ontario, the election campaign is four weeks.
