It was a day full of info sessions and strategy talks for members of Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party who gathered on Saturday for a “super caucus” meeting at a hotel near Pearson Airport.
The gathering was intended to unite MPPs, campaign managers and candidates as they prepare for an early provincial election which, according to Premier Doug Ford, will officially be called on Wednesday.
That means voters could head to the polls as early as February 27, more than a year before the fixed June 2026 date. Members of Ford’s cabinet say the government needs a strong mandate in order to fight looming tariffs from the United States.
“Donald Trump is gunning for the auto sector, the pulp sector and areas that we’re very strong, so we’re going to make sure that we pull out all the stops to fight for our economy in Ontario,” Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy told CityNews. “We’ll just try to do everything that we can to protect the economy and fight for jobs in Ontario.”
Ford has said that the province could lose about 500,000 jobs if Trump follows through with a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods, which the U.S. president has promised to impose on February 1.
“The decision to make it really about the tariffs may succeed if Ontarians are just about who can stand up to Trump. But if they say that’s not the right question, actually, that’s not really what the Premier of Ontario does, then it may be harder for Mr. Ford,” said Peter Graefe, an associate professor of political science at McMaster University.
As for a strong mandate, the Ford government currently holds a majority of 79 seats in the legislature, and public opinion polls have the PCs in a comfortable lead over the NDP and Liberals. Graefe says there’s nothing stopping the premier from putting out measures now in response to Trump’s economic threats.
“When Mr. Ford comes out and says he needs the strongest mandate ever in Ontario history, the danger is that he looks like he’s on an ego trip more than really trying to represent Ontarians,” Graefe added.
Meanwhile, NDP Leader Marit Stiles made campaign-style stops in Toronto over the weekend, including a nomination meeting for the Toronto-St.Paul’s district where she criticized the premier’s message.
“If Doug Ford thinks he needs a mandate to go out and fight for those jobs down south, let me tell you something,” Stiles said. “It is the mandate, it is the job of every single premier to fight for the people of every single province. Now that is their mandate!”
Ontario Liberal Leader also criticized Ford’s decision to call a snap election.
“While Doug Ford is focused on clinging to power, I’m focused on you,” Crombie said in a social media post. “This election is about priorities. We have a Premier that would rather jump ship at Ontario’s critical moment than show up and be there for the people of this province.”
“Ontario demands and deserves real leadership,” she added.
