Here's the latest on the Ontario provincial election

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11:15 p.m.

The early election may have caught Ontarians by surprise, but more of them appear to have voted than last time.

Elections Ontario’s early results show slightly more than 45 per cent of registered voters cast a ballot — up from 2022’s record low of 44 per cent.

Observers had predicted the timing of the election — the first winter vote in Ontario in more than four decades — and the snap timing of the campaign could lower voter participation.

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10:55 p.m.

Cheers erupted as NDP Leader Marit Stiles told a crowd of supporters in Toronto that her party is on track to form the official Opposition again.

Stiles says the election results aren’t exactly what she wanted but promises the NDP will stand up for the people of Ontario regardless of who they voted for.

The NDP held the Opposition title before dissolution, with 28 out of 124 seats in the provincial legislature.

The snap 28-day election has barely shifted the balance of power in the provincial legislature, though it’s expected to restore the Liberals to official party status, which comes with  more resources and debate time.

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10:37 p.m.

Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford says the people of Ontario have answered his call for a strong mandate to fight back against U.S. President Donald Trump and his tariff threats.

Ford says it will take a collective effort to stand up for Ontario and Canada and promises he will do whatever it takes.

He called the snap election saying he needed the “largest mandate in Ontario’s history” in order to deal with four years of a Trump presidency.

The PCs cruised to a third majority as results trickled in, though currently appear a few seats short of the 83 they won in the last election. 

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10:18 p.m.

The Canadian Press is projecting that Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie has failed to win a seat in Mississauga East-Cooksville.

Crombie chose to run in the city where she served as mayor for nearly a decade, and picked the only riding in Mississauga without a Progressive Conservative incumbent.

Chants of “Bonnie, Bonnie” rang out as Crombie approached the podium to speak to supporters.

She acknowledged the Liberals didn’t get the result they had been looking for but said they should celebrate achieving party status once again.

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9:52 p.m. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is congratulating Doug Ford and his Progressive Conservatives on their projected re-election as the results of Ontario’s snap vote continue to roll in.

Trudeau says in a statement that everyone must work together to defend Canadian interests, protect workers and businesses and grow the economy at this crucial time.

The threat of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods has been a running theme over the course of the 28-day campaign.

Ford said he triggered the election because he needs a strong mandate to deal with the next four years of a Donald Trump presidency.

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9:41 p.m.

The Canadian Press is projecting that the Liberals will secure enough seats to regain official party status after two terms in the single digits.

The threshold for official party status in Ontario is 12 seats.

The party was decimated in 2018 after 15 years in power, plummeting to seven seats in the provincial legislature as the Progressive Conservatives swept in with a majority.

The Liberals captured eight seats in the last election and had nine at dissolution.

Leader Bonnie Crombie appealed directly to NDP voters over the last several weeks, painting her party as the only viable alternative to the Progressive Conservatives.

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9:37 p.m.

The Canadian Press is projecting that Sarah Jama, a former New Democrat running as an independent, will lose her seat in Hamilton Centre.

Jama secured the seat for the NDP in a 2023 byelection, but was kicked out of caucus less than a year later and has sat as an independent ever since.

Her ouster came after a series of events that began with a statement on the Israel-Hamas war that failed to mention the attack on Israeli civilians, though the decision was ultimately made after a series of moves from Jama that either publicly defied the party leader or caught her unaware.

Before Jama, the riding was represented for many years by former NDP leader Andrea Horwath, who resigned on election night in 2022.

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9:30 p.m.

The Canadian Press is projecting that Liberal candidate Stephanie Smyth, a former CP24 news anchor, will win in Toronto-St. Paul’s.

The riding was long considered a Liberal stronghold but the NDP took it in the 2018 election that saw the Liberals reduced to single-digit seats.

A Liberal candidate came close to snatching it back in the last vote and the party put up another high-profile candidate this time.

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9:22 p.m.

The Canadian Press is projecting that Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford has secured his seat in Etobicoke North.

Ford took the reins of the party in 2018 and led it to a majority win a few months later.

The PCs are projected to form a third consecutive majority government.

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9:19 p.m.

The Canadian Press is projecting that the NDP’s Lisa Gretzky has been re-elected in Windsor West.

The riding was an orange holdout in the Windsor area after the Progressive Conservatives snatched two seats from the NDP in the last election.

Gretzky has held the riding for the NDP since 2014, but her margin of victory narrowed in the last election.

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9:12 p.m.

The Canadian Press is projecting that Independent Bobbi Ann Brady will hold on to her seat in Haldimand-Norfolk.

Brady took many political observers by surprise when she won the riding in 2022, ending the Progressive Conservatives’ 27-year hold.

She previously worked for the PC representative, Toby Barrett, who backed her bid as an independent after the party chose to appoint a candidate rather than hold an open nomination. 

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9:10 p.m.

The Canadian Press is projecting a majority Progressive Conservative government in Ontario – its third in a row.

The party, led by Doug Ford, rose to power in 2018.

Ford made economic stability in the face of American tariffs the centrepiece of his campaign, making two trips to Washington, D.C., during the snap 28-day campaign.

The NDP, Liberals and Greens have accused him of forcing the vote for personal gain, calling the $189-million election unnecessary. 

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9:10 p.m.

The Canadian Press is projecting that NDP Leader Marit Stiles will hold on to the Toronto riding of Davenport.

Stiles was first elected to the provincial legislature in 2018 and took over as party leader in 2023.

Her predecessor, Andrea Horwath, gave up the leadership on election night in 2022 after a vote that saw the party lose nine seats in the legislature.

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9:08 p.m.

The Canadian Press is projecting that Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner will win his seat in Guelph.

Schreiner became the first Green to hold a seat in the provincial legislature when he was elected in 2018, nearly a decade into his tenure as party leader.

The party doubled its seats in 2023 after Aislinn Clancy won a byelection in Kitchener Centre.

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9 p.m. 

Polls are closing in most locations after a rare winter election — the first in Ontario since 1981.

Elections Ontario has extended voting hours at nine polls for various reasons.  

Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford launched his bid for re-election late last month, arguing he needs a strong mandate to stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump and his threats of sweeping tariffs on Canadian goods.

The other party leaders, however, have accused Ford of calling the snap election for his own benefit, noting the PCs already held a majority and would have received support for stimulus measures.

The Progressive Conservatives won 83 out of 124 seats in the 2022 election, with the NDP capturing 31, the Liberals getting eight and the Greens snagging one. At dissolution, the Tories had 79 seats, the NDP had 28, the Liberals had nine and the Greens had two. There were six independents.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2025.