Ontario Premier Doug Ford has officially ruled out an election this year but continues to dance around the question of whether he’ll pull the trigger on an early ballot sometime in 2025.
Speaking in Brampton, Ont., on Tuesday morning, Ford said he was focused on delivering his current mandate and categorically dismissed the idea of holding an election before the end of 2024.
“We aren’t having an election this year, so we’re going to make sure that we focus on what the people of Ontario need,” Ford said. “And that’s good paying jobs, making sure we have good health care, good education, good infrastructure and that’s what we’re going to continue doing.”
Asked about a potential 2025 election date, the premier was evasive, pivoting to repeating the same talking points about delivering on people’s priorities.
In the background, however, the Progressive Conservative Party is asking sitting ministers and MPPs if they plan to run again and asking for confirmation by sometime in December.
That process, and nominating sitting members, typically doesn’t take place until six months to a year before an election.
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“You always have to be prepared, that’s what it comes down to,” Ford said. “No matter which way you look at it, we aren’t too far from an election, no matter if it’s next year (or) the following year.”
Some of those who won the election with Ford in 2022 have already stepped down. Former red tape reduction minister Parm Gill stood down to run federally, while former education and energy minister Todd Smith stood aside in recent weeks to take a private-sector energy job.
Others have confirmed they’re running again. Energy Minister Stephen Lecce, Agriculture Minister Rob Flack and Associate Minister of Auto Theft and Bail Reform Graham McGregor are among those who have indicated plans to run again.
Some of those who plan to run again have said they expect to be nominated by the party in the fall.
Election rumours began to solidify in late May when Ford repeatedly refused to rule out an early ballot. The refusal sent opposition parties scrambling, with the NDP and Liberals, in particular, pushing through rapid nominations and sending their leaders around the province.
The Ontario Liberals have nominated their sitting caucus to run again and, at the end of August, began nominating candidates to run in seats they don’t control. The NDP has nomination meeting dates set for many of its members through September.
The Progressive Conservatives held their annual campaign adjacent to the Ford Fest event in Milton during August, a riding they recently retained in a heated byelection the Liberals had hoped to snatch.
Ford is also set to fulfil a campaign promise this week from the 2018 election where he pledged to allow corner stores to sell beer and wine, which will take effect on Thursday.
The next election is currently set for June 4, 2026.
— with a file from The Canadian Press
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