When Ontario Premier Doug Ford refused to rule out an early election at a news conference in late May, he started whispers that bounced through the now-empty corridors of Queen’s Park.
Staffers drafting legislation and regulations wondered if their work would see the light of day and MPPs started to think about the battles they might be about to embark upon.
Opposition leaders responded too, with both the Ontario NDP and the Ontario Liberals rushing up through the gears to get their parties ready to compete for government.
“We are certainly hearing the same rumours everyone else is — that the premier wants to call a very early election,” Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles told Global News in a sit-down interview.
“He’s decided he wants to call an election before the federal election, so I think we can all bank on that. I’ve instructed my team to be ready for a fall (2024) election.”
Stiles said her party was in a “10-week sprint” to get ready to fight an election if it is called. That means setting dates soon to nominate candidates in Ontario’s 124 ridings, beginning with sitting MPPs, and recruiting new people to stand.
The Ontario Liberals, headed by Bonnie Crombie, are in the same place.
The party has already nominated its sitting MPPs to run again under the Liberal banner at the next election, with Crombie promising that “very soon” non-caucus members would start to be nominated.
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“I have teams of people out knocking on doors — this party is gearing up and we will be ready whenever the election will be,” she said.
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The Ford government and the Progressive Conservative Party have not dropped more hints on when an early election could take place but the party has been taking the public’s temperature on the issue.
In early July, Ford said an early election call “is probably the last thing on my mind right now. And we’ll see when we get closer.”
At the beginning of the summer, Campaign Research, the preferred polling firm of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, sent voters questions asking if they would support early elections at either the provincial or federal level.
“Recently in the news, it was reported that in Ontario, Premier Doug Ford might call an early election instead of waiting until June 2026,” the poll obtained by Global News stated.
“Do you agree or disagree that Doug Ford should call an election for 2025 instead of waiting until June 2026?” the poll asked.
Campaign Research then asked whether “Doug Ford should call an early election in early 2025” or whether the party should continue governing for the entire mandate.
As Ontario’s two largest opposition parties get candidates ready and weigh policy for a potential early election, the issue of funding remains.
Data from Elections Ontario shows Ford’s Progressive Conservatives have far outperformed their rivals in attempts to drum up financial support. The PCs have managed to raise $3.4 million so far this year — more than twice what the Liberals, NDP and Greens raised between them.
A late-June poll from Abacus Data also showed Ford continued to hold a strong lead — at 41 per cent of committed voters in Ontario, compared with 25 per cent for the Ontario Liberals and 22 per cent for the NDP.
Both Stiles and Crombie said they are unfazed by Ford’s financial firepower.
Stiles said recent fundraising by her party had broken their own records for previous months and is “looking very promising.” Money also isn’t the only thing you need to win an election, she said.
“For us, we’re going to keep raising money but we are also going to have to work on the ground — it’s knocking on doors,” Stiles said.
Crombie and her Ontario Liberals are planning to hit the airwaves with a new advertisement to boost their hopes “very soon” as the summer months start to fade.
“We are the government in waiting,” Crombie said, stressing new commercials would introduce her to the province and tell her story.
“We have a lot of great ideas. I have an incredible team that’s getting bigger and stronger each and every single day. And I think people need to know me and who I am and what I stand for, and that I’m a centrist.”
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