Ontario Premier Doug Ford plans to call a snap election Wednesday, seeking an even larger majority than his current government holds and using the threat of 25 per cent tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump as a justification.
That election call would send Ontarians to the polls on Feb. 27, more than a year before the June 2026 fixed election date.
"With a strong mandate, we will be able to fight with Donald Trump to make sure we stop the tariffs," he said Friday at the press conference.
Ford, who already has a large majority government, suggested he is not satisfied with the 79 out of 124 seats his Progressive Conservatives currently hold.
"We need the largest mandate in Ontario's history," he said.
"When you have a strong mandate in politics, and you have a strong mandate from the people for the next four years to last over the four years of the Trump administration, I can tell you, the opposition treats you with a little more respect, as opposed to being vulnerable. Always people think, 'OK, they're going into an election.'"
Word came at a campaign-style news conference at Brampton, Ont., city hall, with the premier flanked by the local contingent of his Progressive Conservative caucus and Mayor Patrick Brown, a former political rival turned staunch Ford supporter.
Ford was there to announce plans to build a tunnel in the city for an LRT project. Seats in Brampton and the rest of Peel Region, which includes Mississauga and Caledon, may be more in play this election with former Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie now leader of the Ontario Liberals.
Ford confirmed that he will be visiting the lieutenant-governor on Tuesday to dissolve the legislature and have the writs issued on Wednesday.
He said he can perform his duties as premier of the province while also campaigning as leader of the Progressive Conservatives. He still plans to head to Washington, D.C., twice in February to make a case to U.S. lawmakers to avoid tariffs.
Ford has said he expects the possible Trump measures to hit Ontario particularly hard, specifically the auto sector. He said Ontario could lose upwards of 500,000 jobs should Trump follow through on his 25 per cent tariff threat.
"When the tariffs hit, it affects the media, it affects manufacturing, it affects every single sector in this province," he said in response to a reporter's question about whether he would release a fully costed platform.
"So you better pray that we get elected, because I'm going to protect everyone's job, including the media's job."
Opposition parties have said an early election is not necessary because they would support stimulus spending, and Ford already has a mandate to protect Ontario's interests.
Ford positioned himself as the man to deal with Trump. He attacked his main rivals, Crombie and NDP Leader Marit Stiles, at the unofficial campaign stop.
"Imagine Bonnie Crombie or Marit Stiles sitting across from President Trump negotiating a deal. It would be an absolute disaster," he said. "And God help us if that ever happens."
Ford has been angling for a tête-à-tête with Trump, but no such meeting has taken place.
Crombie snapped back.
"At every turn, Doug Ford has shown that the only person he's in this for is himself," she said on social media.
"Calling a snap election at such a crucial moment in our province is just another example of that."
Rumours of an early election had been swirling since last spring, and Stiles said Ford just landed on tariffs now as the justification.
"I think he's just been looking for an excuse, an excuse so that it will distract from the fact that his government is under criminal investigation by the RCMP," she said.
"He says that he needs a mandate to fight for jobs in Ontario? I have a message for him: you are the premier of this province. It is your mandate every single day to fight for the jobs of working people in this province."
The threat of tariffs is exactly why the premier should not be calling an election, Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said.
"We need to demonstrate strength through unity to defend Canadian workers, Canadian jobs and Canadian companies," he wrote in a statement.
"But Doug Ford is putting his job before your job."
The RCMP is probing the government's decision to open up parts of the protected Greenbelt for housing development — a now-reversed policy that saw a handful of developers stand to benefit to the tune of more than $8 billion, according to the auditor general.
Ford has said he is confident nothing criminal took place.
The 2022 election cost $145 million. Elections Ontario said it does not yet have a budget for the snap election.
