Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie walks on stage at her campaign headquarters to address her supporters during the Ontario provincial election in Mississauga, Ont., on Thursday, February 27, 2025.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie lost her own riding in Thursday’s provincial election, even as her party appeared on track to gain official status in the legislature for the first time since 2018.
The election result leaves the Liberals in a distant third in the legislature for the third time in a row, a significant disappointment for a party that had hoped to renew itself under Ms. Crombie, who had been a popular and long-serving mayor of Mississauga.
The Liberals nonetheless placed second in the popular vote, with about 30 per cent. The party was elected or leading in 14 ridings as of 10:30 p.m.
Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives won a third straight majority government in a snap election. Other leaders struck an optimistic tone in their concession speeches, with NDP Leader Marit Stiles staying on as Opposition leader, Liberals regaining official party status in the legislature and Greens holding onto their two seats.
The Canadian Press
The New Democrats will be the Official Opposition again. The party was elected or leading in 25 ridings, with 19 per cent of the vote.
The Progressive Conservatives under Doug Ford easily won a third term after an election campaign that was defined by the threat of U.S. tariffs, which made it difficult for the opposition parties to compete for attention and ensured that few other issues gained significant traction.
Ms. Crombie lost the riding of Mississauga East-Cooksville to Progressive Conservative candidate Silvia Gualtieri.
During a speech on Thursday evening, Ms. Crombie committed to staying on as leader. She told supporters that the result is not what Liberals were hoping for, but she said they should still be proud of what they accomplished.
“People counted us out,” she said. “They said the Ontario Liberal Party was dead. Tonight, you proved them wrong.”
The province’s two main opposition parties have struggled to be competitive in recent years, despite leadership changes and a growing list of controversies facing Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford, including the Ontario government’s now-abandoned plan to open parts of the environmentally safeguarded Greenbelt for housing development. In October, 2023, the RCMP launched a criminal investigation into the matter.
Earlier that year, an Auditor-General’s report found the Greenbelt land-selection process was “biased” and conducted without a normal analysis by professional civil servants.
Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives won a third straight majority government, propelled by his visible crusade against economic uncertainty emanating from the U.S. Ford says he will work with governments at every level and of every political stripe to fight the threatened tariffs and shore up Ontario's economy.
The Canadian Press
Mr. Ford has also faced heavy criticism for his plans to redevelop Ontario Place with a new luxury spa and a relocated Ontario Science Centre, and critics have blamed him for a housing crisis, a strained health-care system and other issues that have grown worse during his time in office.
At the same time, the Progressive Conservatives enjoyed a significant polling advantage well before the start of the campaign and also long before U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs, which Mr. Ford has used to position himself as an effective champion for the province. The Liberals and the NDP had been competing for second place and did not manage to close the polling gap.
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In 2018, the Liberals were reduced to the third party in the legislature – and without official party status – when Mr. Ford defeated then-premier Kathleen Wynne. The Liberals failed to turn that around in 2022, when then-leader Steven Del Duca lost his own riding and resigned.
The Liberals held a leadership contest in 2023 and elected Ms. Crombie. The 65-year-old is a former MP who represented the federal riding of Mississauga-Streetsville.
Ms. Crombie rejuvenated the party’s fundraising and tacked more to the centre-right. The Liberals saw an apparent bump in support after she won the leadership but it did not translate into a sustained increase.
The same year, the New Democrats also named a new leader: Marit Stiles. The 55-year-old was the sole candidate who sought the party’s top job. Ms. Stiles was elected in the provincial riding of Davenport in 2018.
The New Democrats have been the Official Opposition since 2018, initially under Andrea Horwath, who resigned after the 2022 election.
The provincial Greens have been led by Mike Schreiner since 2009.
During the campaign, Ms. Crombie, Ms. Stiles and Mr. Schreiner have pointed to significant problems in the Ontario health care system, including overcrowded hospitals and family doctor shortages. They have promised to improve access to primary care and bolster funding for schools.
However, a winter election campaign, when much of the news cycle has been focused on the threat of U.S. tariffs, has made it difficult for their messages to break through.
The lack of access to primary care was on display in January when more than a 1,000 people lined up in the snow and cold in Walkerton, Ont., to try to get on the patient list for a family doctor.
Mr. Ford announced last October that former federal Liberal cabinet minister Jane Philpott would head a primary-care action committee, with a mandate to ensure everyone in Ontario is connected to a family doctor or primary care nurse practitioner by 2029.
At the end of January, the Progressive Conservatives unofficially began their re-election bid with a pledge to spend $1.8-billion to ensure every resident of the province has a family doctor or nurse practitioner. The funding included $1.4-billion in new money, to be rolled out over four years, and $400-million in previously announced funds.
The Liberals promised a $3-billion plan to ensure everyone in Ontario access to a family doctor within four years.
The New Democrats pledged $4.1-billion over four years for team-based primary care.