Political panel debates why Ford might call an early Ontario election

Speculation about an early election in Ontario continued to swirl this week as Premier Doug Ford definitively ruled out this year but left the door open for a potential vote in 2025.

"We aren't having an election this year," Ford said at an unrelated news conference Tuesday, while sidestepping repeated queries from reporters about the possibility of an election call early next year.

Ford did, however, confirm he's given his Progressive Conservative MPPs until December to confirm whether they will seek re-election whenever the next provincial vote is held.

"You always have to be prepared," he said when asked about the nomination process that usually kicks off some six months before an election.

The province's next fixed election date isn't until June 2026.

"We aren't too far from any election no matter if it's next year or the following year, and we have to know where we're moving and going and making sure we have good candidates," Ford said.

Meanwhile, Ontario's rival political parties have spent the summer nominating candidates, door-knocking and aggressively fundraising with an obvious eye to an early election call.

The question of why Ford would want to head to the polls ahead of schedule remains an open one — his PCs enjoy a considerable majority at Queen's Park, after they were handed a strong mandate by Ontario voters just over two years ago.

CBC Radio's Metro Morning hosted a roundtable of provincial political strategists Wednesday to break down the factors that could be influencing Ford's thinking on calling an election.

The panel included:

• Jeff Rutledge, Tory strategist and vice president at the public affairs firm McMillan Vantage.
• Ashley Csanady, Liberal strategist and vice president at McMillan Vantage.
• Marina Nader, co-CEO of Nexus Strategy Group and former staffer for the Ontario and federal New Democrats.

You can watch the debate in the player above.

The panelists also explored the impending sale of alcohol in thousands of corner stores across the province, and how the current federal political landscape could impact Ontario.

For more discussion on the potential for an early election call, check out the video below.

WATCH | The political thinking behind an early election: 

Doug Ford isn't ruling out a 2025 election call

3 months ago

Duration 2:13

Premier Doug Ford left the door wide open to calling an election a year ahead of schedule. As CBC’s Lorenda Reddekopp reports, he made it clear Ontarians could be heading to the polls in early 2025.