Ford could call Ontario election as early as next week: sources
Election law dictates campaign period must launch on a Wednesday
Doug Ford could trigger an Ontario election as early as next week, two sources close to the government confirmed to CBC News.
Both sources said they expect the election to be called in the first week of February, but that it could happen earlier.
Ford has repeatedly said he believes he needs a new mandate from Ontarians to respond to the potential economic devastation that could be wrought by U.S. President Donald Trump imposing a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods — this despite holding a large majority at Queen's Park, where the government is currently on break.
On Monday night, Ford's chief of staff, Patrick Sackville, emailed PC staffers telling them the government needs a "strong mandate" to stand up for Ontario, adding "The stronger the mandate the better."
Ford told reporters to "stay tuned" when asked about the election call Wednesday.
"We need a mandate from the people, we need a mandate to possibly spend billions of dollars to protect people's jobs, to protect businesses, and to protect communities, and there's only one group of people, I mean, one group that is gonna give me the mandate and that's the people. That's democracy," Ford said.
As he was going into his office, the premier added: "Off the record, you guys are going to love it."
Ford already has mandate to fight tariffs: NDP
Ontario's opposition leaders have disputed Ford's rationale for an early election call, arguing he already has a strong mandate with more than a year left in his term and holding the role of chair of the Council of the Federation, which represents Canada's premiers.
"He has a mandate, he is the premier of a province, he has a majority government, he can pass any legislation he basically wants to," said Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles.
Stiles accused Ford of attempting to "pull one over on the people of Ontario" by floating the possibility of a snap election in the middle of winter to distract Ontarians from other issues, like the province's strained health-care system.
"This isn't about standing up to Mr. Trump, this is about Mr. Ford wanting to gain more seats," Stiles said Wednesday.
Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said Tuesday that an election now would create "chaos" at a critical time when the province needs to present a united front.
"President Trump's tariffs should be treated as a threat, not as an excuse to call an unnecessary early election," Crombie said in a speech at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference in Toronto on Tuesday.
Ontario's next election was supposed to happen in 2026, but speculation that Ford will call an early vote has been swirling since last spring — long before Trump won the U.S. election. Ontarians, meanwhile, will soon get $200 "rebate" cheques from the government, which Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie called a "pre-election bribe."
Earlier in the day, Vic Fedeli, minister of economic development and trade, wouldn't speculate on if or when an election would be called.
Fedeli said the Ford government has been "laser focused" on protecting Ontario jobs in the face of the the looming tariff threat.
"These are all very, very serious issues and our job is to protect Ontario's jobs, Ontario workers," Fedeli said following a funding announcement in Toronto Wednesday morning.
Fedeli said he doesn't have a campaign office set up at the moment but is prepared if an election is called.
"I'm ready anytime the premier tells us we're going to go to a campaign."
Ontario's fixed-date election law explicitly allows the premier to dissolve the legislature and call an election any time before their four-year mandate is up.
Ontario's Election Act dictates that a writ for an election — which launches the 28-day long election period — must be dated on a Wednesday.
With files from Mike Crawley and David Common