CTVNews.ca Staff
Ontario voters are casting their ballots in an election that’s widely seen as a fight between the Progressive Conservatives and NDP over who will end 15 years of successive Liberal governments.
CTV News has reporters covering all the major parties tonight, with live updates below. If you’re using our app, please tap here.
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It’s Ontario election day and we have everything you need to know as you head to the polls to elect a new premier.
From the big ridings, to the road, to the Premier’s office, our CityVote special starts right when polls close at 9 p.m. on CityNews.ca/CityVote, live streaming on CityNews.ca, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. On CityNews.ca, you’ll find a live results map that updates riding-by-riding in real time.
The latest poll results show the Progressive Conservatives and the New Democrats are in a virtual tie. Kathleen Wynne conceded in the final week of the election campaign after 15 years of Liberal power.
We will bring you live results and reaction, including analysis from 680 NEWS political specialist John Stall.
It could be a stressful night, so we’ll make it a little sweeter for you with cupcakes. We’ll be icing 124 cupcakes in party colours as seats are won, and you can watch the live-stream of it on CityNews.ca/CityVote.
At 10 p.m., CityNews will be live from all the candidates’ election night parties and from key ridings on, what is sure to be, a historic night.
But the election doesn’t stop in the Toronto. CityNews will have look at hot ridings in the GTA and beyond, including Ottawa Centre, Simcoe North, Ajax and Oshawa.
Polls across Ontario are open and voters can now cast their ballots to elect the next provincial government. Will Doug Ford win with a majority government as the latest polls and seat predictions predict or will there be an NDP surprise? Global News will have live, real-time election results after the polls close.
Polls in 121 of the 124 ridings will close at 9 p.m. Due to technical issues, polling stations in the Glengarry-Prescott-Russell riding will close at 10:30 p.m., the Toronto-area riding of York South-Weston will now close at 9:40 p.m., and the northwest riding of Kiiwetinoong will close at 1 a.m.
READ MORE: A last minute Ontario election voter’s guide
We will have the latest poll-by-poll numbers for all 124 ridings across the province. Don’t know what riding you’re in? Use our riding look-up tool to find your riding and learn more about the history of it before you head out to vote.
Our live election night coverage begins at 8 p.m. on TV, radio and online. You can also watch our election special live on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
WATCH: Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne casts ballot in 2018 Ontario election
We’ll be paying close attention to key ridings, such as Guelph, which could elect the first Green Party candidate in the province. Kathleen Wynne‘s riding of Don Valley West and the bellwether riding of Peterborough-Kawartha, which has elected a member of the party that has formed the government since 1977, are also on our radar.
READ MORE: Ontario election 2018: How, when and where to vote
For those who have ignored the election campaign until now, we have a handy last minute voter’s cheat sheet that breaks down the key issues by each party. You can also see what each party has promised on our promise tracker and read the latest election news, commentaries and analysis pieces we have to learn more before marking your ballot (which you can decline, if you wish).
Follow our Ontario Twitter and Facebook accounts or sign-up for our breaking news alerts below to be the first to know who wins the 2018 Ontario election.
× Expand Tanja-Tiziana Things don't always turn out as expected in Ontario elections.
As the Ontario election campaign enters the final stretch, public opinion polls are suggesting Ontarians will wake up to either a Progressive Conservative or NDP government on June 7.
But the numbers have been shifting throughout the month-long campaign. And history has shown that things don’t always turn out as expected in Ontario elections.
In the nine general elections since 1985, for example, polls predicting outcomes have been slightly more accurate than flipping a coin.
1985 PC Premier Frank Miller started the campaign 20 points ahead of his nearest opponent. On Election Day, he came second in the popular vote but squeaked to victory with a minority government, which the Liberals and the NDP refused to support. This led to an unusual two-year Liberal-NDP “accord” and a minority led by new Liberal Premier David Peterson.
1987 Voters gave Peterson credit for two satisfactory years, handing him a strong majority and making the NDP official opposition.
1990 The popular Peterson pulled the trigger on an early election, hoping to go to the polls before the worst of an expected recession would hit. To voters, it just looked like he was trying to pull a fast one. Voters punished the Liberals, vaulting Bob Rae of the NDP into the Premier’s chair.
1995 The Liberals under new leader Lyn McLeod were expected to easily defeat an unpopular NDP government, but Liberal policy missteps opened the door for PC leader Mike Harris to win handily with his plan for tax cuts, government downsizing and a rollback of NDP labour laws.
1999 Harris had little trouble winning a second term with the NDP still not recovered from the 1995 defeat and a new Liberal leader in Dalton McGuinty.
2003 Eighteen months after replacing an unpopular Mike Harris as PC leader, Ernie Eves lost to McGuinty, whose “choose change” theme resonated with voters exhausted by the upheavals of the Harris-Eves years.
2007 With the Liberals leading in polls prior to the election, new PC leader John Tory tried to pull a Bill Davis by proposing public funding for all religious schools and ended up sabotaging the PCs’ chances. To add insult to injury, Tory lost his bid to capture a seat in Don Valley West to a political novice named Kathleen Wynne.
2011 After eight years in government, the Liberals lost their appeal for many voters and looked beatable. The PCs under Tim Hudak led in the polls in the weeks before the October 6 vote. But in the end voters had limited enthusiasm for either option. McGuinty won a minority with a little more than 37 per cent of the popular vote, with Hudak two points behind.
2014 With a new leader in Wynne and the Libs weighed down by scandals, the PCs under Hudak led large in the polls during the campaign. But a dramatic pledge by Hudak to downsize the Ontario public sector by 100,000 people sapped his credibility. Enough PC voters turned their backs on their party to give Wynne a majority government.
2018 All the pieces are in place for a volatile election campaign: a Liberal government with 15 years of heavy baggage, a popular but polarizing Doug Ford as PC leader, and a resurgent NDP under Andrea Horwath. Heading into the last week, the PCs and NDP are neck and neck. Think you know the outcome of this one?
Randy Robinson is a political economist and commentator based in Toronto.
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