Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford is thanking the people of Ontario for giving his party a majority government.

Speaking to supporters gathered at the Tory campaign headquarters, Ford says under his government, Ontario will enter a previously unseen period of economic prosperity.

Ford, whose favourite campaign slogan was “Help in on the way”, tells the cheering crowd “Help is here.”

He says “the party with the taxpayers’ money is over.”

And he promises to work to win the support of those who did not vote for him.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has won her seat in the provincial election.

Wynne admitted last weekend that her party would lose the election, but urged voters to elect enough Liberals to prevent the other parties from winning a majority government.

Wynne’s low personal approval ratings helped drive the Liberals way down in the polls.

Many of her cabinet ministers have been defeated.

The Liberals, who have been in government for the past 15 years, could drop to single-digit seats in the legislature, losing official party status.

Wynne has declined to say whether she’ll stay on as party leader, but many expect her to step down.

Many Liberal cabinet ministers have been defeated in the Ontario provincial election.

In Ottawa Centre, Attorney General Yasir Naqvi lost his seat, finishing second to New Democrat Joel Harden.

Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault, a New Democrat turned Liberal, lost to the NDP’s Jamie West in the Sudbury riding.

Steven Del Duca, minister of economic development, lost his seat in the Vaughan-Woodbridge riding to Tory Michael Tibollo.

Christine Elliott, a three-time loser in bids to lead Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives, unseated Liberal Environment Minister Chris Ballard in the Newmarket-Aurora riding.

And Treasury Board President Eleanor McMahon lost to Tory Jane McKenna in the Burlington riding.

The Canadian Press is projecting a Progressive Conservative majority government in Ontario.

It’s a stunning victory for the party led by Doug Ford, whose campaign was heavy on populist promises but light on fiscal details.

The New Democrats, who had been neck and neck with the Tories in several polls before the election, will form the Official Opposition.

The election has also marked a stunning collapse for the Liberals, who governed the province for the last 15 years.

Ford positioned himself during the campaign as a defender of “the little guy,” promising to lower taxes, cut hydro rates and eliminate the province’s cap-and-trade-system.

Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford has won in his riding in the west-Toronto suburb of Etobicoke North.

Ford was a city councillor for the area while his late brother Rob Ford was Toronto mayor, and the family has a long history in the community.

The 53-year-old politician was elected party leader in March after Patrick Brown stepped down amid sexual harassment allegations he denies.

Ford campaigned on a populist message of cutting taxes, lowering hydro rates and the price of gas, and putting more money into people’s pockets.

He did not release a fully costed platform, prompting his rivals to warn of massive cuts to public services under a Tory government.

The last few days of Ford’s campaign were dominated by news of a lawsuit against him from Rob Ford’s widow alleging mismanagement of the family business.

Green Party of Ontario Leader Mike Schreiner has won his bid to become the first Green to hold a seat in the province’s legislature.

Schreiner finished third in his riding in Guelph, Ont., during the last election, narrowly behind the Progressive Conservative candidate.

The race was thrown open for this election when the incumbent and prominent Liberal Liz Sandals announced she would not run again.

Andrea Horwath has handily won in her Hamilton-Centre riding, which she has held since 2004.

The NDP leader has consistently polled as the most popular of the three party leaders vying to become the next premier of Ontario.

Her New Democrats saw a surge in the polls halfway through the campaign, triggering a wave of attacks from both the governing Liberals and the opposition Tories.

Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford repeatedly slammed Horwath’s roster of candidates as radical and inexperienced.

Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne also painted New Democrats as radical ideologues and urged left-leaning voters to stop Horwath from forming a majority government.

Horwath’s campaign slogan was “Change for the better.”

Most of the polls have closed in Ontario and ballot counting has begun following a hotly contested race pitting Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives against Andrea Horwath’s New Democrats.

The governing Liberals, who have been in power for the past 15 years, are fighting for survival following Premier Kathleen Wynne’s stunning admission of defeat last week.

They will need at least eight seats to retain official party status.

The province used new technology in this election, and problems with some of the electronic vote tabulators caused delays in a few polling stations.

As a result, Elections Ontario has extended voting hours in seven locations.

Approximately 9.8 million people were registered to vote today, and more than 768,000 voted in advance polls. </s> TORONTO - The Progressive Conservative Party, led by populist Doug Ford, is on track to take control of Ontario, Canada's most populous province, ending 15 years of Liberal rule, Canadian networks projected on Thursday.



Ford is the brother of the late Toronto mayor Rob Ford, who made international news in 2013 when he admitted to smoking crack cocaine. </s> The Ontario election 2018 results are in. After a long and all-too-dramatic campaign season, the votes have been counted and Doug Ford has emerged victorious.

Ford will be Ontario's next premier as the PC party cruised to a majority government. Early returns show the PC party winning 75 ridings, the NDP 40, The Liberal party six and the Green party one.

Any less than 8 ridings would cause the Liberal party to lose their official party status.

In a speech after the loss, outgoing premier Kathleen Wynne announced she will be stepping aside as party leader.

In his victory speech, Ford declared Ontario "open for business" and promised "an era of economic growth and prosperity the likes of which this province has never seen before."

The Progressive Conservative party leader, brother to late former Toronto mayor Rob Ford, only recently took the reigns of his party in the wake of a scandal involving former PC chief Patrick Brown.

Brown, who had been leading the party since 2005, stepped down in January amidst allegations of sexual conduct. He was subsequently expelled from the party by interim leader Vic Fedeli after trying (and failing) to get his old job back, twice.

Ford was named PC leader on March 10 after a short and chaotic race that started with an announcement from his mother's basement.

Since then, the 53-year-old Etobicoke native has established an impressive base of supporters, many of whom passionately defend our new Premier's populist political stylings.

Ford ran on a platform of lower taxes, more jobs, improved accountability, lower hydro rates and one dollar beers.

He also hired his own reporter to cover the campaign trail, routinely denied to speak with real journalists, had actors posing as supporters at a debate and got sued by his deceased brother's widow for $16.5 million last week.

Strategic voting campaigns in which electors were encouraged to cast their ballots for NDP candidates were shared widely online during this year's election.

The goal was to ensure that Ford didn't become Ontario's Premier. It didn't work. </s> TORONTO (Reuters) - The Progressive Conservative Party, led by populist Doug Ford, is on track for a sweeping victory in Canada’s most populous province, Canadian networks projected on Thursday, as Ford declared the province is “open for business.”

Ford’s party will win the majority of seats in the province of Ontario’s legislature, ending 15 years of Liberal rule and giving him broad powers to pass legislation, the networks forecast.

“We have taken back Ontario. We have delivered a government that is for the people,” said Ford, promising economic growth and prosperity in a speech to supporters in Toronto.

“The party with the taxpayers’ money is over - it’s done.”

Ford, 53, is the brother of the late mayor of Toronto Rob Ford, who made international news in 2013 when he admitted to smoking crack cocaine.

Ford’s stronger than expected showing and the Liberals’ significant losses to the New Democrats may worry supporters of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s federal Liberal party, up for re-election in 2019.

CBC News projected the Progressive Conservative Party to win 76 out of the 124 seats in the province’s legislature, with the New Democrats in second place with 39 seats.

With about a third of Canada’s population of 36 million, Ontario is the country’s economic engine and home to its biggest city, Toronto. It has one of the largest sub-sovereign debts in the world, at nearly C$350 billion ($272 billion) in March.

“This election outcome addresses a number of key concerns in the business sector - a pause in minimum wage increases; a number of measures to address energy costs, most significantly scrapping the cap-and-trade program; and tax rate reductions,” said Robert Kavcic, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

Blunt and combative with the media, Ford has drawn comparisons with U.S. President Donald Trump, although he has tried to appeal to voters in the immigrant communities that sway elections in many Toronto suburbs.

“I do think there’s a bit of spillover from populism in the United States that could have washed over the Ontario election,” said Jonathan Rose, a professor at Queen’s University.

“It’s hard to believe that someone who has never held office other than as a municipal councillor ... is elected to lead the largest economy in a G7 country,” he added.

The contest in Canada’s industrial and manufacturing heartland became a fight between Ford and the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) after Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne, premier since 2013, dropped to a distant third in opinion polls.

Wynne, the first female premier and first openly gay premier the province has had, said she would resign as leader of the Liberal party.

While seen as generally business friendly, the PC party never released a fully costed platform, and promised to cut taxes and find some C$6 billion in efficiencies without eliminating jobs, leaving some bond investors uncertain that they will improve the province’s fiscal health. [L1N1SH1OE]

As Canadian media projected a Ford victory, investors were seeking details of his economic policies.

Both the centrist Liberal party and the left-leaning NDP campaigned on expanding social services, especially childcare and health coverage.

Ford, who served on Toronto’s city council when his brother was mayor, has spent much of his life running the family’s label business.

His campaign was hit with a series of controversies, including allegations from his brother’s widow that he mismanaged the family business and separate accusations that he interfered with a party nomination fight. Ford denied both allegations. </s> TORONTO (Reuters) - The Progressive Conservative Party, led by populist Doug Ford, is on track to sweep to victory in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, ending 15 years of Liberal rule, Canadian networks projected on Thursday.

Ford’s party will win the majority of seats in the provincial legislature, giving Ford broad powers to pass legislation, the networks forecast.

“I’m very grateful to the people of Ontario,” said Ford as he spoke briefly to media outside his home in Toronto.

Ford, 53, is the brother of the late mayor of Toronto Rob Ford, who made international news in 2013 when he admitted to smoking crack cocaine.

“I do think there’s a bit of spillover from populism in the United States that could have washed over the Ontario election,” said Jonathan Rose, a professor at Queen’s University.

“It’s hard to believe that someone who has never held office other than as a municipal councillor ... is elected to lead the largest economy in a G7 country,” he added.

Blunt and combative with the media, Ford has drawn comparisons with U.S. President Donald Trump, although he has tried to appeal to voters in the immigrant communities that sway elections in many Toronto suburbs.

The contest in Canada’s industrial and manufacturing heartland became a fight between Ford and the left-leaning New Democratic Party after Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne, premier since 2013, dropped to a distant third in opinion polls.

Wynne is the first female premier and first openly gay premier the province has had.

With about a third of Canada’s population of 36 million, Ontario is the country’s economic engine and home to its biggest city, Toronto. It has one of the largest sub-sovereign debts in the world, at nearly C$350 billion ($272 billion) in March.

While seen as generally business friendly, the PC party never released a fully costed platform, and promised to cut taxes and find some C$6 billion in efficiencies without eliminating jobs, leaving some bond investors uncertain that they will improve the province’s fiscal health. [L1N1SH1OE]

As Canadian media projected a Ford victory, investors were seeking details of his economic policies.

Both the centrist Liberal party and the left-leaning New Democratic Party campaigned on expanding social services, especially childcare and health coverage.

Ford, who served on Toronto’s city council when his brother was mayor, has spent much of his life running the family’s label business.

His campaign was hit with a series of controversies, including allegations from his brother’s widow that he mismanaged the family business and separate accusations that he interfered with a party nomination fight. Ford denied both allegations. </s> Doug Ford, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, won a majority government this evening in a landmark election that swept the Liberal Party from power after 15 years. He delivered his victory speech to PC supporters in Toronto a short time ago. Here’s what he said:

That’s an incredible welcome, I thank you. Hazel McCallion, I thank you.

Thank you so much my friends what a response. This is incredible. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’ll never forget the trust you put in me. My friends this victory belongs to you. this victory belongs to the people. And tonight the people of Ontario have spoken.

People from every walk of life, from every corner of this great province, people from every political stripe, you have come together around one common vision of Ontario. You have sent a clear message: a message of hope and prosperity.

A vision for the people of this province, a vision of a government that works for the people. A government that respects you, a government with integrity, a government that will always put you first.

My friends, help is here.

Our team will work every single day to deliver this vision. We will every single day for a better Ontario, a better future and a brighter future for our children. An era of economic prosperity, the likes of which this province has never seen before. Prosperity that will benefit every resident of Ontario, and tonight we have sent a clear message to the world: Ontario is open for business.

My friends, I am so proud. So proud of the incredible team that you have sent to Queen’s Park: a team of all-stars that will work for you, a team that will always put you first and we are grateful to all of those who put their names forward. All of those who ran under the PC banner, thank you for your hard work and sacrifice.

My friends, when we began this journey, I made a commitment to you. I made a commitment to Ontario. I promised to work hard, I promised to run an honest and positive campaign, to focus on the policies that matter to you. I promised to deliver a strong, stable majority government and together we did that.

Together we made history. We have taken back Ontario. We have delivered a government that is for the people. A government that will respect your hard-earned tax dollars. And my friends, the party with the tax payers dollars is over, it’s done. But the work has just begun. Our team will get to work immediately. We will deliver on our plan for the people. We will bring accountability, transparency and integrity to the tax payers of Ontario. We will reduce your taxes, reduce your gas prices and keep more money in your pocket.

A plan to fix our economy and create more good, paying jobs. A plan to invest in the priorities that matter to you. And, my friends, together, with our skilled team of MVPs, this is what we will deliver.

My friends, I want to thank my family for all of your support, love and support. To my wife, Karla, my mom, Diane, and my four girls, you’ve been my rock. I couldn’t have done this without you. And I can tell you, I know that my brother Rob is looking down from heaven.

I’m just getting chills talking about him right now. I know Rob is celebrating with us tonight, we owe so much to Rob’s legacy. A legacy of service to the people, a legacy started by my father, Doug Ford Sr., and legacy that will continue.

I want to thank my incredible campaign team, the best political team ever assembled, ever. A skilled and dedicated team who worked hard and stuck together. And I want to thank the thousands and thousands of volunteers from all across Ontario. You left everything on the field.

But most of all, I want to thank each of you, I thank you. I want to thank the people of Ontario, I owe everything to you. Your support, your energy, your belief in our cause. You are the ones who kept me going, who energized me at every single stop and reminded me what’s at stake, what we are fighting for. You reminded me to stay humbled and stay focused. You are the reason we are here today.

Those who didn’t support us, I want you to know I will work even harder to earn your confidence. I also need to acknowledge our opponents in this race. To Kathleen Wynne and Andrea Horwath, you fought a hard, very hard campaign. And I’ll tel you, Ontario is better for it. We’ve had our different approacgesm but we all share in the same goal of a better Ontario.

And I want to work together to deliver on our mandate for the people.

My friends, a new day has dawned on Ontario. A day of opportunity, a day of prosperity and a day of growth. We’re going to turn this province around, so our children and their children will always be proud to call Ontario home.

We will make sure Ontario is the greatest place on Earth to live, to do business and to raise a family. And will make Ontario once again the engine of Canada.

My friends, together in 88 short days we achieved the impossible. We united our party, united our province and this is your victory. Tonight is your night.

I thank you, and god bless each and every one of you. Thank you. </s> Ontario PC leader Doug Ford has won the provincial election with a majority government, overtaking both NDP leader Andrea Horwath and incumbent Premier Kathleen Wynne.

Just 15 minutes after polls closed, the PCs had a commanding lead. Both CBC and CTV quickly called the election in favour of Ford.

See the latest results as they come in here.

Ford successfully channelled populist sentiment in Ontario and successfully galvanized voters’ anger towards the Liberals, who spent the last 15 years in power. Ford had banked on voters believing in his vision for change and pledges to cut government spending, slash taxes for the middle class and offer relief to minimum-wage workers.

What can we expect from Ford running the show?

In “Are you ready for Premier Doug Ford?” associate editor Shannon Proudfoot explored what would happen if the policy-averse leader of Ford Nation actually won the election. In an excerpt from Proudfoot’s piece, she writes:

“Those who worked with Ford in municipal politics describe a businessman with an unhealthy confidence in his own judgment and a disdain for painstaking policy construction; someone who is entertaining and charming, but also quick to anger and unwilling to compromise—a “one-man band” on the cusp of running Canada’s largest province. “I think Doug Ford is so underestimated in every way possible that a lot of people think, ‘Oh, this can’t happen, he can’t be elected premier.’ Or if he does get elected premier, he’ll tone it down, he’ll become more mainstream,” says John Filion, a Toronto city councillor who wrote a book on the Ford era. “And all of that is wrong.”

When it comes to how governing could work in Queen’s Park:

“If Ford and his party sweep into Queen’s Park with a majority, of course, he will have both the leadership position to impose his will and the votes to push things through the legislature—provided there is no mutiny from within. But Ford’s type of intransigent tribalism would make any workplace a little fraught, let alone one with the egos, competing interests and shifting allegiances of politics.

What changes can Ontario expect under Premier Doug Ford?

After mounting pressure from his opponents, the Ontario PCs released a more detailed look at Ford’s list of promises with less than a week left in the campaign. Although much of the platform didn’t contain detailed costs, it provides the most insight into what’s in store for Ontarians. Ford vowed to cut $6 billion from Ontario’s budget, slash middle-class income taxes by 20 per cent, add 15,000 new long-term beds, spend $1.9 billion over the next decade on mental health and addiction support, expand sales of beer, wine, cider and coolers into corner stores, replace the sex-ed curriculum and end Ontario’s Green Energy Act.

We listed some of the promises that Ford has made throughout the campaign broken down by category (For the full list click here):

In contrast to his opponents, Ford is the only leader campaigning on a promise to quickly balance the books and keep them that way.
• Ford vowed to cut $6 billion from Ontario’s budget without laying off any public employees but hasn’t specified which “inefficiencies” he’d eliminate
• Convene an “outside audit” to probe spending under the Liberal government of Kathleen Wynne at an estimated cost of $1 million and give more funding to the office of Ontario’s Auditor General

The PCs under Doug Ford have vowed to shrink government and cut taxes, but questions remain about how many platform policies from Patrick Brown’s “People’s Guarantee” will be adopted. So far, Ford has promised:
• Ford, who has pledged to scrap the Liberals’ planned minimum wage hike from $14 to $15 next year, would introduce an income tax credit for workers earning minimum wage so that anyone making less than $28,000 a year would pay no income tax.
• Cut corporate tax rates from 11.5 to 10.5 per cent in an effort to attract new businesses to Ontario
• Cut middle-class income taxes by 20 per cent for those earning $42,960 to $85,923 annually, but Ford unclear how it will be paid for

Doug Ford has said he’d fire the CEO of Hydro One. Since the utility’s privatization, however, that power no longer rests with the provincial government. Other highlights:
• Cut hydro bills by 12 per cent, on top of the Liberals’ 25 per cent promised cut and return all Hydro One dividends to Ontario families
• Use “retroactive legislation” to prevent executives and board members from receiving large payouts if their jobs are terminated

On the health care front, Ford and the Ontario PCs’ platform has promised to:
• Add 15,000 new long-term care beds over the next five years and 30,000 new beds over the next 10 years
• Spend $1.9 billion over the next decade on mental health and addiction support, estimated at approximately $190 million per year for a decade, with costs shared with federal government,

Doug Ford previously said he’d consider privatizing the sale and distribution of weed and alcohol but later softened his stance:
• He also said “we got to be super, super, super careful” in regulating the cannabis market
• Expand sales of beer, wine, cider and coolers into corner stores
• Lower the minimum price that beer can be sold for to $1 (plus deposit) per bottle, the level it was at prior to 2008.

Doug Ford has said he wants to “review the curriculum in all core subject areas thoroughly“:
• “Scrap Kathleen Wynne’s ideological sex-ed curriculum and replace it with one that is age-appropriate, and only after real consultation with parents occurs”
• “Scrap discovery math, and replace it with proven methods of teaching.”
• Expand the mandate of the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario to include a complaints and investigations process to evaluate violations of free speech

Ford has said his platform will have neither a cap-and-trade system nor a carbon tax (despite the $10-billion hole it would leave in the Tory fiscal plan). Highlights:
• Repeal Ontario’s existing cap-and-trade system and oppose the federally-mandated minimum price on carbon emissions
• End Ontario’s Green Energy Act and Cancel energy projects initiated by the current Liberal government that are in the pre-construction phase
• Set up an emissions-reduction fund to invest in new emission-cutting technologies, though no detailed cost has been provided

Doug Ford laid out his infrastructure promises which include:
• Commit $5-billion more funds for subways, relief lines, a two-way GO Transit to Niagara Falls as part of existing plan to build a regional transportation system
• Open the question of Hamilton’s $1.3 billion LRT project to a vote, noting that even if voters reject the LRT, Hamilton would receive the money for other infrastructure projects
• Cut aviation fuel taxes on interprovincial flights to and from Northern Ontario, which Ford says will cost $11 million per year
• The Maclean’s-Pollara Ontario election poll shows Doug Ford and Andrea Horwath in photo finish
• How Doug Ford could help us get electoral reform
• Just how ‘pro-business’ is Doug Ford, really? </s> TORONTO -- Doug Ford said Friday he's working with Ontario's outgoing Liberals to ensure a smooth transition to power -- a process he said would take three weeks, involve the help of those who've worked at the federal level and see the formation of a strong Progressive Conservative cabinet.

The premier-designate, who secured a majority a day earlier with a slew of populist promises, said his first order of business would be to scrutinize the province's books.

"We have to see the financial situation that's been left behind, and over the next couple days and weeks you're going to hear from us, but the most important thing is getting our fiscal house in order," Ford said.

"Immediately, we'll be out looking for an auditing firm to go into the province to go line item by line item. I always believe in third party validation."

Once the audit is complete, Ford said he planned to address many of the promises he made during the election campaign, including lowering taxes, cutting hydro rates, and eliminating the cap-and-trade system.

"After a hard-fought campaign, we know the hard work has just begun," he said. "But we intend to act fast. We will have much more to share with the people of Ontario in the coming days and weeks."

Ford's transition team, which will help him segue into power over 21 days, includes former Conservative MP John Baird, a past chief of staff in former prime minister Stephen Harper's government, and an executive at the Ford family business.

"We have already hit the ground running," Ford said. "We have begun work right away on setting up the premier's office, establishing a cabinet and implementing the machinery of a new government."

Ontario's lieutenant-governor met with Ford on Friday afternoon, inviting him to form government.

The Tories secured 76 ridings, the NDP got 40 and the Liberals were reduced to seven seats. Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner captured the party's first-ever seat in Ontario.

The NDP's position as the Official Opposition marks a turnaround for the party consistently stuck in third place since Bob Rae's New Democratic government was defeated in 1995. Party leader Andrea Horwath said Friday that Ontarians have chosen her New Democrats to keep Ford accountable.

"Our ideas are quite different and Mr. Ford's plan to cut all those taxes for the richest people in Ontario is going to put a big hole in our finances here in this province," she said. "I'm hopeful that Mr. Ford understands that we need revenues in our province to pay for the kinds of things that people expect a government to provide."

Ford was frequently accused during the election campaign of failing to be transparent by dodging calls to release a fully costed platform. The party eventually published a list of promises and their price tags, but didn't indicate how they would pay for them, what size of deficits they would run or for exactly how long.

The premier-designate said Friday that he planned to live up to his promises, including to repeal the Liberals' updated sex-ed curriculum.

"What we say we're going to do, we're going to do. We aren't going to flip-flop," he said. "We want to make sure over the next four years that our mandate gets fulfilled based on the people voting us in."

He declined, however, to discuss specifics when asked about the timing of that, as well as when and how he would scrap the Liberals' cap-and-trade program, or if he will introduce back-to-work legislation to end a months-long strike at York University in Toronto.

Ford also emphasized ties with the federal government Friday, saying he had spoken with Justin Trudeau and told the prime minister he stood with him in a trade dispute with the United States.

Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump have exchanged tough words after the U.S. imposed hefty tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada, Mexico and Europe. Canada has countered with a plan to impose tariffs of its own on U.S. metals and other consumer goods.

Ford was asked what he thinks of how Trump is handling trade issues.

"I talked to the prime minister yesterday," he said. "I said we'll stand united against our neighbours to the south and I'm very sincere when I say that. United we stand as a country and I'll work hand in hand with the prime minister."

Meanwhile, Ford would not say if he will lower the legislature's threshold for official party status to accommodate the Liberals, who were decimated at the polls. The bar is currently eight seats. </s> "A new day has dawned in Ontario: a day of opportunity, a day of prosperity and a day of growth. We're going to turn this province around. We will make sure Ontario is the greatest place on earth to live, to do business and to raise a family. And we will make Ontario once again the engine of Canada." — Premier-elect Doug Ford

"Our democracy is strong. And because of that, let me congratulate Doug Ford. I've spoken to him and I wish him well. And I have committed to work with him to make this transition as smooth as possible. And now I trust that the rancour and the polarization of an election campaign can give way to the necessary civility of well-run government." — Kathleen Wynne, Liberal leader and former premier

"Today millions of people voted for change for the better. We have won more seats than we have held in a generation." — NDP Leader Andrea Horwath

"Ontarians have chosen to elect a majority government led by the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party. On behalf of the Government of Canada, I offer my sincere congratulations to Doug Ford who will have the honour and privilege to serve as premier. I look forward to working with the new provincial government to create good, middle class jobs, make Ontario a world-leading centre for innovative and sustainable technologies, and build infrastructure that meets the needs of Ontarians." — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

"Today, the people of Ontario have elected a new Progressive Conservative government, putting an end to 15 years of Liberal mismanagement. On behalf of the Conservative Party of Canada, I offer my sincere congratulations to the next Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, and his new team of incoming Progressive Conservative MPPs." — Andrew Scheer, federal Conservative leader, on Facebook
The Progressive Conservative Party of Doug Ford wins a sweeping victory, ending 15 years of Liberal Party rule in the province. The Liberal Party becomes a minority party (or third party) for the first time since its foundation and later first provincial election, has losing official party status.