By Alizeh Sohail
Elections in Ontario are set to take place on February 27, 2025. Residents of Ontario who are Canadian citizens and over 18 years of age are eligible to vote. The Ontario Legislature has 124 seats and parties need at least 63 seats to form a majority government. Since 2018, Ontario has been governed by a majority government of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party led by Doug Ford. Now his government has called for an election, giving Ontarians the opportunity to pick their Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) for the next four years. In this article, we have compiled some information about the jurisdiction of provincial governments, the parties contesting in elections, and their policy proposals to help you decide your vote. In the end, we have also linked some tools to help you find your local election office, what documents to bring when going to vote, and tools to help with strategic voting and comparing parties’ platforms.
Provincial government jurisdictions
Generally, provincial governments have autonomous jurisdictions from the federal government and control policy areas comprising property and civil rights, administration of justice and creation of courts, environment, healthcare, education, welfare, provincial taxation, charitable institutions, municipal institutions like libraries and emergency services, public transport, water and sewerage systems, housing etc. This means many aspects of Ontarian’s lives are controlled by our provincial government.
Major political parties in Ontario
Ontario has four major political parties: The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario led by Doug Ford, Ontario Liberals led by Bonnie Crombie, Ontario New Democratic Party led by Marit Stiles, and the Green Party of Ontario led by Mike Schreiner.
The Ontario Liberals’ platform rests on ‘getting the basics right’. Broadly speaking, they propose guaranteeing a family doctor for all within four years, expanding Ontario Health Insurance Plan to cover mental health care, cutting income taxes and eliminating HST on home heating and hydro bills, lowering housing costs for first time homebuyers, permanently doubling Ontario Disability Support Program, eliminating interest on OSAP loans, offering tax credits to employers who hire young workers to reduce youth unemployment rates, hiring more teachers and Early Childhood Educators, and strengthening the French education, STEM, and union-led skilled trades programs.
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The PC party of Ontario is seeking re-election on the slogan of ‘protect Ontario’. They propose funding for Ontario’s steel and forestry industries, supporting business owners with tax and payroll relief funding, cutting red tape to build more roads and public buildings like schools, investing in skilled workers jobs and education, investing in defence sector like armoured vehicle manufacturing and shipbuilding, and funding the police to crack down on illegal border crossings and illicit drug trade.
The New Democratic Party of Ontario
Ontario NDP promises to give out a monthly grocery rebate, enable rent control measures, deliver $10/day childcare, investing in more public transit routes, easier unionizing and bigger pay cheques, double Ontario Disability Support Program and Ontario Works rates, building cheaper homes, providing mental health care, halt the privatization of hospitals and senior care homes, reversing OSAP cuts, and incentivizing Ontario’s manufacturing industry.
The GPO’s platform rests on building more homes in thriving neighbourhoods within existing urban boundaries, eliminating Land Transfer Tax for first time homebuyers, cutting taxes for middle-income earners, removing taxes on energy-saving purchases like solar panels, creating jobs in the agriculture and green economy sectors, expanding OHIP coverage to mental health and addiction problems, building more non profit senior homes, recruit more doctors to ensure better access to family physicians, funding education to lower teacher-to-student ratios, and working towards improving relationships with Indigenous communities.
Party policies’ comparison
Below we have prepared a table allowing a quick comparison of some of the policies and plans proposed by the 4 major Ontario parties.
[Disclaimer: the policies provided here are summaries of each party’s platform, for more details, please visit the parties’ websites linked in the headings above]
Plans for key policy areas | ||||
Affordability | No data available | Double the ODSP Renew the $10/day childcare deal | Double the ODSP monthly grocery rebates Require grocery chains to publicize price hikes Renew the $10/day childcare deal | Double the ODSP and increase Ontario Works rates Increase minimum wage and index it to inflation Introduce legislation for minimum wage, EI, and CPP rules to apply for gig economy workers Phase in a universal basic income plan |
Housing | Allocating $2 billion to a fund to pay for water and wastewater infrastructure for new housing projects Investing $530 million to create 27 new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs across the province to provide supportive housing solutions | Eliminate provincial Land Transfer Tax for first-time buyers, seniors who are downsizing, and for non-profit builders Remove development charges on middle-class housing Introduce phased-in rent control Introduce the Rental Emergency Support for Tenants (REST) Fund to assist vulnerable renters help avoid eviction | Create 60K supportive housing units for homeless people Transfer shelter funding responsibilities from municipalities to provincial governments, and reverse cuts Provide stronger protections for renters and double social assistance rates More investigations into renovictions and demovictions Limit short-term rentals (ex. Airbnb) to primary residences only Build or acquire at least 300K affordable homes | Take on financial responsibility of municipalities to support community housing and shelter costs Allow fourplexes and four-storey buildings all across Ontario and up to 6 units in larger cities (that have populations over 500K) Permit buildings ranging from 6 to 11 stories to be built along transit corridors and main streets Remove development charges for new homes smaller than 2000 square feet Remove land transfer tax for first-time home buyers Build at least 310K new affordable non-profit and co-op rental homes + 60K permanent supportive homes with guaranteed funding Make the provincial land available for free Build or acquire 22K affordable homes built by Indigenous communities for Indigenous residents Allow homeowners to borrow $25K interest free to build affordable rental units onto their existing homes Lease all public land that can host new homes, to non-profit and co-op homebuilders at no cost to build affordable housing Put in rent control for all units Restrict short-term rentals in cities lacking rental housing options Add 311K households to receive portable housing benefit |
Education | Launching dedicated career coaching for Grade 9 and 10 students and helping them explore new opportunities in STEM and skilled trades Investing $1.3 billion more to build 30 new schools and 15 school expansions across Ontario | Eliminate interest on OSAP loans Loan repayment due when students earning more than $50K | Additional $830 million per year on school repairs and maintenance Clear school repair backlog within 10 years Hire more school staff including Implement a universal school food program End academic streaming Update the school bus funding formula Increase francophone education in French and English school boards Freeze domestic tuition fees from post-secondary education Eliminate interest from existing student loans and turn loans into grants Increase per-student funding in post-secondary by 20% | Increase per-student funding by $1500 Review of provinces school funding formula with focus on remote and rural schools Reduce middle and primary school class sizes Eliminate EQAO testing Waive tuition for in demand programs Convert student loans to grants for middle- and lower-income students, and eliminate interest on debt Increase per-student university funding by 20% |
Healthcare | Before the election, promised $1.8 billion to connect all Ontarians with a primary care practitioner according to their postal code | Connect all Ontarians with a family doctor within 4 years of the election modernise family medicine (such as removing fax machines and allowing for evening/weekend appointments) Accelerate the redevelopment of the St. Mary’s and Grand River hospital | Implement new programs to reduce wait times, expand home care services, increase access to physicians, and expand addiction support services Hiring 3500 new doctors, with a special hiring target for northern areas Double medical residency positions at NOSM University Expand locum programs Increase rates for the Northern Health Travel Grant Simplify process for internationally trained doctors to work in the province Lower the nurse-to-patient ratio Clear waitlist for children and youth waiting for mental health care | Advocate for new hospitals in Huntsville and Bracebridge Double provincial funding for rural hospitals and reduce local cost-sharing for new hospital funding by half Expand OHIP coverage to include mental health care Recruit thousands of additional doctors, nurses, and frontline workers to address staffing shortages and improve patient care Recruit 3500 family doctors over the next 3-5 years, especially for rural and northern communities Halt the privatization of healthcare services Standardise wages across healthcare sectors Create centralised intake and referral system to reduce surgery wait times Legislate 10 sick days for all employees and ban employers from requiring sick notes Build 48K non-profit long-term care homes Reopen supervised consumption sites |
Taxes | Remove all electric vehicle tax credits Oppose federal carbon tax Make a permanent 5.7 cent per litre cut to provincial gas tax Spend $200M on shipbuilding grant program to secure contracts to build new ships in the province Create new tax credit for defence and security companies that build or relocate to Ontario | Cut the middle-class income tax bracket by 22% Remove HST from home heating and hydro bills Provide rebate to buy an electric vehicle Reduce small business tax rate from 3.2% to 1.6% and increase the eligible income threshold Create 40K new paid co-ops, internships, and apprenticeships by offering tax credits to employers that hire young people | Not raise income taxes on any Ontarian making below $220,000 doubling the Ontario made manufacturing tax credit | Raise the rate of tax for those in the top bracket and lower it for those earning less than $65K/year. Give rebate for purchase of electrical vehicles Remove HST from select energy related items Increase employer health tax exemption to $1.5M Add property speculation tax for those who own more than 2 homes. This tax starts at 25% for a third home and increase per subsequent property Install vacant homes tax and anti-flipping tax on homes sold shortly after bought Remove HST from heat pumps, solar panels, EV chargers, and energy retrofits Remove the beer can tax |
Transportation | Have the Ottawa LRT join with Metrolinx If the tariffs are in effect, will:
| Hire 300 special constables to work in Metrolinx systems (including in Toronto and Ottawa) Install platform doors at all Toronto TTC subway stations Join the Ottawa LRT with Metrolinx and create expansions to Kanata and Barrhaven Upgrade and expand Highway 174 Create a funding stream for transit services and safety measures Extend the Kitchener-Waterloo LRT Create 2-way GO Train service between Kitchener and Toronto that runs all day Extend the Kitchener-Waterloo ION light rail system into downtown Cambridge, adding 17 km | Buy back provincially owned areas of Highway 407 and cancel tolls Negotiate to cancel tolls on the 407ETR. Remove tolls for commercial truckers. End private highway maintenance contract Boost infrastructure projects on transit if tariffs are active Ensure that the Ontario Line project must have at least 25% of Ontario content Widen Highway 11, Highway 1, and Highway 69 Build Cochrane Bypass Fund 50% of operating costs for the TTC and other Toronto transit services | Block 400 series from being built in the Greenbelt Cancel Highway 412 and Bradford Bypass Create a long-term municipal fund for rural and northern Ontario to use for improvement of roads, bridges, or other infrastructure Ensure all-day, 2-way GO service across train lines Create dedicated truck lanes on Highway 407 Remove tolls for transport trucks on private route |
Helpful tools
This is the official website of Elections Ontario, where you can find out who is eligible to vote, voting locations nearby, what ID to bring, the candidates contesting in your riding, and much more.
A tool to help you understand what a strategic vote for your riding would be if you want to elect a left-leaning party member i.e., Liberal, NDP, or Green Party.
A detailed election guide comparing party platforms on various policy issues.