Power to the people: how energy is shaping the Ontario election
An election is always about power — the power to govern, to make decisions and...
Voters are heading into a snap Ontario election this winter.
The last Ontario election was in 2022, which means the next one wasn’t scheduled to take place until 2026. But after months of dropping hints, the Doug Ford government announced in late January that voters will head to the ballot box in an Ontario election on Feb. 27, 2025, with advance polls open Feb. 20.
Ford, whose Progressive Conservative Party already held a majority of the 124 seats in the Ontario Legislature, said he needed an election to have a mandate to respond to tariff threats from the United States. Critics, however, questioned if Ford might be trying to get ahead of other problems — like an ongoing RCMP investigation into the Greenbelt scandal.
The outcome of the vote will have big implications for the environment in Ontario, from electricity and natural gas to highways and mining.
Ontario election polling projections show the Progressive Conservatives are likely to cruise to a third majority government, with the Ontario NDP, Liberals and Greens trailing behind.
The Ontario NDP, currently led by Marit Stiles, has been the official opposition in Ontario since 2018.
But the Ontario Liberals, led by former Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie, are attempting to reclaim some seats — the party went into the election with nine and has struggled since losing power in 2018.
The Green Party of Ontario, led by Mike Schreiner, held two seats in the legislature — but a third may be within striking distance.
Under Ford, the Progressive Conservatives have had a controversial environmental track record. In Ford’s first term, the party scrapped and watered down environment and climate policies left and right — most notably by getting rid of Ontario’s cap and trade system. And much of its second mandate was consumed by the Greenbelt scandal as the Tories opened up portions of the protected land for development, then took it back amid public outcry.
The opposition parties have all historically pushed for more environmental protections, though they disagree on the details. For example, Crombie has promised the Ontario Liberals would not reinstate a provincial carbon price and would pursue other climate policies, while Stiles’ NDP has previously pledged a return to cap and trade.
The Narwhal is keeping an eye on how the environment shapes this campaign. Read on for our coverage of the 2025 Ontario election.
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