The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party led by Doug Ford has not only been re-elected to a second term, but appears to have expanded its majority.
After winning power from the Liberals with 76 seats in 2018, Ford's Tories are elected or leading in 83 seats compared with 30 seats for the NDP and a paltry 8 seats for the Liberals as well as a single seat for the Greens and one independent. While the NDP is once again official opposition, its leader Andrea Horwath is stepping down after being at the helm of the party since 2009 through four provincial elections. Ontario Liberal Party leader Steven Del Duca also stepped down after failing to win a seat at Queen's Park.
Now when there is a Liberal government in Ottawa, Ontario voters usually elect the Tories. But Ford's re-election wasn't always inevitable as a little over a year ago his government was heavily criticized for COVID measures which were considered both heavy handed (as compared to measures imposed by Republicans in this country) while at the same time accompanied by poor communication and flip-flops.
But people have short memories and that storm eventually passed. What helped Premier Ford was his handling of the trucker convoy back in January and February. Unlike his federal Tory counterparts who were falling over themselves to embrace the trucker's lawlessness in the name of liberty, Ford wasn't having any of it and imposed a province wide state of emergency after the Canada-U.S. border at the Ambassador Bridge was shut down and his poll numbers improved thereafter.
It's not that Doug Ford is a great leader, but he isn't bad and in this day and age that is good enough.
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