Ontario's political party leaders are making their final pitches to voters a day before the province heads to the polls, with Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford saying he wants to be premier "forever" and his rivals asking Ontarians to choose change.
Ford is looking to secure a third consecutive majority government and he said Wednesday that his party is the only one that can stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump and his tariff threats.
Ford seemed confident after starting the day just outside of Windsor, Ont., the city where he launched his re-election campaign last month.
"I just want to win," he said. "I want to win a majority, a large majority."
That way, Ontarians would "send a message down to Donald Trump that we're a force to be reckoned with," he said.
Ford will end his day in Mississauga East-Cooksville, the riding Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie is hoping to win to secure a seat in the legislature.
Crombie has made health care reform a central theme of her campaign and she reiterated Wednesday her promises to get everyone in Ontario a family doctor and end hallway medicine.
"If you want change and you want a family doctor, we have to change the government," she said at a campaign stop in Oakville, Ont., adding that Ford has failed on health care.
"So tomorrow I'm asking for your vote."
At a stop in Toronto-St. Paul's riding, NDP Leader Marit Stiles said her party is the only one that would provide real change for Ontarians.
She said the Liberals are no different than the Progressive Conservatives and it's the NDP that will bring in measures to make life more affordable.
Much of Stiles' day will be spent in ridings the NDP already holds, as some polls suggest the New Democrats have been shedding support in the lead-up to Thursday's snap election that Ford called.
"We are actually going into a lot of ridings that we want to hold for sure," Stiles said. "We know we can do it, but we'll be connecting as we have been for the last few days in ridings where we want to flip from blue to orange."
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner is in Kitchener canvassing with Aislinn Clancy, who won the Greens' second ever seat in the legislature in a byelection in 2023.
--with files from Rianna Lim in Toronto, Sharif Hassan in Windsor, Ont. and Maan Alhmidi in Oakville, Ont.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2025.
Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
