Ford’s Conservatives win Ontario election

Former city councillor and brother of the late Toronto mayor to become premier

Doug Ford, whose populist message of smaller government and tax cuts drew comparisons to Donald Trump, will be the next premier of Canada’s most populous province and economic engine.

Ford’s Progressive Conservatives won 76 of Ontario’s 124 districts in Thursday’s election, according to Elections Ontario. His decisive win ends 15 years of Liberal Party rule, and his majority government will be able to run the province without the support of another party.

Ford, 53, a former city councillor and brother of the late Toronto mayor Rob Ford, ran on a “For the People” platform of tax cuts for businesses and the middle class, along with lower prices for gasoline and electricity.

While the tax cuts, a pledge to reduce government “waste,” and his plain-spoken tone evoked elements of Trump, there are key differences: immigration played virtually no role in the campaign, and firstand second-generation Canadians are core supporters of the Ford family’s campaigns.

In his victory speech near Toronto, a beaming Ford declared Ontario is “open for business,” pledging his government will usher in “an era ■ of economic prosperity the likes of which Ontario has never seen before.”

The Conservatives are promising to balance the budget over a “responsible time frame” even as they pledge to cut taxes and increase spending on health care and infrastructure.

Ontario’s debt has ballooned under the Liberal Party, soaring to 37 per cent of gross domestic product, from about 27 per cent when they took power in 2003.

Liberals fall

Ford succeeds Kathleen Wynne, a five-year incumbent who conceded last week that she was headed for defeat.

Her Liberal party had grown deeply unpopular amid rising electricity prices and voter fatigue. The Liberals won just seven seats, short of the eight needed to maintain official party status to fully participate in the legislature. Wynne, 65, stepped down as party leader.

Ford’s main rival was New Democratic Party Leader Andrea Horwath, 55, who pitched tax hikes on corporations and high earners to finance expanded social programs.

The Conservatives and NDP were neck and neck in most polls based on popular support, though Ford’s backing was more widely spread across the province, leading to more seats.

The NDP will now be the largest opposition party, with about 39 seats. The Green Party, meanwhile, picked up its first ever seat in the province.