Canada’s Ontario province has re-elected Premier Doug Ford’s ruling conservatives in an election heavily focused on trade tensions stoked by United States President Donald Trump.
Ford and his Progressive Conservative Party (PC Party) cruised to their third consecutive legislative majority on Thursday after seeking the “largest mandate in Ontario history” to protect the economy of Canada’s most populous province from Trump’s tariffs.
The PC Party had won at least 74 seats in the 124-member Legislative Assembly of Ontario and was leading in seven other districts as of Thursday night, according to a tally by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
“We’re going to make sure we protect the people of Ontario and protect their families, and their jobs and businesses,” Ford, 60, told CTV News after his win.
“I’ll fight tooth and nail against Donald Trump. I’ll promise you that.”
Ford, who often sported a “Canada is Not for Sale” hat and styled himself as Captain Canada throughout his election campaign, called the vote more than a year early, arguing that he should have a stronger mandate to navigate years of potential economic chaos under Trump.
“This is gonna be a battle for the next four years,” Ford said last month as he called the snap election. “I want to make sure I have a strong mandate to outlast President Trump.”
During his campaign, Ford twice travelled to Washington, DC, and made numerous appearances on US networks such as Fox News and CNN to lobby against the tariffs and position himself as a spokesman for Canada as a whole.
Ford’s critics questioned the timing of his decision to call an election and pointed out that Ottawa has the primary responsibility for negotiating with Trump’s administration.
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