Ontario general election, 2007

Ontario general election, 2007
Ontario
October 10, 2007
107 seats in the 39th Legislative Assembly of Ontario
54 seats were needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Dalton McGuinty John Tory Howard Hampton
Party Liberal Progressive Conservative New Democratic
Leader since December 1, 1996 September 18, 2004 June 22, 1996
Leader's seat Ottawa South Dufferin—Peel—
Wellington—Grey
ran in Don Valley West (lost)		 Kenora—Rainy River
Last election 72 24 7
Seats won 71 26 10
Seat change Decrease1 Increase2 Increase3
Popular vote 1,867,273 1,398,806 741,465
Percentage 42.25% 31.62% 16.76%
Swing Decrease4.15pp Decrease2.98pp Increase2.06pp
  Fourth party
 
Leader Frank de Jong
Party Green
Leader since 1993
Leader's seat ran in Davenport (lost)
Last election 0
Seats won 0
Seat change 0
Popular vote 354,897
Percentage 8.02%
Swing Increase5.20pp

Premier before election

Dalton McGuinty
Liberal

 Premier-designate

Dalton McGuinty
Liberal

The Ontario general election of 2007 was held on October 10, 2007 to elect members (MPPs) of the 39th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Liberals under Dalton McGuinty won the election with a majority government, winning 71 out of a possible 107 seats with 42.2% of the popular vote. The election set a record for the lowest voter turnout in an Ontario provincial election; only 52.8% people who were eligible voted. This broke the previous record of 54.7% in the 1923 election.[1]

As a result of legislation passed by the Legislature in 2004, election dates are now fixed by formula so that an election is held approximately four years after the previous election, unless the government is defeated by a vote of "no confidence" in the Legislature. Previously, the governing party had considerable flexibility to determine the date of an election anywhere up to five years of being elected. The date of this election was originally presumed to be October 4, 2007;[2] however, the law fixes the date on the first Thursday of October or on any day within seven days thereof if required to accommodate a date of "religious or cultural significance". The date was set as October 10, 2007 to avoid a conflict with the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret, which fell on October 4, 2007.[2]

In the same election, there was a provincial referendum on whether to change from first-past-the-post to mixed member proportional representation, as recommended by the Ontario Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform. This measure failed, with 37% of the participating electorate and 5 out of 107 ridings voting for the new system; a 60% supermajority was required province-wide, with at least half the ridings also supporting it by a simple majority.

Strategies

Liberal

Until just weeks before the election, the governing Liberal Party planned to run primarily on its record. The idea, advocated most often by campaign chair Greg Sorbara, was to go to the people with the achievements of the previous four years and a message of good government. In the summer before the election, a subset of the campaign team began promoting the idea of polarizing the election around Progressive Conservative leader John Tory's proposal to fund religious education, increase the role for the private sector in health care and reduce environmental protections. This view won out, and the Liberals determined their best strategy was to polarize the election into a referendum on public vs private. This would marginalize the NDP, while containing the threat from the right. It also had the added benefit of increasing the negatives for Tory, who had been enjoying positive media coverage for the most part in the build up to the campaign.

PC

The Progressive Conservative Party (PC) plan was to attempt to polarize the election around leadership, using the advantage of John Tory's high net positive public opinion ratings to turn the election into a referendum on the performance of Premier Dalton McGuinty. From the name of the platform to the campaign graphics, Tory was the new PC Party brand. Due to the involvement of a high number of veterans of the 1988 federal election, there was considerable hope invested in a "bomb the bridge" strategy aimed at the perceived weak link in Liberal support. As John Turner had proven vulnerable to direct attack in 1988, the PCs hoped McGuinty would prove similarly vulnerable in 2007 Ontario.

NDP

The Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) was focused on directly confronting the phenomenon of "strategic voting" which had seen NDP support fall in each of the three previous elections. They hoped that the election of a Liberal government would reduce the growing tendency of the electorate to polarize between the PCs and Liberals. By emphasizing populist issues like MPP pay increases, the NDP hoped to push down support for the Liberals generally, push voters to either opposition party and gain seats in those areas where the NDP was the logical non-Liberal vote.

Issues

Although all four parties released a variety of detailed platform proposals, the campaign was dominated almost entirely by John Tory's promise to extend public funding to Ontario’s faith-based schools.[3]

In Ontario at present, the Catholic school system is fully funded in the same manner as public schools. However, other religious schools, such as Jewish, Muslim or Evangelical Christian schools, are not funded by the province. This discrepancy has been cited as discriminatory by both the Supreme Court of Canada and the United Nations Human Rights Committee, although to date the province has taken no action to change its existing school funding policies, on the grounds that Catholic school funding in the province is mandated by the Constitution of Canada.

Tory's proposal to extend funding to religious schools was controversial, with polls confirming that a clear majority of Ontarians opposed the proposal. Even some of Tory's own caucus, most notably Bill Murdoch and Garfield Dunlop, openly criticized the proposal during the election campaign. After heavy opposition, Tory changed his position later in the campaign, promising a free vote on the issue.[4]

The Liberals and the NDP were both opposed to non-Catholic religious school funding, while the Green Party proposed eliminating the province's existing Catholic school funding in favour of a single public school board.

There was a brief flurry of interest in health care issues when John Tory emphasized his support for an increasing role for the private sector in health care.

In the final week of the campaign, NDP leader Howard Hampton criticized the media for focusing almost entirely on religious schools and virtually ignoring other issues.

Ridings

Seat distribution and arrangement in the Ontario Legislative Assembly.

With the passing of Bill 214 and the Representation Act, 2005 in 2005, Ontario’s electoral boundaries are no longer identical to the federal electoral boundaries.[5] The province is now divided into 11 northern electoral districts that are identical, except for a minor boundary adjustment, to the ones that existed on October 2, 2003, and 96 southern electoral districts that are identical to their federal counterparts as they existed on September 1, 2004.[5]

The 11 northern electoral districts are: Algoma—Manitoulin, Kenora—Rainy River, Nickel Belt, Nipissing, Parry Sound—Muskoka, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Thunder Bay—Atikokan, Thunder Bay—Superior North, Timiskaming—Cochrane, and Timmins—James Bay.[5]

As a result of the redistribution, none of the three major parties took fewer seats than it held at the dissolution of the previous legislature. The Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives each gained seats, while the New Democratic Party's seat total remained unchanged.

Results by party

 Summary of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario election results
Party Party leader Candidates Seats Popular vote
2003 Dissol. 2007 Change # % Change
Liberal Dalton McGuinty 107 72 67 71 +6.0% 1,869,273 42.25% -4.22%
Progressive Conservative John Tory 107 24 25 26 +4.0% 1,398,806 31.62% -3.05%
New Democratic Howard Hampton 107 7 10 10 - 741,465 16.77% +2.08%
Green Frank de Jong 107 - - - - 354,897 8.02% +5.20%
Family Coalition Giuseppe Gori 83 - - - - 35,702 0.81% +0.01%
Libertarian Sam Apelbaum 25 - - - - 9,249 0.21% +0.17%
Freedom Paul McKeever 15 - - - - 3,003 0.07% -0.13%
Communist Elizabeth Rowley 8 - - - - 1,603 0.04% -0.01%
Special Needs Danish Ahmed 2 - - - - 502 0.01% -
Confederation of Regions Eileen Butson 2 - - - - 446 0.01% +0.00%
Reform Brad Harness 2 - - - - 354 0.01% -
Republican Trueman Tuck 2 - - - - 272 0.01% -
  Independents and no affiliation 32 - - - - 8,326 0.19% -0.11%
  Vacant 1  
Total 103 103 107 8,380,551 4,423,828 100% -
Riding-by-riding results

Candidates

Party Seats Second Third Fourth Fifth
     Liberal 71 34 2 0 0
     Progressive Conservative 26 58 22 1 0
     New Democrats 10 14 65 18 0
Green 0 1 18 88 0
Family Coalition 0 0 0 0 65
Libertarian 0 0 0 0 16
     Independents 0 0 0 0 6
Freedom 0 0 0 0 2
Communist 0 0 0 0 1

Incumbent MPPs who did not run for re-election

Opinion polls

Since the 2003 general election, several polls have been conducted to determine the current preference of voters. They showed a decline in Liberal support following the 2004 Ontario budget. Overall, support for the governing Liberals has declined slightly since the 2003 election, the NDP has gained some ground since the 2003 election, and the PCs' poll numbers have not changed significantly since 2003. Support for the Green Party has increased significantly, a shift which parallels the increase in support for the party's federal counterpart. During the pre-election period, the Ontario Greens did not appear as an option in some of the polls.

Polls indicate results for decided voters. More information can be found in the footnotes to each poll, including undecided results, if provided by the pollster. A dash indicates the absence of a prompt for that party.

Polling firm Date released Date poll conducted Liberal PC NDP Green
Harris-DecimaOctober 9, 2007[12]October 6 – 7, 200742311710
SES ResearchOctober 9, 2007[13]October 6 – 7, 20074331189
EnvironicsOctober 9, 2007[14]September 28 – October 2, 20074631203
Strategic CounselOctober 8, 2007[15]October 6 – 7, 200742271911
Ipsos-ReidOctober 6, 2007[16]October 2 – 4, 20074332186
Angus Reid StrategiesOctober 5, 2007[17]October 4 – 5, 20074034197
Decima ResearchOctober 2, 2007[18]September 27 – October 1, 200743321410
SES ResearchOctober 2, 2007[19]September 28 – 30, 20074434157
Ipsos-ReidSeptember 29, 2007[20]September 25 – 27, 20074333176
EnvironicsSeptember 28, 2007[21]September 21 – 25, 20073934207
Decima ResearchSeptember 26, 2007[22]September 24 – 25, 200741321610
Angus Reid StrategiesSeptember 25, 2007[23]September 24 – 25, 20074035168
SES ResearchSeptember 25, 2007[24]September 21 – 23, 20074133188
Ipsos-ReidSeptember 20, 2007[25]September 11 – 18, 20074037166
Decima ResearchSeptember 19, 2007[26]September 13 – 17, 200741321412
Strategic CounselSeptember 18, 2007[27]September 13 – 16, 200740341610
Ipsos-ReidSeptember 15, 2007[28]September 4 – 13, 20074037166
EnvironicsSeptember 13, 2007[29]September 6 – 9, 2007393517-
Angus Reid StrategiesSeptember 13, 2007[30]September 7 – 8, 200739371310
Decima ResearchSeptember 12, 2007[31]September 5 – 8, 200741331311
Ipsos-ReidSeptember 10, 2007[32]August 30 – September 8, 20074136176
SES ResearchAugust 30, 2007[33]August 24 – 26, 20074034198
Ipsos-ReidAugust 28, 2007[34]August 14 – 23, 20074235166
Ipsos-ReidAugust 21, 2007[35]August 7 – 16, 20074037176
The Strategic CounselAugust 20, 2007[36]August 9 – 14, 20074035188
Ipsos-ReidJuly 3, 2007[37]June 19 – 28, 20073936177
EnvironicsJuly 2, 2007[38]June 5 – 30, 2007403920-
PollaraJune 16, 2007[39]June 7–10, 2007373719-
SES ResearchJune 3, 2007[40]May 11–15, 200735351911
EnvironicsMay 18, 2007[41]March 13–April 3, 2007333826
Ipsos-Reid February 24, 2007[42] - 38 33 17 9
EnvironicsJanuary 5, 2007[43]December 8–30, 2006393721-
SES ResearchDecember 17, 2006[44]November 25–27, 20064235167
EnvironicsOctober 26, 2006[45]September 18 – October 12, 2006423323-
EKOS October 18, 2006[46]October 10–12, 2006 42.4 36.2 19.6
SES ResearchOctober 7, 2006[47]September 30 – October 3, 20063529187
EnvironicsSeptember 9, 2006[48]June 2–24, 2006353627 -
Vector ResearchMay 14, 2006-3938185
EnvironicsApril 13, 2006-343924-
SES ResearchMarch 23, 2006-4134205
Léger MarketingMarch 22, 2006-343420-
SES ResearchFebruary 17, 2006-4137184
Vector ResearchJanuary 21, 2006-3635236
EnvironicsOctober 16, 2005-423521-
Vector ResearchSeptember 19, 2005-3341206
SES ResearchJune 14, 2005-4135214
Léger MarketingJune 8, 2005-423417-
Léger MarketingApril 29, 2005-363719-
Vector ResearchApril 13, 2005-3541185
EnvironicsApril 11, 2005-354121-
Léger MarketingMarch 17, 2005-443319-
Vector ResearchDecember 16, 2004-3932245
EnvironicsDecember 2004-373923-
EnvironicsDecember 11, 2004-354023-
Léger MarketingSeptember 2004-373519-
Vector ResearchAugust 22, 2004-3732239
EnvironicsAugust 9, 2004-3537234
Ipsos-ReidJune 14, 2004-3239236
SES ResearchJune 5, 2004-344120-
Decima ResearchMay 27, 2004-322921-
EnvironicsMay 6, 2004-4533201
Ipsos-ReidApril 19, 2004-4530195
SES ResearchJanuary 23, 2004-492910-
EnvironicsJanuary 21, 2004-5030163
Ipsos-ReidDecember 14, 2003-5127166
Ipsos-ReidNovember 8, 2003-5627125
EnvironicsOctober 30, 2003-4929182
Last election (October 2, 2003)-46.434.614.72.8

Riding specific polls

Riding Polling firm Date released Date poll conducted
LiberalPCNDPGreen
Don Valley WestCOMPASOctober 1, 2007[49]September 25 – 29, 2007523756
Bruce—Grey—Owen SoundOraclepoll ResearchOctober 4, 2007[50]October 2 – 3, 200721371327
Nickel BeltOraclepoll ResearchOctober 4, 2007[51]October 2 – 3, 2007417493

Timeline

Wikinews has related news: McGuinty wins re-election in 2007 Ontario, Canada general election
Election signs for the major parties plus a sign supporting the MMP side in the referendum in the constituency of Ottawa South. Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty is the Liberal candidate there.
Lawn signs for local candidates in Hamilton Mountain

Election results

At 9:23 pm EDT, Citytv projected a Liberal majority government. CTV News made the same call at 9:30 pm EDT, followed by CBC News at 9:37 pm EDT, and Canadian Press at 9:52 pm EDT.

Also at 10:30 pm EDT, CBC and CTV reported that Progressive Conservative leader John Tory had called Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty to concede the election. At 10:39 pm EDT, Tory was declared defeated by Canadian Press in the riding of Don Valley West.

At 10:43 pm EDT, Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty took the stage to give his speech to the public, breaking tradition of the defeated party leaders going first.

Each party lost at least one incumbent MPP — Liberals Mario Racco and Caroline Di Cocco, PCs Joe Tascona, Tim Peterson and John Tory and NDP Paul Ferreira were all defeated. However, each party's losses were offset by gains in other seats. The actual changes in party standings were accounted for entirely by the four new seats resulting from redistribution and the defeat of Peterson. Overall, however, most incumbent MPPs were returned in their ridings.

McGuinty became the first Liberal leader in Ontario to win two successive majorities in the legislature since Mitchell Hepburn in the 1937 election.

Breakdown by region

Northern Ontario

Liberal PC NDP Green
Seats7130

All eleven ridings in Northern Ontario were retained by their incumbent parties. The popular vote, however, shifted dramatically, with several Liberal incumbents holding on only very narrowly against NDP challengers. Most notably, Bill Mauro retained Thunder Bay—Atikokan by a margin of just 36 votes against John Rafferty, whom Mauro had defeated in 2003 by a margin of over 11,000 — Rafferty, in fact, spent much of the night leading Mauro. A judicial recount on October 31 increased Mauro's margin of victory to 50 votes. David Ramsay, similarly, trailed New Democrat John Vanthof in Timiskaming—Cochrane for much of the night, pulling ahead to a winning margin of 634 votes only in the final few polls to report. This was the narrowest margin of victory in Ramsay's 22-year career. Michael Gravelle also retained Thunder Bay—Superior North by an uncharacteristically narrow margin over Jim Foulds.

As well, Monique Smith retained Nipissing by just 377 votes over Progressive Conservative candidate Bill Vrebosch — in 2003, she had defeated Progressive Conservative incumbent Al McDonald by a wider margin of over 3,000 votes.

In keeping with this trend, New Democrat incumbents Howard Hampton and Gilles Bisson widened their margins of victory over Liberal challengers compared to 2003, and France Gélinas maintained the same margin that her predecessor, Shelley Martel, had attained in the previous election.

Notably, the rise in popular support for the New Democrats in Northern Ontario carried over into the 2008 federal election, in which the NDP won nearly every seat in the region for the first time in its history.

Eastern Ontario

Liberal PC NDP Green
Seats9500

In Eastern Ontario, the new riding of Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington was carried by PC candidate Randy Hillier, while all 13 existing ridings were carried by their incumbent parties. With the exception of Yasir Naqvi, who carried Ottawa Centre by a much smaller margin over the NDP than Richard Patten had attained in 2003, Liberals in Ottawa improved their winning margins, although outside of Ottawa the popular vote trend remained relatively stable.

Central Ontario

Liberal PC NDP Green
Seats3800

The most conservative-friendly area of the province, the PC vote largely held up, with the only Liberal gain being Aileen Carroll winning Barrie, the seat she used to represent federally. This was countered by a PC nominal gain in Newmarket—Aurora. The area also delivered the strongest support in the province for the Green Party, with Shane Jolley finishing a very strong second in Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound with 33.1% of the vote, the best finish ever received by any Green candidate in Canada to that point. The Greens also knocked the NDP into fourth place in a majority of area ridings.

Midwestern Ontario

Liberal PC NDP Green
Seats6500

A politically mixed region, Midwestern Ontario had every incumbent party re-elected, as well as some anomalous results; in an election where the PCs were largely held to rural areas, and the Liberals consolidated an urban/suburban base, Elizabeth Witmer held onto the riding of Kitchener—Waterloo for the PCs, while the Liberals won in rural ridings in which they were the incumbent party, such as Huron—Bruce and Perth—Wellington. Further away from the provincewide result, on an election night which demonstrated Liberal strength province wide, Haldimand—Norfolk—Brant delivered the most crushing defeat for a Liberal candidate in the province, with the victorious PC incumbent Toby Barrett coming out 16,571 votes and 38.6% ahead of the Liberal.

Brampton, Mississauga & Oakville

Liberal PC NDP Green
Seats9000

Although the suburban Western GTA had traditionally been a good area for the PCs, winning many seats in the area as recently as the Harris days, where it formed part of the 905-area backbone of the PC government, the Liberals won every seat in the area handily, with the victorious Liberal candidates averaging at around 50%. Even Mississauga South, which prior to the 2003 election had not voted Liberal provincially since the riding's creation, and had been expected to be a very tight race, proved a surprisingly easy victory for Charles Sousa, who gained the seat back for the Liberals from Tim Peterson, who had crossed the floor. The NDP continued to be a non-factor in the area, while the Greens growth in popular vote across the province was reflected, with the Greens even beating the NDP into fourth place in Oakville, which ironically had been the only riding in the province the Greens had not run in the previous election.

Southern Durham and York

Liberal PC NDP Green
Seats6300

The Liberals continued to dominate York Region, with each incumbent being re-elected by a comfortable margin except in Thornhill where Mario Racco lost to PC candidate Peter Shurman. The newly created riding of Ajax—Pickering, projected to be a close race, elected Liberal Joe Dickson by over 6,000 votes despite having no party nominate incumbents. In southern Durham Region, Liberal Wayne Arthurs was re-elected to the newly distributed Pickering—Scarborough East, while Progressive Conservative Christine Elliott was re-elected to Whitby—Oshawa. Despite high expectations for Sid Ryan's fourth run as an NDP candidate in Oshawa, PC incumbent Jerry Ouellette was again re-elected by a wider majority than in 2003.

Hamilton, Burlington & Niagara

Liberal PC NDP Green
Seats4330

An area with several close seats, and a fairly even distribution of seats, every party had a realistic chance of increasing its seat count here. Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, which was a merger of a Liberal held riding and an NDP held riding, and had neither incumbent running, was the most interesting match of the night, with the NDP winning a close race. It proved to be the only change of the election, and every other riding returned the incumbent party, although many in close races, such as Hamilton Mountain (Liberals over NDP), Halton, (PCs over Liberals) and Burlington (PCs over Liberals).

Southwestern Ontario

Liberal PC NDP Green
Seats9100

In an area with a strong rural-urban divide, both the NDP and PCs had strong hopes of making gains against the Liberals. The NDP had strong hopes of upsetting high-profile Liberals in both Windsor West, and Windsor—Tecumseh, given the NDP's ownership of those seats federally, and the continued decline of the local industrial economy. London—Fanshawe was similarly also a top target, as the NDP has the riding federally and finished a close second in 2003. Overall, however, the only area seat that changed hands was Sarnia—Lambton, with Culture Minister Caroline Di Cocco, the most high-profile Liberal casualty of the night, losing to PC challenger Bob Bailey.

Toronto

Liberal PC NDP Green
Seats18040

All ridings in Toronto were retained by their incumbent parties, with the exception of York South—Weston. New Democrat Paul Ferreira, who had won the seat from the Liberals in a by-election in February 2007, was narrowly defeated by a swing back to Liberal candidate Laura Albanese. Almost twice as many people voted in the riding in the general election compared to the by-election.

In Toronto's other notable race, Liberal incumbent Kathleen Wynne defeated PC leader John Tory in Don Valley West. Tory previously represented Dufferin—Caledon, but had chosen to run in a Toronto riding in the general election.

Toronto's only incumbent from 2003 not to run again was Liberal MPP Mary Anne Chambers. The Liberals successfully retained the seat under new candidate Margarett Best.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Boring campaign behind poor voter turnout: analysts". CTV News. Toronto. October 11, 2007. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  2. 1 2 3 Howlett, Karen (2007-02-07). "Ontario government changes election date". Toronto: The Globe and Mail Newspaper. pp. Online update. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  3. ↑ Alphonso, Caroline (September 10, 2007). "Ontario campaign starts with verbal attacks". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  4. ↑ Progressive Conservatives to soften position on faith-based schools: report
  5. 1 2 3 "Electoral Districts". Elections Ontario Website. Elections Ontario, Government of Ontario. 2005. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
  6. 1 2 Dreschel, Andrew (2007-06-15). "Bountrogianni, Mossop decide to quit politics". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  7. 1 2 Benzie, Robert (2007-07-11). "Chambers won't run again". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  8. ↑ Benzie, Robert (2007-07-12). "Hamilton Liberal decides not to run". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  9. 1 2 Ferguson, Rob (2007-05-18). "MPP Shelley Martel won't run again". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
  10. ↑ "Dombrowsky to run in Prince Edward—Hastings" (Press release). Leona Dombrowsky. 2006-10-10. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
  11. ↑ The Canadian Press (2007-03-14). "Ottawa MPP Patten to retire from politics". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  12. ↑ "Liberals ride lead in polls while PC school funding flip fails to boost support" (PDF) (Press release). SES Research/Sun Media. October 9, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-09. The poll results, based on a one-week sample of 709 Ontarians, have a margin of error of 3.7 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
  13. ↑ "Liberal Victory Imminent" (PDF) (Press release). SES Research/Sun Media. October 9, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-09. Between October 4 and 6, 2006, random telephone survey with 501 Ontarians 18 years of age or older. The aggregate survey results are plus or minus 4.4%, 19 times out of 20. Margins of accuracy are wider for subgroup samples.
  14. ↑ "Ontario Liberals Headed for Majority Government" (Press release). Environics. October 9, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-09. These results are taken from an Environics survey of 448 Ontarians eligible to vote, conducted between September 28 and October 2, 2007. The poll was conducted independently. On a provincial basis, these results are accurate to within +/- 4.7 percentage points, in 95 out of 100 samples. Green column includes other parties.
  15. ↑ "Poll says Ontario Liberals have 15-point lead" (Press release). Strategic Counsel/CTV News/The Globe and Mail. October 8, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-08. Interviews were conducted between Oct. 6 and Oct. 7, 2007. Results are based on tracking among a proportionate sample of Ontarians 18 years of age or older. A total of 850 Ontarians were surveyed. The Ontario margin of error is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
  16. ↑ "Tory's Gambit Fails: Grits Headed For Majority Government" (Press release). Ipsos-Reid/CanWest/National Post. October 6, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-06. These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively for CanWest News Service and Global Television from October 2–4, 2007. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 800 adults living in Ontario was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within ± 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population living in Ontario been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Ontarian population according to Census data. Ipsos Reid’s companion poll was conducted on October 4–6, when a sample of 4241 adult was surveyed online via Ipsos’ I-Say Panel. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within ± 1.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population living in Ontario been polled. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Ontarian population according to Census data. There were 4% undecided.
  17. ↑ "Ontario Liberals Hold Six-Point Advantage: Tory's Leadership Edge Evaporates; Now Tied with McGuinty" (PDF). Ontario Politics. Angus-Reid Strategies. 2007-10-05. Retrieved 2007-10-05. From October 4 to 5, 2007, Angus Reid Strategies conducted an online survey among a randomly selected, representative sample of 939 adults in Ontario. The margin of error for the total sample is +/- 3.2%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Ontario. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding. Voter intent: Notably, 10 per cent of the Ontario electorate remains undecided, 10 per cent say they will not vote, and 30 per cent (-9) say they could change their mind between now and Election Day.
  18. ↑ "Liberal lead firming" (PDF). The Canadian Press/Harris-Decima. October 2, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2007-10-03.Results of the survey of 701 residents, with its margin of error of 3.7 percentage points 19 times out of 20.
  19. ↑ "Grits Move Into Majority Territory" (PDF) (Press release). SES Research/Sun Media. October 2, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-02. The aggregate survey results, or results including the undecided voters were: Libs 39.6%; Cons 30.6%; NDP 13.5%; Greens 6.3%; Undecided 10%. The aggregate survey is accurate ± 4.4% 19 times out of 20. Margins of accuracy are wider for subgroup samples. The data was weighted for gender and age to match the Canadian census results for Ontario. Result should be considered representative of the Ontario population. 500 Ontarians were surveyed. Number of Committed voters was 450, undecided voters were 50, or 10%. With just the committed voters the results are: Libs 44; Cons 34; NDP 15; Greens 7. The margin of error increases to ± 4.7%, 19 times out of 20. The results shown in the table are for the committed voters only.
  20. ↑ "Post Debate Tory Tumble Gives McGuinty Liberals Ten Point Lead" (Press release). Ipsos-Reid/CanWest/National Post. September 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-29. These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively for CanWest News Service and Global Television from Sep 25 to September 27, 2007. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 800 adults living in Ontario was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within ± 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population living in Ontario been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Ontarian population according to Census data.
  21. ↑ "Opposition grows to funding faith-based schools, but issue has little impact on vote intention" (Press release). Environics. September 28, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-28. Between September 21st and September 25th, 2007, Environics conducted a random telephone survey of 504 Ontarians 18 years and older. The aggregate survey results are accurate ±4.4%, 19 times out of 20.
  22. ↑ "Voting intentions stuck" (PDF). Ontario Politics. Canadian Press/Harris Decima. 2007-09-26. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2007-09-28. it surveyed 706 respondents and has a margin of error of ± 3.7 per cent, 19 times out of 20 - are virtually identical to the previous week's findings.
  23. ↑ "McGuinty's Grits Lead by Five Points in Ontario" (PDF). Ontario Politics. Angus-Reid Strategies. 2007-09-25. Retrieved 2007-09-26. Online interviews with 800 Ontario adults, conducted on Sept. 24 and Sept. 25, 2007. Margin of error is 3.5 per cent. Notably, 15 per cent of the Ontario electorate remains undecided and 39 per cent (-11) say they could change their mind between now and Election Day.
  24. ↑ Nanos, Nikita (2007-09-25). "Grits Lead by Eight Points" (PDF). Ontario Politics. SES Research/Sun Media. Retrieved 2007-09-25. The aggregate survey results, or results including the undecided voters were: Libs 35; Cons 27; NDP 15; Greens 7; Undecided 14. The aggregate survey is accurate ± 4.4% 19 times out of 20. Margins of accuracy are wider for subgroup samples. The data was weighted for gender and age to match the Canadian census results for Ontario. Result should be considered representative of the Ontario population. 500 Ontarians were surveyed. Number of Committed voters was 433, undecided voters were 67, or 14%. With just the committed voters the results are: Libs 41; Cons 33; NDP 18; Greens 8. The margin of error increases to ± 4.9%, 19 times out of 20. The results shown in the table are for the committed voters only.
  25. ↑ "Will Hot Debate Thaw Frozen Voters?" (Press release). Ipsos-Reid/CanWest/National Post. September 20, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-20. These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively for CanWest News Service and Global Television from September 11 to September 18, 2007. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 800 adults living in Ontario was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within ±3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population living in Ontario been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Ontarian population according to Census data.
  26. ↑ Perkel, Colin (September 19, 2007). "Liberals maintain lead over Tories in latest poll". Toronto: The Canadian Press/Harris-Decima. Retrieved 2007-09-19.Results of the survey of 704 residents, with its margin of error of 3.7 percentage points 19 times out of 20, is substantially similar to a poll done for The Canadian Press in the days just before the campaign formally got underway Sept. 10
  27. ↑ Howlett, Karen (September 18, 2007). "Ontario voters pan faith-based education: poll". Toronto: CTV News/The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2014-05-28. The survey of 850 Ontarians was conducted from Sept. 13 to Sept. 16, and is considered accurate to within 3.4 percentage points, 95 per cent of the time.
  28. ↑ "Ontario vote essentially stagnant after 1st week" (Press release). Ipsos-Reid/CanWest/National Post. September 15, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-16. These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively for CanWest News Service and Global Television from Sep 4 to September 13, 2007. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 800 adults living in Ontario was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within ± 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population living in Ontario been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Ontarian population according to Census data.
  29. ↑ "Ontarians divided over proposal to extend public funding to all religious schools" (Press release). Environics. September 13, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-14. These results are taken from an Environics survey of 501 Ontarians aged 18 and older, conducted between September 6 and 9, 2007. The poll was conducted independently. On a provincial basis, these results are accurate to within +/-4.38 percentage points, in 95 out of 100 samples.The Green party again was not a prompt. Instead, in the poll, it lists 9% of voters would pick 'Other'. The poll also found that 21% of voters in the survey were undecided. The poll asked questions about funding faith-based schools, and found the electorate is roughly split down the middle. The question wordings were: (1) If a provincial election were held today, which one of the following parties would you vote for? (2) ([If "Undecided" ask) Perhaps you have not yet made up your mind; is there nevertheless a party you might be presently inclined to support?
  30. ↑ "Liberals Lead by Two Points in Ontario". Polls & Research. Angus Reid Global Monitor. 2007-09-14. Retrieved 2007-09-14. Source: Angus Reid Strategies. Methodology: Online interviews with 725 Ontario adults, conducted on Sept. 7 and Sept. 8, 2007. Margin of error is 3.6 per cent. PDF file is available here
  31. ↑ Perkel, Colin (2007-09-12). "Liberals lead Conservatives in poll". Decima Research/Toronto Star. Retrieved 2007-09-12. The poll's margin of error is 3.7 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. But the pollsters also combined the survey with polling conducted during the previous two weeks, creating a rolling average with an error margin of about 3.1 percentage points.
  32. ↑ "Liberal lead over Tories slipping in Ontario: poll". Ipsos-Reid/CanWest/National Post. 2007-09-10. Retrieved 2007-09-10. The Ipsos Reid telephone poll was conducted with a random sample of 801 respondents between Aug. 30 and Sept. 8. The results are considered accurate within 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
  33. ↑ Nanos, Nikita (2007-08-30). "Ontario grits lead by six points" (PDF). Ontario Politics. SES Research/Sun Media. Retrieved 2007-08-30. The aggregate survey results, or results including the undecided voters were: Libs 34; Cons 28; NDP 16; Greens 7; Undecided 15. The aggregate survey is accurate ± 4.4% 19 times out of 20. Margins of accuracy are wider for subgroup samples. The data was weighted for gender and age to match the Canadian census results for Ontario. Result should be considered representative of the Ontario population. 501 Ontarians were surveyed. Number of Committed voters was 425, undecided voters were 76, or 15%. With just the committed voters the results are: Libs 40; Cons 34; NDP 19; Greens 8. The margin of error increases to ± 4.9%, 19 times out of 20. The results shown in the table are for the committed voters only.
  34. ↑ "As the Ontario Election Draws Near, The GTA moves Red while the Rest of Ontario moves Blue". CanWest Polls. Ipsos-Reid/CanWest. 2007-09-10. Retrieved 2007-08-21. These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively for CanWest News Service and Global Television from Aug 14 to Aug 23, 2007. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 760 adults living in Ontario was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within ± 3.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population living in Ontario been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Ontarian population according to Census data
  35. ↑ "As the Ontario Election Draws Near, The GTA moves Red while the Rest of Ontario moves Blue". CanWest Polls. Ipsos-Reid/CanWest. 2007-08-21. Retrieved 2007-08-21. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 800 adults living in Ontario was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within ±3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population living in Ontario been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Ontarian population according to Census data.
  36. ↑ Howlett, Karen (2007-08-20). "McGuinty support slips to minority status, poll finds". Ontario Politics. Toronto: The Globe and Mail/CTV News. Retrieved 2007-08-20. The poll of 750 Ontarians is considered accurate to within 3.6 percentage points, 95 per cent of the time.
  37. ↑ "Race Tightens as Summer Heats Up" (PDF). Ipsos-Reid/CanWest Polls. July 3, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-08. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 801 adults living in Ontario was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within ±3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population living in Ontario been polled.
  38. ↑ "Provincial Party Support March 2007" (Press release). Environics. July 2, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-10. The previous results are based on a survey conducted by telephone between June 5 and 30, 2007 among a probability sample of 2,021 adult residents of Canada (aged 18 or older). The sample, which was stratified by region and by community size, is estimated to be accurate within 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The question wordings were: (1) If a provincial election were held today, which one of the following parties would you vote for? (2) ([If "Undecided" ask) Perhaps you have not yet made up your mind; is there nevertheless a party you might be presently inclined to support?
  39. ↑ Kalinoswski, Tess (June 16, 2007). "A $17,5B transit promise". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 2007-06-18. 1001 people were canvassed with 15% undecided. Poll is accurate to within 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.
  40. 1 2 "Ontario Liberals and PCs in Dead Heat" (PDF) (Press release). SES Research. June 3, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-10.The aggregate survey results, or results including the undecided voters were: Libs 30; Cons 30; NDP 16; Greens 9; Undecided 15. The aggregate survey is accurate ± 4.4% 19 times out of 20. Margins of accuracy are wider for subgroup samples. The data was weighted for gender and age to match the Canadian census results for Ontario. Result should be considered representative of the Ontario population. 500 Ontarians were surveyed. Number of Committed voters was 424, undecided voters were 76, or 15%. With just the committed voters the results are: Libs 40; Cons 34; NDP 19; Greens 8. The margin of error increases to ± 4.9%, 19 times out of 20. The results shown in the table are for the committed voters only.
  41. 1 2 "Provincial Party Support March 2007" (Press release). Environics. May 18, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  42. ↑ "Ontario Politics With Just Over 7 Months To "E" Day Liberals(38%) Lead Tories (33%), NDP (17%) And Green (9%)" (Press release). Ipsos-Reid. February 24, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  43. ↑ "Provincial Party Support December 2006" (Press release). Environics. January 5, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-10. The sample of 2045 adult residents of Canada, which was stratified by region and by community size, is estimated to be accurate within 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
  44. ↑ "Ontario Political Landscape" (PDF) (Press release). SES Research. December 17, 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-10. The aggregate survey results, or results including the undecided voters were: Libs 36; Cons 30; NDP 14; Greens 6; Undecided 14. The aggregate survey is accurate ± 4.4% 19 times out of 20. Margins of accuracy are wider for subgroup samples. The data was weighted for gender and age to match the Canadian census results for Ontario. Result should be considered representative of the Ontario population. 500 Ontarians were surveyed. Number of Committed voters was 429, undecided voters were 71, or 14%. With just the committed voters the results are: Libs 40; Cons 34; NDP 19; Greens 8. The margin of error increases to ± 4.7%, 19 times out of 20. The results shown in the table are for the committed voters only.
  45. ↑ "Ontario Liberals establish solid lead" (Press release). Environics. October 26, 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-10. The sample of 579 adult eligible voters in Ontario, is estimated to be accurate within +/- 4.1% points, 95 times out of 100 samples. 2% would vote for other parties, while 12% had no preference.
  46. ↑ "Ontario Liberals With Clear Lead" (Press release). EKOS. October 18, 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-10. 584 Ontarians were polled. Decided voters were 492. 1.8 percent of respondents would vote for "Other", which includes the Green Party. Sample size produces a statistical margin of error of +/-4.1%, 19 times out of 20.
  47. ↑ "Ontario Liberals Lead by Seven Points" (PDF) (Press release). SES Research. October 7, 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-10. 500 voting age Ontarians were polled. Sample is accurate to within plus or minus 4.4% 19 times out of 20. 11% undecided.
  48. ↑ "Provincial Party Support results June 2006" (Press release). Environics. September 9, 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-11. The sample of 2036 adult residents of Canada, which was stratified by region and by community size, is estimated to be accurate within 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. 1% preferred other parties, while 8% had no party preference.
  49. ↑ "Liberal Minister Kathleen Wynne Leading by Wide Margin: PC Schooling Promise Stirs Unease about Integrating Immigrants" (PDF) (Press release). COMPAS/Ottawa Citizen. October 1, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-06. An Ottawa Citizen/COMPAS poll in John Tory’s riding of Don Valley West was carried out carefully over a five-day period, September 25–29, 2007, to minimize the risk of sampling error. It shows the Liberal incumbent with a 15% lead over the PC leader, as shown in table 1. By convention, the poll of 333 voters is deemed accurate to within approximately 5.6 percentage points 19 times out of 20.
  50. ↑ http://www.gpo.ca/sites/greenparty.on.ca/files/Bruce%20Grey%20Owen%20Sound%20Riding%20Report.doc
  51. ↑ The Sudbury Star - Ontario, CA
  52. ↑ "Provincial Tories Tied with McGuinty Liberals – NDP also Gains Ground" (Press release). Environics. August 9, 2004. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  53. ↑ "March 30 By-elections - Unofficial Results". Elections Ontario. March 30, 2006.
  54. ↑ "Gerard Kennedy resigns from Ontario legislature". CTV. May 18, 2006. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  55. ↑ "Official results Parkdale–High Park by-election". 2006 By-elections. Elections Ontario. September 14, 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-06-27. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  56. ↑ URQUHART, Ian (2006-09-27). "Passing ships firing cannonballs at McGuinty". The Toronto Star. p. A13. Retrieved 2007-05-23. |section= ignored (help)
  57. ↑ Benzie, Robert (2006-09-26). "Tony Wong hopes to return to region". News. Markham Economist & Sun. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  58. ↑ Cox, Christine (2006-09-29). "Jackson joins race for Burlington mayor". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved 2007-05-23. |section= ignored (help)
  59. ↑ Elections Ontario, Unofficial results [York South—Weston]. 216 of 216 polls reporting. Accessed February 8, 2007
  60. ↑ Elections Ontario, Unofficial results [Markham]. 295 of 295 polls reporting. Accessed February 8, 2007
  61. ↑ Elections Ontario, Unofficial results [Burlington]. 260 of 260 polls reporting. Accessed February 8, 2007
  62. ↑ Benzie, Robert; Rob Ferguson (March 29, 2007). "MPP Peterson, brother of ex-premier, to join Tories". News. The Toronto Star. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  63. ↑ Campbell, Murray (2007-04-25). "Ontario acts to undo electoral apathy". Toronto: Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  64. 1 2 3 "An Act to amend the Election Act and the Election Finances Act and to make related amendments to other Acts" (PDF). Second Session of the Ontario's 38th Legislature. Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2007-06-04. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
  65. 1 2 Howlett, Karen (2007-06-06). "McGuinty admits health tax will haunt him". Toronto: Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  66. ↑ Canadian Press (2007-06-04). "Slew of bills set to die as Queen's Park prepares to adjourn". Toronto: Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
  67. ↑ Cohen, Tobi; Puxley, Chinta; Canadian Press (July 26, 2007). "Minister quits over grants". News. The Toronto Star. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
  68. ↑ Campbell, Murray (2007-04-28). "Ontario election to be called Sept. 10". Toronto: Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  69. ↑ "Candidates' election calendar". Elections Ontario. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-08-20.

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