LIVE UPDATES: Michael Ford says he won’t seek re-election as Ontarians get set for Feb. 27 vote

Ontario Premier Doug Ford confirmed he will be calling an election on Wednesday, Jan. 29 sending the province to the polls.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has confirmed that he plans to call a snap provincial election next Wednesday, with voters heading to the polls on Feb. 27.

Ford made it official at a news conference in Brampton on Wednesday morning, ending weeks of speculation about an early election in Ontario.

CP24.com will have LIVE updates throughout the day as Ontarians react to news of an early election.

Follow along here:

3:30 p.m.

PC MPP Michael Ford has confirmed that he will not be running for re-election after making the decision to “take on a new chapter” in his life. Ford, who is the nephew of Premier Doug Ford, took a leave of absence from his duties as MPP and as Ontario’s minister of citizenship and multiculturalism in September. At this time he said that he was stepping aside temporarily to prioritize his “health and well-being.”

2 p.m.

Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, says Ford’s election call is about tariffs not politics.

Speaking at a press conference in North Bay Friday, Fedeli echoed Ford’s previous comments about needing a strong mandate to fend off Trump.

“We cannot underestimate the severity of these Trump tariffs,” he said. “We heard Donald Trump again yesterday on a video to the World Economic Forum saying ‘we don’t need Canada’s oil and gas. We don’t need Canada’s lumber. We don’t need Canada’s cars. They should become our 51st state.‘”

“This is very, very serious. There is a severe economic impact about to hit Canada and hit the province of Ontario and we are going to need a very strong mandate to be able to fund a recovery.”

Fedeli added, “This isn’t about the politics of it. This is about fighting Donald Trump and having the tools in place. It’s all about the tariffs.”

1:40 p.m.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles has released a statement regarding Ford’s decision to send Ontarians to the polls next month. Stiles says that Ford “thinks he can con Ontarians with an early election to escape his record.”

“We all know that Doug Ford doesn’t deserve a third term. In the coming weeks, we have the power to choose a better Ontario. We have the power to fight back against Trump, to turn the page on Doug Ford, and to vote for a Premier who is on your side,” she says.

1 p.m.

Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie speaks to CTV News Channel and responds to Ford’s comment that it would be an “absolute disaster” if she or NDP Leader Marit Stiles were involved in negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Let’s first say that Doug Ford will have a very tiny role, zero role, in the negotiations. This is solely the responsibility of the federal government,” Crombie said.

“What he wants to do is to take us to an unnecessary election that will cost voters $175M. Imagine, at this time where he should be preparing us and protecting our jobs, the only job he wants to protect is his own. Do we see any other premier doing this?”

12 p.m.

Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie has taken to social media to take issue with the early election call, saying in a video message that it proves Ford that the only job Ford “is interested in protecting is his own.”

“It is a very self interested move. He has chosen recklessness over responsibility. He is answering chaos by creating more chaos at a time where we need stability and certainty,” she says. “The premier has done a great job at being a showman and showing his showmanship but right now we need leadership. You know you can’t just slap a label on a hat and pretend you have a plan to deal with a threat such as a 25 per cent tariff on our products from south of the border.”

11 a.m.

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner has released a statement, accusing Ford of “putting his job before your job” by calling an election now.

“In the face of looming tariff threats, Ontario needs stability, not an election,” he says. “We need to demonstrate strength through unity to defend Canadian workers, Canadian jobs and Canadian companies.”

10:30 a.m.

Ford’s Tories appear to have a strong lead in the polls as they get ready to embark on an election campaign.

According to a recent poll conducted by Liaison Strategies for the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC), the Ontario PC Party continues to lead the pack, with 41 per cent of decided and leaning respondents saying they would vote for the party if an election were held today. The Liberals followed nine points behind at 32 per cent support, followed by the NDP with 19 per cent support, and the Green Party with five per cent support.

An online Leger survey commissioned by Postmedia Jan. 17-19 put the PCs at an even bigger lead, with 46 per cent support, compared to 22 per cent for the Liberals, 19 per cent for the NDP, and seven per cent for the Greens among decided and leaning voters.

“Bonnie Crombie and Marit Stiles they are almost neck-and-neck in the polls right now and that is a recipe for another Ford majority,” CTV News political analyst Scott Reid told CP24 on Friday. “So one of them has to emerge over the other, there is almost a pre-election here. One there is the big battle with Doug Ford. But there is a little battle between Crombie and Stiles. Which one will emerge as the defacto opponent. They have to figure out how to consolidate all the anti-Ford votes behind one leader or Doug Ford will sail through this election smiling happily.”

10 a.m.

Toronto Sun Editor-In-Chief Adrienne Batra says that she suspects that there is a certain element of “political opportunity” to the early election call, with most polls suggesting that Ford is positioned to earn another majority government. But she says that the Tory leader will be arguing that “the landscape has changed” with Donald Trump’s promised tariffs, creating the need for a mandate that will eliminate the potential for an election in 2026 when it is possible that the full impact of that policy will create the need for significant economic stimulus.

“The effect of those tariffs financially on the economy and Ontario might not be felt right away but right at the time in which he would have gone to the polls next year in 2026 is when we are going to see an impact on our economy so he knows that, he recognizes that and it is going to require domestic investment of potentially billions of dollars,” she told CP24. “So he is trying to make the case that look, I know I have this (a mandate) until 2026 but circumstances and events have changed.”