HIGHLIGHTS: Key moments from Election Night in Ontario

Here’s a recap of key moments from Election Night in Ontario as voters decided the make-up the province’s 43rd provincial parliament. You can also access the CP24 elections map here.

12:15 a.m.

That’s it for our Ontario Election Night live blog. You can find a map with all the results here.

 We’ll have more coverage and analysis of all the results later this morning.

Thanks for following along!

11:50 p.m.

Toronto voters will recognize the names of a few new MPPs as several former Toronto city councillors win seats at Queen’s Park.

Doug Ford’s nephew, Michael Ford, won a close race to represent York South-Weston for the PCs, while former councillor Mary Margaret McMahon won another close race in Beaches-East York to take the seat for the Liberals.

Former councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam will make the jump from city to provincial politics, with a projection that she will hold Toronto Centre for the NDP, taking over from former NDP MPP Suze Morrison. Morrison said in April that she would not seek re-election due to health issues.

More on this here.

11:30 p.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has congratulated Doug Ford on winning another term, saying that “I look forward to continue working with Premier Ford and his government” on a number of issues, such as COVID-19, housing and $10-a-day child care.

“Over the past several years, the federal government, working with the province, has delivered historic investments in retooling our auto sector to build cleaner vehicles while creating and securing thousands of good jobs in communities across the province,” Trudeau said in his statement.

10:50 p.m.

Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca says he will step down as leader of his party following tonight’s electoral defeat.

Del Duca failed to reclaim the seat he lost in 2018 in Vaughan-Woodbridge and the Liberals remain in third place behind the PCs and NDP.

He says he has asked for a leadership contest to be arranged as soon as possible. 

Read more on this here.

10:45 p.m.

Longtime Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says it is time for her to “pass the torch” to a new leader for her party after 13 years.

She easily won her riding of Hamilton Centre and maintained her party’s position as official opposition. However she failed to bring her party to power after leading them into a fourth election.

Becoming tearful at times, Horwath said she would continue to fight for the values she has fought for for so many years.

Read more here.

10:20 p.m.

Toronto Mayor John Tory has issued a statement congratulating PC Leader Doug Ford on winning a second majority.

“We have forged a strong intergovernmental partnership during the COVID-19 pandemic and I will work to ensure that continues so that the Toronto economy and the Ontario economy – which relies heavily on our city's success - come back together stronger than ever,” Tory said in the statement.

He said he is “committed to working with the province” on a number of Toronto's priorities, including supportive and affordable housing, building transit, increasing community safety, and addressing mental health and substance use issues.

Tory said it is “crucial” that the province and city keep working together on pandemic recovery, citing $875 million in support from the provincial and federal governments to help the city make up a budget shortfall resulting from the pandemic.

Tory added that he looks forward to working with the Toronto MPPs from all parties who were elected tonight.

10:05

Former Toronto police chief Mark Saunders has been defeated in Don Valley West, where he hoped to claim the seat for the Progressive Conservatives.

CTV News is projecting that Liberal Stephanie Bowman will beat Saunders for the seat, which was last held by former premier Kathleen Wynne.

More on this race here.

9:57

“As we build connected communities we will fight to stop the sprawl and protect the places we love,” Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner tells supporters after winning his seat in Guelph.

9:40

Here’s the moment where Doug Ford learned that his Progressive Conservatives had won another term.

9:35 p.m.

Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca has been defeated in Vaughan-Woodridge, losing his bid to reclaim the seat.

9:22 p.m.

Andrea Horwath’s NDP will once again form the official opposition, CTV News declares.

9:17 p.m.

BREAKING: CTV News has declared a Progressive Conservative majority in the Ontario election

9:10 p.m.

BREAKING: CTV News has declared a Progressive Conservative win in the Ontario election. It is not yet clear whether the party has won a majority or a minority.

9 p.m.

Polls have now closed at most voting location across Ontario. Keep it here for FULL coverage online and on-air as the results start to trickle in.

8:40 p.m.

Lawyers for the Ontario Liberal Party will be speaking with Elections Ontario to discuss the implications of delays at polling stations, the party confirms to CP24.

8:30 p.m.

About 30 minutes to go before most polls close. Our teams are fanned out in the field across the GTA and beyond, ready to bring you the latest developments as they come in.

8:10

The NDP says voters in Northern Ontario’s Kiiwetinoong riding are being redirected from polling stations.

NDP Provincial Director Lucy Watson penned a letter Thursday to Chief Electoral Officer Greg Essensa urging him to reinforce a directive that he issued earlier in the week allowing voters in Kiiwetinoong to cast their ballots at any polling location due to staffing issues.

“People who are entitled to vote are going to polling stations and being turned away,” Erin Morrison, the Ontario NDP’s director of communications, told CTV News.

On Monday, Essensa invoked an act that authorizes an expansion of the special ballot program to address issues including flooding, understaffing, COVID-19 outbreaks and geographic barriers. “This is a riding that is over 50 per cent Indigenous. It is the only riding in the entire province that is over 50 per cent Indigenous,” Morrison said.

But voters were still being turned away Thursday by polling clerks who said that they had not heard of the directive, Watson said.

“Please immediately direct your Returning Officer and all Deputy Returning Officers to familiarize themselves with the Directive right away, and permit unimpeded access to polls pursuant to the Directive,” Watson said.

8:01 p.m.

There is now less than an hour to go before polls close across most of Ontario, with the exception of the 27 stations listed below where there have been delays.

7:45 p.m.

Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca has arrived at his headquarters in Vaughan and says he’s “feeling really good about tonight” when asked if he’s confident he’ll win his seat.

Del Duca lost Vaughan-Woodbridge in 2018 and is looking to take it back tonight.

7:30 p.m.

Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford has arrived at his family home in Etobicoke to watch tonight’s election results.

“I never take anything for granted,” Ford says when asked if he expects to coast to a second majority. “Hopefully it’s gonna turn out in the right direction and I’m just grateful for all the people in Ontario.” 

7:20 p.m.

The 19 ridings where results will be delayed tonight include several in the GTA. A total of 27 polling stations are affected across those ridings.

Polling is being extended by as little as 10 minutes at some stations, but by as much as two hours at others. Here’s a full list:

Here’s a full list:

7 p.m.

Our on-air special coverage of Election Night in Ontario starts right now! You can catch it on CP24 or CTV, or livestream it here. 

6:50

Reporting of results from 19 ridings across the province will be delayed for up to two hours, CTV News has learned. Election rules stipulate that all polls in a riding must have completed voting before any results can be reported. So results in those ridings will be delayed.

Elections Ontario said earlier that opening times were pushed back at several polling stations across the province due to a variety of circumstances, such as power outages and fires.

6 p.m.

Elections Ontario says fires, sewer backups and power outages caused delays in the opening of some polling stations. Voting hours are being extended at those locations.

However the organization says “polls are open and fully operational, and we are processing electors without difficulty.”

Most polling stations across the province are set to close in three hours.

5:30 p.m.

It’s been a hard-fought campaign for many and there are a few ridings where candidates could be separated by just a handful of votes. Here’s a look at a few key ridings to watch tonight.

5 p.m.

There’s still plenty of time to cast your ballot, with polls set to close at 9 p.m.  If you want to see a breakdown of where the parties stand on key issues, here’s a quick look. If you’re not sure which riding you’re in or where to vote, you can search by postal code on the Elections Ontario website.

4:20 p.m.

Elections Ontario says it has fixed a problem that saw no voter information data flowing to political parties for much of Thursday morning after polls opened.

3:40 p.m.

CP24 and CTV will be broadcasting a LIVE election special with minute-by-minute coverage starting at 7 p.m.  We will also have a live stream of the election special which you can watch on our site or on our app. Here’s everything you need to know, including a link to our live results map.

2:40 p.m.

Hamilton police say that they responded to a polling station at Carlisle United Church on Thursday morning after an individual allegedly threw an object through the window and then got into a physical altercation with a supervisor. The supervisor sustained minor injuries and was attended to by paramedics at the scene, police said. It is not clear if the incident interrupted voting at the location.

11 a.m.

Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford and Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca have now formally cast their ballots. Ford showed up at a polling station in his Etobicoke North riding with his wife Karla at around 10:50 a.m. On his way out he told a pool camera that it is a “great day for democracy in Ontario” and that he feels “grateful” to be in the position he finds himself in.

“I just encourage everyone in Ontario no matter who you are voting for, please just get out and vote,” he said.

Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca, meanwhile, showed up at a polling station at the Woodbridge Pool and Memorial Arena alongside his wife Utilia Amaral at around 10:30 a.m. The Liberal leader is trying to reclaim the Vaughan-Woodbridge riding that he was defeated in back in 2018.

“I am really happy just to have had the chance to cast our ballots here for Ontario today,” he told a pool camera. “It is so important for Ontario and I hope lots of people get out and vote today.”

9:40 a.m.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath was the first of the three major party leaders to cast their ballots this morning, showing up at a polling station at Melrose United Church in Hamilton shortly after it opened. Horwath spoke with an Elections Ontario worker as she entered the polling station, enquiring about how the turnout has been so far. When the worker noted that it was a big day for the NDP leader, Horwath replied “Yeah, kinda a big day.” She then stopped to chat with some constituents outside.

9 a.m.

Elections Ontario is warning voters about some last-minute voting location changes.

The following voting locations have been changed:

• Those instructed to vote in Mississauga-East Cooksville at Mary Fix Catholic School, 486 Pasiley Blvd. W. should now vote at Cashmere Avenue Public School, 2455 Cashmere Ave.
• Those instructed to vote in Toronto Centre at 1001 Bay St. and Opera Place, 887 Bay St. should now vote at YMCA Central, 20 Grosvenor St.
• Those instructed to vote in Toronto Centre at Opera Palace located at 887 Bay street are now being instructed to vote at YMCA Central located at 20 Grosvenor Street
• Those instructed to vote in Toronto Centre at College View Apartments, 423 Yonge St. should now at the Toronto Metropolitan University Student Centre, 55 Gould St.