Ontario re-elects local government on June 2
How will this affect immigrants?
For the 43rd time, the residents of Ontario elected their representatives in the Legislative Assembly (parliament) of the province. The previous election was four years ago.
Deputies are elected from districts under a majoritarian system, meaning that each deputy must receive a majority of votes in his or her district. The leader of the winning party becomes prime minister of the province and forms his government.
The votes and seats in the new parliament were distributed as follows:
| Party | Percentage of the vote | Number of voters who voted | Number of seats in parliament |
| Progressive-Conservative | 40,8% | 1 912 648 | 83 |
| The New Democratic | 23,7% | 1 111 112 | 31 |
| Liberal | 23,8% | 1 117 041 | 8 |
| Green | 6% | 279 172 | 1 |
| Independent candidates | 0,5% | 25 134 | 1 |
The Progressive Conservative Party, already in power since 2018, won by a wide margin. Its leader Doug Ford remains prime minister. The leaders of the New Democratic Party and the Liberal Party announced their decision to resign.
The Progressive-Conservative Party released a pre-election budget at the end of April that it intends to implement. Most of the budget money, $158.8 billion CAD, will be spent over the next ten years on highways, public transportation (subway and commuter rail extensions in Toronto), medical facilities and schools. $20 billion CAD of this amount will be used this year. The party has also promised to extend tax credits to low-income people and seniors in need of medical devices or home care.
The Progressive-Conservative Party wants to attract more highly skilled people from abroad and plans to improve the immigration process on two fronts:
- making it easier for immigrants to prove their qualifications;
- simplification of family reunification.
$15.1 million CAD will be invested over three years in Ontario's provincial immigration program. The province wants the federal government to allow double the number of nominees: instead of 9,000 a year to accept 18,000 new permanent residents.
The Ontario government is also promising that professionals in more than 30 high-demand trades, including plumbers, auto mechanics and engineers, will be able to prove their skills and get the required licences in 30 days. The government is investing $67 million CAD in the Ontario Bridge Training Program, which allows permanent residents to prove their foreign education and work experience for free.
