Call Upon MPPs and Others to Oppose Doug Ford’s Anti-Democratic Snap Election Bid

Ladies and gentlemen:

In December of 2005, Ontario saw the coming into force of a new quasi-constitutional democratic right to general elections the dates of which are fixed, by law, and known four years in advance. That important protection against timing elections in a way that gives the governing party a strategic advantage, has been honoured by every government since. Doug Ford’s dubious claim that he may need to call a snap general election as early as this month stands as a threat to violate the trust that voters have placed in those they elect; trust that those they elect will lawfully will honour and defend democracy and the democratic rights of Ontarians.

The historical context must not be dropped. Thanks in no small part to the old system, which allowed the premier to call for an election upon a whim, the Ontario Progressive Conservatives managed to keep themselves in power for 47 straight years (1943-1985). They were returned to power in 1995 but, by 2003, the PC party had allowed self-serving arrogance to rise to levels never seen before. Among other examples, Premier Ernie Eves delivered the 1993 budget in an privately-owned automobile automotive training facility to avoid the scrutiny that he otherwise would have faced had he delivered it in the presence of opposition MPPs in the Legislature. Such arrogant disregard for democracy contributed to the PC’s humbling defeat in the 2003 election, in which Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals won a considerable majority.

On June 1, 2004, the Liberals introduced the Election Statute Law Amendment Act, 2004, which – among other things – provided that elections would henceforth always would be held in the October that occurred four years after the prior general election (a month later changed to June). That day, Dalton McGuinty stood in the legislature to explain the nature and propriety of four-year terms with fixed election dates. What he said that day – about democracy – bears consideration and deserves reverence to this day:

“The decision of when to call an election has always rested with the Premier of this province. It allows the government to call an election when it feels it can win. It serves no one but the governing party. It’s a perk of being in power, and it ignores the most important members of any democracy: its citizens. That’s why our system needs to change. That’s why today we’re embracing the change that is central to our democracy by introducing legislation to fix the dates of elections in Ontario.

“We’re pleased to introduce the Election Statute Law Amendment Act, 2004. If passed, it would make election day in this province the first Thursday in October, every four years, starting in 2007. It will mean that the date of the next election will be October 4, 2007.

“Les élections sont des événements démocratiques qui appartiennent à nous tous. Elles n’appartiennent pas au parti au pouvoir qui pourrait ainsi les manipuler à son propre avantage.

“Elections don’t belong to Premiers to use as they see fit for their own political agenda. Elections belong to all of us, as citizens, and we have a right to know when they will be held, so that we can plan effectively and participate fully. Elections belong to all political parties, so that all of us are on an equal footing and can compete for office fairly. They belong to Elections Ontario, so it can plan efficiently for upcoming elections. They belong to public servants, so that the important work they do to deliver and continuously improve public services can proceed efficiently, without the disruption of snap election calls or the delays of calls postponed. Elections belong to anyone who wants to run for office or work in a campaign, so they can get their personal and professional lives in order, and that way they will be able to more fully participate in our democratic process. Elections belong to each and every one of us as citizens, so that we can put aside some time every four years to think about the direction of our province and its government and to talk to our friends, families, neighbours and co-workers about what needs to be done and who is best suited to do it.

“This is how government should work in the 21st century. This is how it will work in Ontario from now on. Never again will a governing party be able to manipulate the date of an election to serve its own interests.

“Le premier ministre n’aura plus jamais la capacité de fixer les dates des élections en fonction de leur caractère opportun d’un point de vue politique.

“Never again will a Premier have the ability to set election dates when it is politically opportune for the government. I, as Premier, am forever renouncing this right. I am doing it for one reason and one reason only: because it’s the right thing to do.” (emphasis added).

In the face of a history of anti-democratic election shenanigans, it most certainly was the right thing to do. It was a non-partisan, pro-democratic thing to do.

The change made in 2005 was not mere window-dressing. It was not posturing. The design and purpose of what is now subsection 9(2) of the Election Act was to grant Ontario voters an irrevocable, quasi-constitutional democratic right.

This right has served democracy well in Ontario. It has been respected by every government since 2005. Indeed, on October 5, 2020 – during the Covid 19 pandemic – MPP Mitzie Hunter – having heard that Doug Ford’s PCs were preparing to bring a snap election, brought the following motion:

“I move that, in the opinion of this House, the government must rise to meet the urgent needs facing Ontarians during the COVID-19 pandemic and address worsening issues in housing, poverty, mental health, long-term care, education, job creation, crime, and violence; and that calling an election before the fixed date in 2022 would put politics ahead of public health and interrupt the ongoing COVID-19 response with a serious human toll in the short and long term.”

Ontario’s MPPs – all of them, in all parties – voted unanimously to honour the fixed date democratic right established in 2005.

Yet Doug Ford again is signaling that he has no respect for the democratic safeguards that now exist as the quasi-constitutional right of every Ontarian. On Friday, January 17, he implied to reporters that, if Donald Trump were to impose tariffs on Canadian imports when he was sworn-in, he would lack a mandate from the people of Ontario to respond to said tariffs. As it turned out, President Trump did not even mention Canada during his inauguration speech, and made no mention of such tariffs. Ford now lacking the pretext that he had relied upon for violating the democracy-defending fixed election date law, he doubled down saying that, despite the lack of any announced tariffs, “We need a clear mandate, not for tomorrow, not for the next day, for four years of dealing with our American friends.”

I urge Ontario MPPs once again openly and strenuously to oppose – in the name of preserving the democratic rights of all Ontarians – Doug Ford’s anti-democratic plan to hold a general election before the June 2026 date that already is fixed by law.

Regards,

Paul McKeever

c.c. Ontario’s MPPs, political reporters/editorialists

{Paul McKeever is a lawyer, and is the leader of the Freedom Party of Ontario}