Ontario general election, 1999

The Ontario general election of 1999 was held in the late spring of 1999 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada.

Related Topics:
Legislative Assembly - Ontario - Canada

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The governing Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, led by Premier Mike Harris, was re-elected to a second majority government.

Related Topics:
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario - Mike Harris - Majority government

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It was the first election in which the Legislative Assembly of Ontario had a reduced number of seats. Previously, the province's riding (electoral district) boundaries were different from those used in federal elections. In the 1999 election, for the first time, provincial riding boundaries were redrawn to precisely match federal ridings, resulting in 27 fewer seats -- and 27 fewer Members of Provincial Parliament -- in the Ontario Legislature.

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According to a poll released on the eve of the election, the Liberal Party entered the campaign with a lead over the Progressive Conservatives. This poll's accuracy was disputed by many, however, and even Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty cast doubt on it: noting that most polling companies claim to be accurate 19 times out of 20, he suggested that this might have been 20th.

Related Topics:
Liberal Party - Dalton McGuinty

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Subsequent polls taken in the early period of the campaign showed the Progressive Conservatives with a commanding lead over the Liberals, in a manner more consistent with pre-election numbers. In retrospect, it seems likely that the first poll created a false sense of expectation around the Liberals, and damaged the party's ability to build a viable support base during the campaign.

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The Harris Tories had delivered large tax cuts, but they had also severely cut spending and had failed to eliminate the province's deficit. They had the support of the legendary Tory political machine, bolstered by a group of American experts imported from the Republican Party. They targeted Dalton McGuinty as inexperienced ("Dalton McGuinty is not up to the job" was a Tory campaign slogan), and claimed he did not have a clear vision.

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The extensive use of attack ads and wedge issues by the Tories was a new development in Canadian politics, and some commentators worried the election process was becoming Americanized.

Related Topics:
Attack ad - Wedge issue

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The third major party, the Ontario New Democratic Party led by Howard Hampton, spent much the campaign battling the memory of Bob Rae's unpopular government in the early 1990s, and was unable to gain much support.

Related Topics:
Ontario New Democratic Party - Howard Hampton - Bob Rae

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The Liberal Party managed to recover some support late in the campaign, but it was not enough to defeat the Tories.

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