Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Ontario general election, 1985
The Ontario general election of 1985 was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada.
The Ontario Liberal Party, led by David Peterson, with support from the New Democratic Party, led by Bob Rae, formed a minority government despite having fewer seats than the previously governing Progressive Conservative Party led by Frank Miller. This election ended 42 years of Conservative rule, during which the Tories retained power with the help of the "Big Blue Machine", a group of political professionals, and by governing in a moderate, non-confrontational way. Frank Miller came to the PC leadership with a much more right-wing image than his predecessor, William Davis. Voters were worried that Miller would take the government in a more conservative direction, and many moved their support to Peterson's more moderate Liberals. The Liberals won a marginally larger share of the popular vote than the PCs.
Results
| Party | Leader | Previous | Seats won | % change | Popular vote (%) | Progressive Conservative | Frank Miller | 70 | 52 | -25.7% | 37.0% | Liberal | David Peterson | 34 | 48 | +41.2% | 37.9% | New Democratic | Bob Rae | 21 | 25 | +19.0% | 23.8% | Libertarian | Scott Bell | - | 0.4% | Green | - | 0.1% | Communist | Gordon Massie | - | 0.1% | Freedom | none (Robert Metz, President) | - | 0.1% | Others | - | 0.7% | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Seats | 125 | 125 | - | 100% | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See also
- Politics of Ontario
- List of Ontario political parties
- Premier of Ontario
- Leader of the Opposition (Ontario)
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