1977 Ontario general election

1977 Ontario general election
← 1975 June 9, 1977 1981 →
← outgoing members elected members →
125 seats in the 31st Legislative Assembly of Ontario; 63 seats needed for a majority
	Seating in chamber after the election
Premier before election; Bill Davis; Progressive Conservative	Premier after election ; Bill Davis; Progressive Conservative

The 1977 Ontario general election was held on June 9, 1977, to elect the 125 members of the 31st Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Quick facts 125 seats in the 31st Legislative Assembly of Ontario 63 seats needed for a majority, First party ...

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The Progressive Conservative Party, led by Premier Bill Davis, was re-elected for an eleventh consecutive term in office, again with a minority in the legislature. The PCs won an additional seven seats, but were not able to win a majority. The Liberal Party, led by Dr. Stuart Smith, lost one seat compared to its result in the previous election, but formed the Official Opposition because the NDP lost more seats. The New Democratic Party, led by Stephen Lewis, lost five seats, losing the status of Official Opposition to the Liberals.

Sheila Copps, future federal cabinet minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, made her political debut in this election, finishing second in the riding of Hamilton Centre. This was the first election in which Jim Bradley, the second-longest serving MPP in Ontario history, was elected.

Renaming of ridings
Old	New
Durham North	Durham—York
Welland	Welland—Thorold

Candidates	PC	Lib	LL	NDP	Comm	Ltn	Ind	SC	D	Total
3	64	62	2	64						192
4	37	37		37	16	10	7	4		148
5	14	14		14	8	13	6	1		70
6	8	8		8	7	7	8	2		48
7	2	2		2	2	1	4		1	14
Total	125	123	2	125	33	31	25	7	1	472

Political party		Party leader	MPPs				Votes
Political party		Party leader	Candidates	1975	1977	±	#	±	%	± (pp)
	Progressive Conservative	Bill Davis	125	51	58	7	1,322,723	129,771	39.58%	3.51
	Liberal	Stuart Smith	123	35	33	2	1,042,464	83,151	31.19%	2.85
	Liberal–Labour	Stuart Smith	2	1	1		8,242	824	0.25%	0.02
	New Democratic	Stephen Lewis	125	38	33	5	940,961	15,943	28.16%	0.78
	Libertarian	Paul Mollon	31	–	–	–	9,961	5,524	0.30%	0.17
	Communist	William Stewart	33	–	–	–	8,137	983	0.24%	0.04
	Independent		25	–	–	–	7,414	3,321	0.22%	0.10
	Social Credit		7	–	–	–	1,698	2,448	0.05%	0.08
	Democrat		1	–	–	–	233	233	0.01%	New
Total			472	125	125		3,341,833		100.00%
Rejected ballots							19,600	1,663
Voter turnout							3,361,433	50,657	65.60	2.22
Registered electors							5,123,768	620,626

Party	Seats	Votes	Change (pp)
█ Progressive Conservative	58 / 125	39.58%	3.51
█ Liberal/Liberal-Labour	34 / 125	31.44%	-2.87
█ New Democratic	33 / 125	28.16%	-0.78
█ Independent	0 / 125	0.22%	0.10
█ Other	0 / 125	0.60%	0.04

Riding	Winning party								Turnout ^{[a 1]}	Votes
Name^{[a 2]}	1975		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %		PC	Lib/LL	NDP	Ind	Other	Total
Name^{[a 2]}	1975		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %							Total

Algoma		NDP		NDP	6,917	48.70%	1,166	8.21%	77.64%	5,751	1,534	6,917	–	–	14,202
Algoma—Manitoulin		PC		PC	7,381	56.64%	3,895	29.89%	64.79%	7,381	2,165	3,486	–	–	13,032
Brampton		PC		PC	19,641	51.92%	9,744	25.76%	64.25%	19,641	7,948	9,897	130	216	37,832
Brantford		NDP		NDP	13,376	46.79%	4,295	15.02%	64.87%	9,081	6,130	13,376	–	–	28,587
Brant—Oxford—Norfolk		Lib		Lib	14,256	57.42%	8,444	34.01%	65.07%	5,812	14,256	4,760	–	–	24,828
Brock		PC		PC	11,944	51.78%	6,034	26.16%	65.73%	11,944	5,910	5,215	–	–	23,069
Burlington South		PC		PC	18,892	51.06%	8,418	22.75%	65.74%	18,892	10,474	7,015	–	615	36,996
Cambridge		NDP		NDP	11,120	37.31%	554	1.86%	65.02%	10,566	7,870	11,120	–	252	29,808
Carleton		PC		PC	14,847	46.51%	4,606	14.43%	62.96%	14,847	10,241	6,837	–	–	31,925
Carleton East		NDP		NDP	12,733	34.77%	681	1.86%	65.09%	12,052	11,837	12,733	–	–	36,622
Carleton-Grenville		PC		PC	14,002	59.61%	8,509	36.22%	63.39%	14,002	5,493	3,995	–	–	23,490
Chatham—Kent		PC		PC	10,769	46.48%	4,287	18.50%	59.34%	10,769	5,919	6,482	–	–	23,170
Cochrane North		PC		PC	10,412	61.44%	6,365	37.56%	67.02%	10,412	2,488	4,047	–	–	16,947
Cochrane South		NDP		PC	12,533	51.26%	2,277	9.31%	69.89%	12,533	1,442	10,256	–	219	24,450
Cornwall		NDP		NDP	9,978	46.08%	486	2.24%	63.95%	9,492	2,089	9,978	94	–	21,653
Dufferin—Simcoe		PC		PC	15,528	48.81%	6,048	19.01%	65.30%	15,528	9,480	6,369	–	438	31,815
Durham East		NDP		PC	12,862	41.66%	122	0.40%	65.38%	12,862	5,121	12,740	153	–	30,876
Durham West		NDP		PC	12,688	41.30%	593	1.93%	65.89%	12,688	5,075	12,095	865	–	30,723
Durham—York		PC		PC	14,134	51.44%	7,134	25.96%	66.17%	14,134	6,345	7,000	–	–	27,479
Elgin		PC		PC	12,655	47.48%	3,481	13.06%	68.91%	12,655	9,174	4,654	–	172	26,655
Erie		Lib		Lib	10,008	48.71%	4,175	20.32%	65.53%	5,833	10,008	4,704	–	–	20,545
Essex North		Lib		Lib	9,801	51.19%	4,837	25.26%	56.75%	4,383	9,801	4,964	–	–	19,148
Essex South		Lib		Lib	11,215	45.69%	3,224	13.13%	68.48%	7,991	11,215	5,340	–	–	24,546
Fort William		NDP		PC	12,230	46.28%	2,256	8.54%	66.03%	12,230	4,080	9,974	–	142	26,426
Frontenac—Addington		Lib		Lib	10,505	44.63%	940	3.99%	67.46%	9,565	10,505	3,157	312	–	23,539
Grey		Lib		Lib	14,651	55.39%	7,062	26.70%	72.77%	7,589	14,651	4,210	–	–	26,450
Grey—Bruce		Lib		Lib	14,828	55.47%	5,403	20.21%	75.53%	9,425	14,828	2,477	–	–	26,730
Haldimand—Norfolk		Lib		Lib	15,496	49.37%	3,864	12.31%	71.38%	11,632	15,496	4,257	–	–	31,385
Halton—Burlington		Lib		Lib	13,985	46.82%	3,698	12.38%	69.13%	10,287	13,985	5,598	–	–	29,870
Hamilton Centre		NDP		NDP	8,216	37.86%	14	0.06%	58.29%	5,092	8,202	8,216	–	189	21,699
Hamilton East		NDP		NDP	14,461	47.09%	5,195	16.92%	63.63%	6,605	9,266	14,461	–	376	30,708
Hamilton Mountain		PC		NDP	12,681	38.26%	373	1.13%	72.12%	12,308	7,910	12,681	–	247	33,146
Hamilton West		Lib		Lib	12,239	43.05%	3,860	13.58%	69.78%	8,379	12,239	7,668	144	–	28,430
Hastings—Peterborough		PC		PC	11,442	47.22%	1,858	7.67%	73.02%	11,442	9,584	2,808	247	149	24,230
Huron—Bruce		Lib		Lib	17,356	65.17%	9,833	36.92%	74.18%	7,523	17,356	1,754	–	–	26,633
Huron—Middlesex		Lib		Lib	12,749	55.35%	3,871	16.81%	76.72%	8,878	12,749	1,405	–	–	23,032
Kenora		PC		PC	10,882	57.14%	5,626	29.54%	67.29%	10,882	2,907	5,256	–	–	19,045
Kent—Elgin		Lib		Lib	10,038	45.72%	641	2.92%	66.86%	9,397	10,038	2,521	–	–	21,956
Kingston and the Islands		PC		PC	12,246	52.32%	5,756	24.59%	61.57%	12,246	6,490	4,510	–	158	23,404
Kitchener		Lib		Lib	14,425	52.06%	7,515	27.12%	59.47%	6,910	14,425	6,264	–	111	27,710
Kitchener—Wilmot		Lib		Lib	12,450	51.07%	5,980	24.53%	58.08%	6,470	12,450	5,456	–	–	24,376
Lake Nipigon		NDP		NDP	7,747	67.01%	5,330	46.10%	58.91%	2,417	1,397	7,747	–	–	11,561
Lambton		PC		PC	11,604	52.63%	2,863	12.99%	70.48%	11,604	8,741	1,702	–	–	22,047
Lanark		PC		PC	11,086	55.42%	6,089	30.44%	67.67%	11,086	3,919	4,997	–	–	20,002
Leeds		PC		PC	14,853	67.65%	11,151	50.79%	62.33%	14,853	3,702	3,400	–	–	21,955
Lincoln		Lib		Lib	9,969	44.98%	582	2.63%	70.96%	9,387	9,969	2,806	–	–	22,162
London Centre		Lib		Lib	12,808	45.42%	3,893	13.80%	59.52%	6,279	12,808	8,915	200	–	28,202
London North		Lib		Lib	15,033	46.99%	4,402	13.76%	66.11%	10,631	15,033	6,130	–	201	31,995
London South		Lib		PC	16,011	42.39%	2,211	5.85%	63.70%	16,011	13,800	7,964	–	–	37,775
Middlesex		PC		PC	10,427	42.88%	1,538	6.33%	75.29%	10,427	8,889	4,998	–	–	24,314
Mississauga East		PC		PC	11,945	45.25%	3,489	13.22%	60.17%	11,945	8,456	5,994	–	–	26,395
Mississauga North		PC		PC	16,151	46.56%	3,750	10.81%	63.04%	16,151	5,684	12,401	–	451	34,687
Mississauga South		PC		PC	13,622	47.91%	6,006	21.12%	67.08%	13,622	7,616	7,196	–	–	28,434
Muskoka		PC		PC	8,865	49.23%	2,497	13.87%	73.00%	8,865	2,774	6,368	–	–	18,007
Niagara Falls		Lib		Lib	13,280	43.42%	3,928	12.84%	68.11%	9,352	13,280	7,952	–	–	30,584
Nickel Belt		NDP		NDP	9,410	57.45%	5,487	33.50%	67.45%	3,923	3,046	9,410	–	–	16,379
Nipissing		Lib		Lib	12,898	43.13%	1,666	5.57%	71.28%	11,232	12,898	5,777	–	–	29,907
Northumberland		PC		PC	14,061	48.30%	3,727	12.80%	68.07%	14,061	10,334	4,716	–	–	29,111
Oakville		PC		PC	14,456	50.97%	6,508	22.95%	70.88%	14,456	7,948	5,955	–	–	28,359
Oshawa		NDP		NDP	12,226	53.23%	5,714	24.88%	56.08%	6,512	4,032	12,226	–	199	22,969
Ottawa Centre		NDP		NDP	10,626	41.56%	2,403	9.40%	56.75%	8,223	6,358	10,626	–	360	25,567
Ottawa East		Lib		Lib	15,864	67.44%	11,809	50.20%	52.10%	4,055	15,864	3,605	–	–	23,524
Ottawa South		PC		PC	16,662	49.37%	7,903	23.42%	66.95%	16,662	7,754	8,759	574	–	33,749
Ottawa West		PC		PC	15,729	45.79%	5,823	16.95%	66.08%	15,729	9,906	8,718	–	–	34,353
Oxford		PC		PC	17,758	50.98%	5,101	14.64%	69.24%	17,758	12,657	4,420	–	–	34,835
Parry Sound		PC		PC	9,929	49.66%	2,419	12.10%	70.52%	9,929	7,510	2,553	–	–	19,992
Perth		Lib		Lib	18,201	68.88%	12,145	45.96%	60.70%	6,056	18,201	2,167	–	–	26,424
Peterborough		NDP		PC	16,923	40.66%	2,648	6.36%	70.97%	16,923	10,083	14,275	–	341	41,622
Port Arthur		NDP		NDP	9,629	40.14%	339	1.41%	61.46%	9,290	4,818	9,629	–	254	23,991
Prescott and Russell		PC		PC	11,863	48.74%	2,986	12.27%	62.54%	11,863	8,877	3,597	–	–	24,337
Prince Edward—Lennox		PC		PC	11,411	55.22%	5,652	27.35%	68.00%	11,411	5,759	3,494	–	–	20,664
Quinte		Lib		Lib	17,264	56.34%	7,255	23.68%	68.31%	10,009	17,264	3,371	–	–	30,644
Rainy River		LL		LL	5,335	45.90%	2,067	17.79%	63.80%	3,268	5,335^{[a 3]}	3,019	–	–	11,622
Renfrew North		Lib		Lib	9,549	45.80%	2,732	13.10%	73.96%	6,817	9,549	4,483	–	–	20,849
Renfrew South		PC		PC	12,666	46.56%	1,081	3.97%	77.62%	12,666	11,585	2,952	–	–	27,203
St. Catharines		PC		Lib	12,392	38.89%	723	2.27%	60.91%	11,669	12,392	7,556	–	247	31,864
Sarnia		Lib		Lib	11,500	38.97%	257	0.87%	63.42%	11,243	11,500	6,770	–	–	29,513
Sault Ste. Marie		PC		PC	19,209	55.28%	7,549	21.73%	69.64%	19,209	3,715	11,660	–	162	34,746
Simcoe Centre		PC		PC	15,876	44.25%	5,434	15.15%	68.40%	15,876	9,556	10,442	–	–	35,874
Simcoe East		PC		PC	13,793	44.74%	3,539	11.48%	69.47%	13,793	6,783	10,254	–	–	30,830
Stormont—Dundas—Glengarry		PC		PC	10,533	49.15%	2,422	11.30%	68.28%	10,533	8,111	2,788	–	–	21,432
Sudbury		NDP		NDP	11,117	41.62%	2,632	9.85%	62.39%	8,485	6,778	11,117	–	330	26,710
Sudbury East		NDP		NDP	15,991	55.19%	8,990	31.03%	63.84%	7,001	5,984	15,991	–	–	28,976
Temiskaming		NDP		PC	9,578	47.95%	664	3.32%	69.48%	9,578	1,481	8,914	–	–	19,973
Victoria—Haliburton		Lib		Lib	15,218	53.27%	4,679	16.38%	75.15%	10,539	15,218	2,809	–	–	28,566
Waterloo North		Lib		Lib	13,556	49.43%	5,540	20.20%	62.16%	8,016	13,556	5,851	–	–	27,423
Welland-Thorold		NDP		NDP	12,704	46.32%	2,315	8.44%	69.58%	10,389	4,335	12,704	–	–	27,428
Wellington—Dufferin—Peel		PC		PC	14,272	45.83%	4,641	14.90%	67.42%	14,272	9,631	7,235	–	–	31,138
Wellington South		Lib		Lib	16,212	50.52%	8,326	25.95%	67.27%	7,667	16,212	7,886	–	325	32,090
Wentworth		NDP		NDP	15,332	59.80%	9,826	38.33%	65.29%	5,506	4,800	15,332	–	–	25,638
Wentworth North		Lib		Lib	18,322	53.98%	9,858	29.04%	71.18%	8,464	18,322	7,157	–	–	33,943
Windsor—Riverside		NDP		NDP	12,947	45.59%	2,375	8.36%	60.71%	4,878	10,572	12,947	–	–	28,397
Windsor—Sandwich		NDP		NDP	9,711	51.36%	3,687	19.50%	50.98%	2,838	6,024	9,711	–	334	18,907
Windsor—Walkerville		Lib		Lib	11,233	53.09%	6,391	30.20%	57.03%	4,842	11,233	4,565	162	357	21,159
York Centre		Lib		Lib	17,735	45.53%	2,768	7.11%	66.52%	14,967	17,735	6,247	–	–	38,949
York North		PC		PC	15,639	48.05%	5,979	18.37%	64.38%	15,639	7,247	9,660	–	–	32,546
Armourdale		Lib		PC	14,082	42.67%	2,433	7.37%	68.16%	14,082	11,649	6,736	258	280	33,005
Beaches—Woodbine		NDP		NDP	11,491	46.51%	2,274	9.20%	64.90%	9,217	3,579	11,491	–	420	24,707
Bellwoods		NDP		NDP	6,177	47.77%	2,845	22.00%	62.80%	2,925	3,332	6,177	151	346	12,931
Don Mills		PC		PC	17,005	55.20%	8,880	28.82%	61.14%	17,005	4,906	8,125	–	772	30,808
Dovercourt		NDP		NDP	7,340	48.30%	3,157	20.77%	64.62%	4,183	3,162	7,340	–	513	15,198
Downsview		NDP		NDP	10,194	45.10%	4,042	17.88%	65.26%	6,152	5,814	10,194	193	251	22,604
Eglinton		PC		PC	19,213	59.60%	11,742	36.42%	68.38%	19,213	7,471	4,857	315	382	32,238
Etobicoke		NDP		NDP	11,637	45.99%	4,848	19.16%	64.36%	6,789	6,363	11,637	–	517	25,306
High Park—Swansea		NDP		NDP	10,409	40.86%	779	3.06%	66.53%	9,630	4,897	10,409	–	537	25,473
Humber		PC		PC	19,888	50.95%	9,316	23.87%	69.10%	19,888	10,572	7,781	–	793	39,034
Lakeshore		NDP		NDP	13,252	49.76%	5,295	19.88%	62.39%	7,957	4,781	13,252	–	643	26,633
Oakwood		NDP		NDP	9,214	43.48%	2,835	13.38%	64.98%	6,379	5,046	9,214	170	382	21,191
Oriole		PC		PC	14,194	44.32%	4,487	14.01%	64.42%	14,194	9,707	6,737	1,109	282	32,029
Parkdale		NDP		NDP	7,574	44.12%	2,440	14.21%	61.81%	4,116	5,134	7,574	–	343	17,167
Riverdale		NDP		NDP	9,639	55.79%	5,350	30.97%	56.51%	4,289	2,821	9,639	117	410	17,276
St. Andrew—St. Patrick		PC		PC	11,128	49.38%	2,977	13.21%	64.40%	11,128	2,895	8,151	–	360	22,534
St. David		PC		PC	11,894	44.14%	836	3.10%	69.76%	11,894	3,794	11,058	–	202	26,948
St. George		Lib		Lib	10,116	36.71%	428	1.55%	60.90%	9,688	10,116	6,287	975	494	27,560
Scarborough Centre		PC		PC	11,583	44.76%	2,799	10.82%	64.00%	11,583	5,274	8,784	–	238	25,879
Scarborough East		PC		PC	14,792	50.91%	7,524	25.89%	63.01%	14,792	6,508	7,268	–	489	29,057
Scarborough—Ellesmere		NDP		NDP	10,625	40.52%	1,551	5.92%	63.77%	9,074	6,320	10,625	–	201	26,220
Scarborough North		PC		PC	20,988	50.11%	10,685	25.51%	64.21%	20,988	10,303	9,868	–	721	41,880
Scarborough West		NDP		NDP	13,350	54.03%	6,444	26.08%	63.81%	6,906	3,837	13,350	172	442	24,707
Wilson Heights		Lib		PC	11,430	41.97%	2,993	10.99%	62.93%	11,430	7,195	8,437	–	174	27,236
York East		PC		PC	14,131	46.72%	5,797	19.17%	67.55%	14,131	7,126	8,334	–	654	30,245
York Mills		PC		PC	21,795	58.45%	12,183	32.67%	66.55%	21,795	9,612	5,051	465	368	37,291
York South		NDP		NDP	14,178	50.56%	6,512	23.22%	65.86%	7,666	5,332	14,178	–	864	28,040
York West		PC		PC	16,538	46.25%	6,088	17.03%	67.89%	16,538	10,450	8,510	–	260	35,758
Yorkview		NDP		NDP	13,326	52.49%	6,823	26.87%	58.59%	4,105	6,503	13,326	608	846	25,388

1977 Ontario general election

Renaming of ridings

Campaign

Results

Vote and seat summaries

Synopsis of results

Analysis

Seats changing hands

MPPs elected by region and riding

See also

References

Further reading

Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

Fact Checks

Party in 1st place		Party in 2nd place			Total
Party in 1st place		PC	Lib	NDP	Total
	Progressive Conservative		31	27	58
	Liberal	30		3	33
	Liberal–Labour	1			1
	New Democratic	26	7		33
Total		57	38	30	125

Parties	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
█ Progressive Conservative	58	57	10
█ Liberal	33	38	52
█ New Democratic	33	30	68
█ Liberal–Labour	1		1
█ Communist				23	8
█ Libertarian				19	9
█ Independent				13	6
█ Social Credit				6	1
█ Democrat				1

Source		Party
Source		PC	Lib	LL	NDP	Total
Seats retained	Incumbents returned	45	27	1	31	104
	Open seats held	4	4		1	9
	Ouster of incumbent changing allegiance		1			1
Seats changing hands	Incumbents defeated	7			1	8
Seats changing hands	Open seats gained	2	1			3
Total		58	33	1	33	125