1981 Ontario general election
← 1977 March 19, 1981 1985 →
125 seats in the 32nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario
63 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
  LIB
Leader Bill Davis Stuart Smith
Party Progressive Conservative Liberal
Leader since February 12, 1971 January 25, 1976
Leader's seat Brampton Hamilton West
Last election 58 33
Seats won 70 33
Seat change Increase12 Steady0
Popular vote 1,412,488 1,065,569
Percentage 44.38% 33.48%
Swing Increase4.80pp Increase2.29pp
  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Michael Cassidy
Party New Democratic Liberal–Labour
Leader since February 5, 1978
Leader's seat Ottawa Centre
Last election 33 1
Seats won 21 1
Seat change Decrease12 Steady 0
Popular vote 672,824 7,111
Percentage 21.14% 0.22%
Swing Decrease7.02pp Decrease0.03
Seating in chamber after the election
Premier before election

Bill Davis
Progressive Conservative

Premier after election

Bill Davis
Progressive Conservative

The 1981 Ontario general election was held on March 19, 1981, to elect members of the 32nd Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada.

The governing Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, led by Bill Davis, was re-elected for a twelfth consecutive term in office. The PCs finally won a majority government after winning only minorities in the 1975 and 1977 elections. The Liberal Party, led by Stuart Smith, was able to maintain its standing in the Legislature, while the New Democratic Party, led by Michael Cassidy, lost a significant number of seats, allowing the Tories to win a majority.

Opinion polls

During campaign period

Evolution of voting intentions at provincial level
Polling firm Last day
of survey 		Source PCO OLP ONDP Other ME Sample
Election 1981 March 19, 1981 44.38 33.48 21.14
Gallup March 11, 1981 [1] 51 31 18 — — —
Gallup February 18, 1981 [2] 53 27 18 1 — 831
Election called

During the 31st Parliament of Ontario

Evolution of voting intentions at provincial level
Polling firm Last day
of survey 		Source PCO OLP ONDP Other ME Sample
Election 1977 June 9, 1977 39.58 31.19 28.16 1.07

Campaign

Riding contests, by number of candidates (1981)[3]
Candidates PC Lib LL NDP Ind Comm Ltn SC Un Total
3 82 80 2 82 246
4 31 31 31 10 10 8 3 124
5 8 8 8 7 6 2 1 40
6 2 2 2 4 1 1 12
7 2 2 2 6 1 1 14
Total 125 123 2 125 27 18 12 3 1 436

A number of unregistered parties also fielded candidates in this election.

There were a number of Rhinoceros Party candidates in the Toronto area, and the party may have also fielded candidates elsewhere in the province. The Workers Communist Party (Marxist–Leninist) a single candidate, Judy Darcy. Ronald G. Rodgers, founder of the Détente Party of Canada, contested a Toronto constituency.

Social Credit leader Reg Gervais announced prior to the election that he planned to run in Nickel Belt, but could not follow through and resigned at a meeting of nominated candidates where John Turmel was appointed interim leader of the Ontario Social Credit Party during the campaign, though there has never been independent confirmation of this (nor is it clear if the Ottawa-area candidacies of Turmel and Raymond Turmel and Serge Girard and Dale Alkerton and Andrew Dynowski were approved by the remaining few members of the official Social Credit Party of Ontario).

Results

Elections to the 32nd Parliament of Ontario (1981)[3]
Political party Party leader MPPs Votes
Candidates 1977 1981 ± # ± % ± (pp)
Progressive Conservative Bill Davis 125 58 70 12Increase 1,412,488 89,765Increase 44.38% 4.80Increase
Liberal Stuart Smith 123 33 33 Steady 1,065,569 23,115Increase 33.48% 2.29Increase
Liberal–Labour 2 1 1 Steady 7,111 1,131Decrease 0.22% 0.03Decrease
New Democratic Michael Cassidy 125 33 21 12Decrease 672,824 268,137Decrease 21.14% 7.02Decrease
Independent 27 – – – 10,585 3,171Increase 0.33% 0.11Increase
Libertarian Scott Bell 12 – – – 7,087 2,874Decrease 0.22% 0.08Decrease
Communist Mel Doig 18 – – – 5,306 2,831Decrease 0.17% 0.07Decrease
Social Credit 3 – – – 1,054 644Decrease 0.03% 0.02Decrease
Unparty 1 – – – 460 460Increase 0.01% New
Total 436 125 125 3,182,484 100.00%
Rejected ballots 20,797 1,197Increase
Voter turnout 3,203,281 158,152Decrease 58.04 7.56Decrease
Registered electors 5,519,204 395,436Increase
Seats and popular vote by party
Party Seats Votes Change (pp)
█ Progressive Conservative
70 / 125
44.38%
 4.80 4.8
 
█ Liberal/Liberal-Labour
34 / 125
33.70%
 2.26 2.26
 
█ New Democratic
21 / 125
21.14%
 -7.02
 
█ Independent
0 / 125
0.33%
 0.11 0.11
 
█ Other
0 / 125
0.45%
 -0.15
 

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1981 Ontario general election[3]
Riding Winning party Turnout
[a 1] 		Votes
Name[a 2] 1977 Party Votes Share Margin
# 		Margin
% 		PC Lib/LL NDP Ind Other Total
 
Algoma NDP NDP 7,096 52.83% 2,326 17.32% 69.22% 4,770 1,567 7,096 – – 13,433
Algoma—Manitoulin PC PC 7,160 57.36% 4,174 33.44% 50.16% 7,160 2,986 2,336 – – 12,482
Brampton PC PC 24,973 61.23% 15,582 38.20% 50.73% 24,973 9,391 6,034 – 390 40,788
Brantford NDP PC 12,847 45.35% 3,259 11.50% 59.43% 12,847 5,896 9,588 – – 28,331
Brant—Oxford—Norfolk Lib Lib 13,067 59.40% 7,033 31.97% 55.64% 6,034 13,067 2,899 – – 22,000
Brock PC PC 10,547 48.75% 3,665 16.94% 60.36% 10,547 6,882 4,204 – – 21,633
Burlington South PC PC 19,037 57.81% 10,084 30.62% 55.69% 19,037 8,953 4,942 – – 32,932
Cambridge NDP PC 12,597 42.82% 849 2.89% 59.32% 12,597 4,527 11,748 549 – 29,421
Carleton PC PC 17,846 55.26% 9,225 28.56% 53.22% 17,846 8,621 5,446 – 383 32,296
Carleton East NDP PC 15,714 38.03% 1,686 4.08% 59.37% 15,714 14,028 11,579 – – 41,321
Carleton-Grenville PC PC 15,202 65.09% 9,438 40.41% 57.71% 15,202 5,764 2,391 – – 23,357
Chatham—Kent PC PC 9,471 42.20% 2,963 13.20% 54.47% 9,471 6,466 6,508 – – 22,445
Cochrane North PC PC 5,910 36.19% 188 1.15% 62.56% 5,910 5,722 4,426 – 274 16,332
Cochrane South PC PC 12,540 56.25% 5,565 24.96% 61.65% 12,540 6,975 2,777 – – 22,292
Cornwall NDP NDP 9,484 41.90% 1,667 7.37% 63.65% 7,817 5,333 9,484 – – 22,634
Dufferin—Simcoe PC PC 18,101 62.83% 11,399 39.57% 56.41% 18,101 6,702 4,007 – – 28,810
Durham East PC PC 14,900 48.02% 6,252 20.15% 60.46% 14,900 7,226 8,648 253 – 31,027
Durham West PC PC 17,029 52.77% 9,583 29.70% 55.46% 17,029 7,446 6,578 – 1,215 32,268
Durham—York PC PC 14,404 57.51% 8,074 32.23% 56.99% 14,404 6,330 4,314 – – 25,048
Elgin PC PC 13,119 55.41% 5,813 24.55% 58.78% 13,119 7,306 3,250 – – 23,675
Erie Lib Lib 8,796 49.83% 3,525 19.97% 54.59% 5,271 8,796 3,586 – – 17,653
Essex North Lib Lib 9,187 46.14% 3,276 16.45% 54.47% 4,812 9,187 5,911 – – 19,910
Essex South Lib Lib 10,454 52.77% 5,446 27.49% 51.18% 5,008 10,454 4,349 – – 19,811
Fort William PC PC 13,038 54.32% 5,453 22.72% 59.66% 13,038 3,381 7,585 – – 24,004
Frontenac—Addington Lib Lib 10,558 44.21% 340 1.42% 62.89% 10,218 10,558 2,374 409 322 23,881
Grey Lib Lib 13,334 55.47% 4,541 18.89% 64.77% 8,793 13,334 1,629 – 284 24,040
Grey—Bruce Lib Lib 14,006 60.30% 6,239 26.86% 64.36% 7,767 14,006 1,455 – – 23,228
Haldimand—Norfolk Lib Lib 16,254 56.49% 7,479 25.99% 63.08% 8,775 16,254 3,744 – – 28,773
Halton—Burlington Lib Lib 13,395 44.99% 518 1.74% 56.33% 12,877 13,395 3,500 – – 29,772
Hamilton Centre NDP Lib 9,734 47.02% 2,804 13.54% 55.58% 4,039 9,734 6,930 – – 20,703
Hamilton East NDP NDP 12,773 46.47% 4,408 16.04% 55.02% 6,351 8,365 12,773 – – 27,489
Hamilton Mountain NDP NDP 11,008 35.77% 197 0.64% 67.02% 10,811 8,956 11,008 – – 30,775
Hamilton West Lib Lib 12,106 45.84% 2,318 8.78% 60.46% 9,788 12,106 4,255 – 260 26,409
Hastings—Peterborough PC PC 11,528 49.61% 2,787 11.99% 66.49% 11,528 8,741 2,968 – – 23,237
Huron—Bruce Lib Lib 12,164 46.64% 224 0.86% 70.22% 11,940 12,164 1,979 – – 26,083
Huron—Middlesex Lib Lib 10,707 52.24% 2,089 10.19% 66.57% 8,618 10,707 1,170 – – 20,495
Kenora PC PC 10,418 60.84% 6,248 36.49% 57.94% 10,418 2,536 4,170 – – 17,124
Kent—Elgin Lib Lib 10,115 47.08% 337 1.57% 64.40% 9,778 10,115 1,591 – – 21,484
Kingston and the Islands PC PC 12,488 50.25% 4,023 16.19% 58.10% 12,488 8,465 3,897 – – 24,850
Kitchener Lib Lib 12,592 50.98% 4,610 18.66% 50.86% 7,982 12,592 4,126 – – 24,700
Kitchener—Wilmot Lib Lib 11,515 48.56% 3,002 12.66% 49.49% 8,513 11,515 3,686 – – 23,714
Lake Nipigon NDP NDP 7,846 68.90% 6,018 52.85% 55.75% 1,828 1,714 7,846 – – 11,388
Lambton PC PC 13,467 63.59% 7,032 33.20% 66.04% 13,467 6,435 1,276 – – 21,178
Lanark PC PC 10,502 61.69% 6,638 38.99% 55.80% 10,502 3,864 2,659 – – 17,025
Leeds PC PC 13,725 64.41% 9,082 42.62% 58.54% 13,725 4,643 2,940 – – 21,308
Lincoln Lib PC 10,044 46.28% 394 1.82% 65.54% 10,044 9,650 2,009 – – 21,703
London Centre Lib Lib 12,315 51.67% 3,986 16.72% 49.65% 8,329 12,315 3,189 – – 23,833
London North Lib Lib 15,444 49.61% 3,619 11.62% 54.17% 11,825 15,444 3,864 – – 31,133
London South PC PC 19,714 54.74% 8,598 23.87% 52.03% 19,714 11,116 5,187 – – 36,017
Middlesex PC PC 11,672 52.84% 3,408 15.43% 66.01% 11,672 8,264 2,155 – – 22,091
Mississauga East PC PC 15,759 55.68% 8,043 28.42% 50.21% 15,759 7,716 4,829 – – 28,304
Mississauga North PC PC 20,331 56.27% 11,201 31.00% 49.45% 20,331 9,130 6,667 – – 36,128
Mississauga South PC PC 14,165 55.63% 6,993 27.46% 55.59% 14,165 7,172 4,126 – – 25,463
Muskoka PC PC 9,029 55.09% 4,881 29.78% 64.43% 9,029 4,148 3,214 – – 16,391
Niagara Falls Lib Lib 12,495 47.23% 3,200 12.10% 56.32% 9,295 12,495 4,665 – – 26,455
Nickel Belt NDP NDP 8,451 54.85% 3,410 22.13% 63.38% 1,915 5,041 8,451 – – 15,407
Nipissing Lib PC 15,795 55.43% 4,871 17.10% 64.11% 15,795 10,924 1,774 – – 28,493
Northumberland PC PC 14,727 51.58% 3,614 12.66% 65.02% 14,727 11,113 2,711 – – 28,551
Oakville PC PC 16,366 62.43% 9,080 34.64% 56.58% 16,366 7,286 2,562 – – 26,214
Oshawa NDP NDP 10,307 48.04% 2,471 11.52% 49.70% 7,836 3,311 10,307 – – 21,454
Ottawa Centre NDP NDP 9,316 36.77% 599 2.36% 54.58% 8,717 6,926 9,316 376 – 25,335
Ottawa East Lib Lib 14,207 69.22% 9,972 48.59% 49.03% 4,235 14,207 1,905 – 177 20,524
Ottawa South PC PC 15,218 49.97% 6,386 20.97% 60.22% 15,218 8,832 6,146 259 – 30,455
Ottawa West PC PC 17,418 59.30% 8,306 28.28% 55.86% 17,418 9,112 2,348 – 494 29,372
Oxford PC PC 15,948 49.87% 4,082 12.76% 61.57% 15,948 11,866 3,673 – 493 31,980
Parry Sound PC PC 8,955 46.27% 6 0.03% 66.87% 8,955 8,949 1,448 – – 19,352
Perth Lib Lib 16,283 62.51% 8,400 32.25% 58.88% 7,883 16,283 1,881 – – 26,047
Peterborough PC PC 17,962 45.92% 6,699 17.13% 63.06% 17,962 11,263 8,756 345 787 39,113
Port Arthur NDP NDP 12,258 46.10% 1,414 5.32% 61.22% 10,844 3,247 12,258 140 103 26,592
Prescott and Russell PC Lib 15,123 56.22% 5,172 19.23% 60.83% 9,951 15,123 1,828 – – 26,902
Prince Edward—Lennox PC PC 11,135 57.53% 4,338 22.41% 61.18% 11,135 6,797 1,423 – – 19,355
Quinte Lib Lib 14,861 56.78% 5,344 20.42% 56.08% 9,517 14,861 1,795 – – 26,173
Rainy River LL LL 4,575 40.99% 426 3.82% 61.50% 4,149 4,575[a 3] 2,438 – – 11,162
Renfrew North Lib Lib 9,113 52.57% 1,976 11.40% 58.18% 7,137 9,113 1,086 – – 17,336
Renfrew South PC PC 14,552 55.66% 4,132 15.80% 71.09% 14,552 10,420 1,174 – – 26,146
St. Catharines Lib Lib 16,509 51.85% 6,236 19.58% 57.20% 10,273 16,509 4,927 – 132 31,841
Sarnia Lib PC 13,871 46.23% 3,029 10.09% 63.27% 13,871 10,842 5,292 – – 30,005
Sault Ste. Marie PC PC 14,712 49.99% 7,157 24.32% 54.29% 14,712 7,555 7,162 – – 29,429
Simcoe Centre PC PC 16,926 49.84% 4,421 13.02% 59.06% 16,926 12,505 4,532 – – 33,963
Simcoe East PC PC 12,487 42.13% 3,402 11.48% 64.39% 12,487 7,320 9,085 749 – 29,641
Stormont—Dundas—Glengarry PC PC 12,017 55.38% 4,171 19.22% 65.95% 12,017 7,846 1,836 0 – 21,699
Sudbury NDP PC 12,043 45.95% 3,991 15.23% 62.72% 12,043 5,998 8,052 – 115 26,208
Sudbury East NDP NDP 13,883 49.21% 4,463 15.82% 58.94% 9,420 4,909 13,883 – – 28,212
Timiskaming PC PC 8,377 44.71% 1,609 8.59% 65.03% 8,377 3,593 6,768 – – 18,738
Victoria—Haliburton Lib Lib 12,807 49.71% 2,298 8.92% 62.92% 10,509 12,807 2,449 – – 25,765
Waterloo North Lib Lib 12,843 49.17% 3,237 12.39% 52.30% 9,606 12,843 3,672 – – 26,121
Welland-Thorold NDP NDP 13,379 49.81% 5,463 20.34% 64.78% 5,564 7,916 13,379 – – 26,859
Wellington—Dufferin—Peel PC PC 16,644 56.55% 8,508 28.91% 58.51% 16,644 8,136 4,650 – – 29,430
Wellington South Lib Lib 16,237 53.57% 8,320 27.45% 56.86% 7,917 16,237 5,934 – 224 30,312
Wentworth NDP PC 10,024 34.88% 160 0.56% 62.32% 10,024 8,847 9,864 – – 28,735
Wentworth North Lib Lib 16,433 49.13% 4,121 12.32% 63.98% 12,312 16,433 4,702 – – 33,447
Windsor—Riverside NDP NDP 13,626 49.59% 4,524 16.46% 56.31% 4,418 9,102 13,626 333 – 27,479
Windsor—Sandwich NDP Lib 7,449 40.26% 134 0.72% 48.34% 3,479 7,449 7,315 – 258 18,501
Windsor—Walkerville Lib Lib 10,553 54.89% 5,565 28.94% 51.29% 3,438 10,553 4,988 – 248 19,227
York Centre Lib PC 19,094 47.54% 1,722 4.29% 56.81% 19,094 17,372 3,701 – – 40,167
York North PC PC 18,405 55.38% 8,189 24.64% 54.20% 18,405 10,216 4,614 – – 33,235
Armourdale PC PC 15,938 54.63% 6,941 23.79% 60.64% 15,938 8,997 4,240 – – 29,175
Beaches—Woodbine NDP NDP 9,590 43.10% 324 1.46% 59.24% 9,266 3,140 9,590 252 – 22,248
Bellwoods NDP NDP 5,111 40.99% 365 2.93% 58.75% 2,186 4,746 5,111 180 246 12,469
Don Mills PC PC 17,516 63.99% 12,148 44.38% 52.55% 17,516 5,368 4,487 – – 27,371
Dovercourt NDP NDP 5,491 37.81% 294 2.02% 62.62% 3,416 5,197 5,491 258 162 14,524
Downsview NDP NDP 8,644 39.10% 653 2.95% 58.54% 5,475 7,991 8,644 – – 22,110
Eglinton PC PC 17,386 64.92% 11,780 43.98% 57.86% 17,386 5,606 3,324 – 466 26,782
Etobicoke NDP NDP 10,373 40.63% 2,349 9.20% 55.31% 8,024 7,132 10,373 – – 25,529
High Park—Swansea NDP PC 11,473 47.01% 2,680 10.98% 64.63% 11,473 3,635 8,793 – 507 24,408
Humber PC PC 20,844 60.43% 10,780 31.25% 59.93% 20,844 10,064 3,583 – – 34,491
Lakeshore NDP PC 10,607 40.65% 1,232 4.72% 61.06% 10,607 5,738 9,375 – 376 26,096
Oakwood NDP NDP 8,862 45.17% 2,901 14.79% 56.22% 5,961 4,171 8,862 – 624 19,618
Oriole PC PC 15,644 49.68% 4,244 13.48% 57.65% 15,644 11,400 4,443 – – 31,487
Parkdale NDP Lib 6,941 42.26% 921 5.61% 58.59% 2,914 6,941 6,020 289 259 16,423
Riverdale NDP NDP 6,770 46.73% 2,682 18.51% 49.62% 4,088 3,237 6,770 233 158 14,486
St. Andrew—St. Patrick PC PC 10,674 49.10% 3,835 17.64% 57.09% 10,674 6,839 3,709 368 148 21,738
St. David PC PC 9,627 39.36% 1,022 4.18% 64.80% 9,627 8,605 5,985 243 – 24,460
St. George Lib PC 12,390 43.00% 4,251 14.75% 58.69% 12,390 8,139 4,999 2,928 359 28,815
Scarborough Centre PC PC 12,793 55.92% 7,895 34.51% 53.07% 12,793 4,657 4,898 – 531 22,879
Scarborough East PC PC 16,386 56.03% 9,085 31.06% 55.46% 16,386 7,301 4,826 171 562 29,246
Scarborough—Ellesmere NDP PC 11,608 44.87% 1,888 7.30% 60.27% 11,608 4,545 9,720 – – 25,873
Scarborough North PC PC 29,961 60.98% 17,298 35.20% 53.08% 29,961 12,663 6,512 – – 49,136
Scarborough West NDP NDP 10,019 41.84% 375 1.57% 59.17% 9,644 3,914 10,019 369 – 23,946
Wilson Heights PC PC 11,722 48.55% 2,925 12.12% 51.83% 11,722 8,797 3,623 – – 24,142
York East PC PC 14,562 57.34% 9,627 37.91% 57.13% 14,562 4,811 4,935 – 1,088 25,396
York Mills PC PC 20,613 65.59% 14,946 47.56% 53.61% 20,613 5,667 3,858 – 1,287 31,425
York South NDP NDP 9,518 37.01% 1,419 5.52% 59.75% 7,628 8,099 9,518 – 472 25,717
York West PC PC 18,501 57.58% 8,273 25.75% 58.22% 18,501 10,228 2,865 538 – 32,132
Yorkview NDP Lib 10,160 38.62% 1,187 4.51% 55.03% 5,329 10,160 8,973 1,343 503 26,308
  1. ^ including spoilt ballots
  2. ^ order is as given in EO reports
  3. ^ T. Patrick Reid was the incumbent
  = open seat
  = turnout is above provincial average
  = winning candidate was in previous Legislature
  = not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature
  = incumbent had switched allegiance
  = incumbency arose from byelection gain
  = previously incumbent in another riding
  = Liberal-Labour candidate
  = other incumbents renominated
  = multiple candidates

Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place[3]
Party in 1st place Party in 2nd place Total
PC Lib NDP
Progressive Conservative 55 15 70
Liberal 27 6 33
Liberal–Labour 1 1
New Democratic 13 8 21
Total 41 63 21 125
Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party[3]
Parties 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
█ Progressive Conservative 70 41 14
█ Liberal 33 63 27
█ New Democratic 21 21 83
█ Liberal–Labour 1 1
█ Independent 18 3
█ Communist 12 6
█ Libertarian 10 2
█ Social Credit 3
█ Unparty 1
Resulting composition of the 28th Legislative Assembly[3]
Source Party
PC Lib LL NDP Total
Seats retained Incumbents returned 47 27 1 21 102
Open seats held 10 1 11
Seats changing hands Incumbents defeated 11 4 15
Open seats gained 2 1 3
Total 70 33 1 21 125

Seats changing hands

Eighteen seats changed allegiance in this election:

MPPs elected by region and riding

Party designations are as follows:

  PC
  Liberal
  NDP
  Liberal-Labour




See also

Further reading

References

  1. ^ Oziewicz, Stan (March 16, 1981). "Liberals say voters shifting because of Tory giveaways". The Globe and Mail. p. 32.
  2. ^ Speirs, Rosemary (February 26, 1985). "PC official against release of poll: Tories have a 'solid lead,' but survey called 'one-shot'". The Globe and Mail. p. 4.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "1981 general election results". Elections Ontario. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
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