Election war drums have been getting harder to ignore at Queen's Park since U.S. president Donald Trump's inauguration.
"I need a clear mandate from the people of Ontario. Not for tomorrow, or the next day — for four years of dealing with our American friends," Ford told reporters Monday.
Ford has said that cushioning Ontarians from the harsh effects of a trade war would require high levels of public spending, and that he needs a mandate from the public to do that.
The public, however (if our online polls are anything to go by) isn't sold on the idea of an early election. (Legally, we don't have to have an election until June of 2026.
Political affiliation has a strong role, with PCs most enthusiastic, Liberals least, and Greens and New Democrats somewhere in the middle. (Even among PCs, though, a majority are opposed to the idea.)
Gender doesn't seem to be a factor, and age and income show no clear pattern, other perhaps that younger and older readers are less enthusiastic about an election:
(As an aside, this poll had a very high response rate, and we had enough data from non-binary folks to include them.)
Income has no bearing:
Readers who said in December that Justin Trudeau should resign are more likely to favour an early provincial election now:
In general, answers to the election question track other left-right divisions:
And cat people are less likely to want an election than dog people.