When it comes to a potential fall election, 'we'll be ready for it' says Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles

Marit Stiles is in Windsor this week for the NDP’s key caucus retreat ahead of their return to Queen’s Park. The Ontario party leader has been preparing for a potential fall election. “We'll be ready for it,” Stiles told CTV News Wednesday afternoon.

Premier Doug Ford ruled out a fall election at an event in Brampton this week. “You always have to be prepared,” the Premier said. “That's what it comes down to. No matter which way you look at it, we aren't too far from any election. No matter if it's next year or the following year.”

Still, the NDP are ready for a snap election - having spent the summer raising more than a million dollars for an election run. “We got our all of our team and our staff together and said, you know what? We've got a ten-week sprint plan to be ready if he calls the election this fall and what I saw happen across this province was a momentum building,” Stiles said.

Windsor-West MPP Lisa Gretzky feels it’s important to help voters understand how campaigns are financed, where money is coming from and who is donating. “I think it's important for people to see those numbers. So we can say to the people around the province, people in my community, that you can make a difference.”

According to Gretzky, the million dollars was raised over a ten-week span and averages out to about $52 per donor.

“Our donations come from regular people,” Stiles pointed out. “They're small donations and there's just many, many more of them so we are so grateful to every single person who has given.”

Political analyst Lydia Miljan feels the donations are an indication of support. “We're also capped provincially about how much donations we can give which means that you have a lot of small donations and that really, if you think about it, $1 million translates to a lot of individual voters.”

Miljan feels announcing the fundraising results now is a poke at Premier Ford. “He's going to just see what the tea leaves look like and if he's high in the polls he'll probably trigger an election but if he's a little bit shaky, he might wait until that '26 date.”