Ontario premier Doug Ford has triggered an early election in the province, saying he needs a strong mandate to take on the tariff threat.

TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford officially set a provincial election in motion Tuesday for Feb. 27, more than a year before the next fixed election date. The election had been set for June 2026, but Ford said he needs a new mandate to deal with four years of a Donald Trump presidency in the United States.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has officially triggered an early provincial election for Feb. 27 after meeting with Ontario's lieutenant-governor, his office confirmed.

Ford sparked the early election on Tuesday afternoon with a visit to Lt.-Gov. Edith Dumont and a request for her to dissolve Ontario’s 43rd parliament. The proclamation she signed doing just that took effect at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Doug Ford, Ontario’s Conservative leader, has recently said that President Trump was “going to try to devastate our country” with a plan to impose tariffs on Canadian exports.

The premier of Ontario, Canada's most populous province, said on Friday he would call an early election, citing the need for a strong mandate to fight against tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Ontario’s premier is calling an early election, saying his government needs a fresh mandate to help Canada’s fight against potential tariffs from US President Donald Trump.

The leader of Canada’s most populous province says he will be calling an election in Ontario because he says he needs a mandate to fight U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs

Ontario Premier Doug Ford plans to call a snap election Wednesday, using the threat of 25 per cent tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump as a justification. Opposition parties say early election is not necessary.