1977 Ontario general election

1977 Ontario general election

← 1975 June 9, 1977 1981 →

125 seats in the 31st 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 51 35
Seats won 58 33
Seat change Increase7 Decrease2
Popular vote 1,322,723 1,042,474
Percentage 39.58% 31.19%
Swing Increase3.5pp Decrease3.2pp

  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Stephen Lewis
Party New Democratic Liberal–Labour
Leader since October 4, 1970
Leader's seat Scarborough West
Last election 38 0
Seats won 33 1
Seat change Decrease5 Increase1
Popular vote 940,961 8,242
Percentage 28.16% 0.25%
Swing Decrease0.7pp

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.

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.