Ontario New Democratic Party facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ontario New Democratic Party Nouveau Parti démocratique de l'Ontario
Abbreviation	NDP NPD
Leader	Marit Stiles
President	Janelle Brady
Provincial director	Kevin Beaulieu
Deputy leader(s)	Doly Begum Sol Mamakwa
House leader	John Vanthof
Founded	October 8, 1961; 63 years ago (1961-10-08)
Preceded by	Ontario CCF
Headquarters	2069 Lakeshore Boulevard West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Youth wing	Ontario New Democratic Youth
Ideology	Social democracy
Political position	Centre-left
National affiliation	New Democratic Party
Colours	Orange
Seats in legislature	27 / 124
Political parties

The Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) is a political party in Ontario, Canada. It believes in social democracy, which means it supports a fair society where everyone has equal chances. The party is considered to be on the centre-left side of politics.

The Ontario NDP is the provincial part of the larger federal New Democratic Party. Since the 2018 election, the party has been the Official Opposition in Ontario. This means they are the second-largest party in the provincial government.

The party started in October 1961. It was formed from two groups: the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Ontario Section) (Ontario CCF) and the Ontario Federation of Labour.

For many years, the Ontario NDP was very successful, especially compared to other provincial NDP groups outside of Western Canada. They first gained a lot of support under their first leader, Donald C. MacDonald. In the 1967 election, they won 20 seats in the Ontario Legislative Assembly. These elected members are called MPPs.

After MacDonald, Stephen Lewis became leader in 1970. He helped the party become the Official Opposition in 1975. This was the first time since the Ontario CCF did it in the 1940s. After a less successful election in 1977, Lewis stepped down. Michael Cassidy became leader in 1978 but also stepped down after the 1981 election.

In 1982, Bob Rae became the leader. Under his leadership, the party gained more power. In 1985, they helped the Ontario Liberal Party form a minority government. This meant the Liberals needed the NDP's support to pass laws. After the 1987 election, the NDP became the Official Opposition again. Then, in a surprising win, the NDP formed the government for the first time in 1990. This was the first time the NDP had formed a provincial government east of Manitoba.

During Bob Rae's time as Premier, his government introduced some unpopular plans, like the Social Contract. In the 1996 election, the NDP lost many seats. They went from being the government to having only 17 seats. Rae then stepped down as leader.

Howard Hampton was elected leader in 1996. He led the party through three elections. During his time, the NDP sometimes lost its "official party status." This status gives parties more resources and speaking time in the legislature. They lost it after the 1999 and 2003 elections. However, they managed to get it back both times. Hampton stepped down as leader in 2009.

Andrea Horwath became leader in 2009. Under her leadership, the party grew. In the 2011 Ontario general election, they won 17 MPPs, and in the 2014 Ontario general election, they won 21. In the 2018 Ontario general election, the party had its best result since 1990, winning 40 MPPs and becoming the Official Opposition. In the 2022 Ontario general election, their number of MPPs dropped to 31, and Horwath resigned. Marit Stiles became the new leader in 2023. She led the party in the 2025 Ontario general election, winning 27 seats and remaining the Official Opposition.

A Look at the Party's Past

Early Days as the Ontario CCF

The NDP's earlier version was called the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). It was a socialist party started in 1932. The Ontario CCF was also linked to a government formed in Ontario from 1919 to 1923 by the United Farmers of Ontario and the Labour Party of Canada.

Under its first leader, Ted Jolliffe, the Ontario CCF almost won the 1943 election. They won 34 seats and became the Official Opposition for the first time. Two years later, they had only 8 seats. The Ontario CCF had another good election in 1948, winning 21 MPPs and becoming the Official Opposition again. They even defeated the Premier, George A. Drew, in his own area. But in 1951, the Ontario CCF won only two MPP seats. For the rest of its time, the party never had more than five members in the legislature. Jolliffe resigned as leader in 1953.

The CCF Becomes the NDP

Donald C. MacDonald, CCF/NDP Leader from 1953 to 1970. He helped rebuild the party.

Donald C. MacDonald became leader in 1953. For the next 15 years, he worked to rebuild the party. When he started, they had only two seats. By the time he stepped down in 1970, they had ten times that number.

The New Democratic Party of Ontario was officially formed in Niagara Falls from October 7 to 9, 1961. Delegates from the Ontario CCF, union groups, and new party clubs all took part. MacDonald was elected as their first leader. The Ontario CCF officially ended on October 8, 1961, when the new NDP leaders took over.

The Ontario NDP slowly gained more seats in the 1960s. They had a big success in the 1967 election. Their support grew from 15% to 26%. They increased their seats in the legislature from 8 to 20. In that election, they focused on issues like the cost of living, taxes, education, Canadian unity, and housing.

Stephen Lewis and the Official Opposition

Stephen Lewis became the party's leader in 1970, and the NDP continued to grow. In the 1975 election, the ruling Progressive Conservative party lost its majority for the first time in 30 years. Lewis ran a strong campaign. The NDP became the Official Opposition with 38 seats and 29% of the vote. This meant they were the second-largest party.

People hoped the NDP was close to taking power. However, in the 1977 election, the Progressive Conservatives won again. The NDP lost five seats and fell to third place. A frustrated Lewis resigned soon after.

Michael Cassidy and a Drop in Support

Michael Cassidy was elected leader next. Some party members worried he was too far to the left and encouraged him to resign before an election. Cassidy did not listen. The NDP's support dropped even more in the 1981 election, and Cassidy stepped down.

Bob Rae: From Opposition to Government

The party's luck changed under Bob Rae. The NDP won two special elections, taking seats from the Liberals. By late 1984, polls showed Rae's NDP was even ahead of the Liberals.

The 1985 election resulted in no party winning a majority. The Progressive Conservatives won 52 seats, the Liberals 48, and the NDP 25. The New Democrats talked with both the Conservatives and the Liberals. The NDP signed a two-year agreement with the Liberals. The Liberals would form the government with the NDP's support, and in return, they would put some NDP policies into action. This was not a coalition government because the NDP chose to stay in opposition rather than join the Cabinet. The ruling Conservatives were defeated, and their Premier resigned.

When the agreement ended in 1987, Premier David Peterson called an early election. The Liberals won a large majority. The NDP lost some seats but became the largest opposition party, with Bob Rae as Leader of the Opposition.

Before the 1990 election, the Liberals were leading in the polls. However, Peterson's government faced scandals. Under Rae, the NDP ran a strong campaign. The NDP won a large majority government with 74 seats. The Liberals had their worst defeat ever.

Bob Rae became Premier of Ontario during a very difficult economic time. Once in government, the NDP changed some of its big plans. For example, they did not create a public auto insurance system as promised. As the economy worsened, the NDP introduced something called the Social Contract. This plan included tough measures like:

• Changing agreements with public sector unions.
• Freezing wages for government workers.
• Making government workers take unpaid days off, known as "Rae Days."

The Social Contract caused problems between the NDP and many unions. Rae's government did pass laws to promote fairness in jobs and ban replacement workers during strikes. But this did not win back union support.

At one point, the NDP's support in polls dropped very low. In the 1993 federal election, all 10 federal NDP members from Ontario lost their seats. It was clear by the 1995 election that Rae's government would not be re-elected. The NDP fell to 17 seats, becoming the third-place party. In 1996, Rae stepped down as party leader.

Despite these challenges, Rae's time as Premier did bring some social welfare changes. In 1991, his government increased social assistance rates. They also made it easier for single parents to get support.

Rae later joined the Liberal Party of Canada. He ran for their leadership in 2006 and 2008 but was not successful. He served as the interim leader of the federal Liberals from 2011 to 2013.

Howard Hampton After Government

Ontario NDP leader Howard Hampton in February 2007.

Bud Wildman was interim leader after Rae, until Howard Hampton became leader in 1996.

Under Hampton, the party moved away from some of Rae's policies. They focused again on a moderate form of socialism. Hampton often pointed to the "Swedish model" of social democracy as something he believed in.

The Ontario NDP's support dropped further in the 1999 election, leaving them with only nine seats. Many NDP supporters voted for the Liberals instead, hoping to defeat the ruling Conservatives. Because of this, Hampton was not blamed for the loss and stayed on as leader.

At first, the NDP was set to lose "official party status" because they had fewer than 12 seats. This status provides funding and speaking rights. However, the ruling Progressive Conservatives changed the rules, lowering the requirement to 8 seats. This allowed the NDP to keep their status.

2003 Election: Losing Status Again

In the 2003 election, the party focused on their "Public Power Campaign." This campaign supported publicly owned electricity and auto insurance. It also aimed to reverse cuts to social programs made by the previous government. Many news outlets thought Howard Hampton did well in the televised leaders' debate.

Despite Hampton's performance and a small increase in overall votes, the party lost two seats. They again lost official party status. One reason for this was "strategic voting." Many NDP voters chose to vote Liberal to ensure the Conservatives were defeated. Some unions even encouraged this. The new Liberal government offered the NDP funding if their members sat as independents, but Hampton refused.

Winning Back Official Party Status

The NDP had a chance to regain party status in a special election in Hamilton East in May 2004. This election was called after the death of the riding's MPP. The NDP campaigned hard, especially with the help of unionized steelworkers in the city. Andrea Horwath, an NDP city councillor, won the election with a large majority. This brought the NDP back to eight seats and allowed them to regain official party status.

The NDP's number of seats dropped to seven when Marilyn Churley resigned to run in a federal election. However, the Liberals said the NDP would keep party status even if they lost the next special election. This became irrelevant when, in March 2006, NDP candidate Peter Tabuns won the special election in Toronto—Danforth.

The NDP also won a surprise victory in Parkdale—High Park in September 2006. The Liberal Education Minister resigned, leading to a special election. The NDP candidate, Cheri DiNovo, won despite tough campaigning.

In February 2007, the NDP continued their success by winning another Liberal stronghold in York South—Weston. Paul Ferreira narrowly won, increasing the NDP's seats to ten.

2007 Ontario General Election

In the 2007 election, the party gained more overall votes but did not win more seats. They lost one seat but gained another. France Gélinas successfully kept her seat, and other NDP members also kept theirs.

Early polls in 2006 showed the party with 27% support, their highest since 1992. By 2007, support had fallen but was still better than their 2003 result. On June 14, 2008, Hampton announced he would step down as leader.

Andrea Horwath's Leadership

Party logo (until 2025)

On November 7, 2008, Andrea Horwath began her campaign for party leadership. She supported investing in light rail transit and building stronger ties with unions. The leadership election was held from March 6 to 8, 2009. Horwath won on the third ballot.

Before the 2011 election, Horwath campaigned on ideas like tax breaks for businesses that create jobs in Ontario. She also wanted to improve healthcare wait times and cut the Harmonized Sales Tax on essential items like home heating and gas. She criticized the government for not having fair bidding for green energy projects.

Horwath tried to show that the Ontario NDP was different from former Premier Bob Rae, who was then the interim leader of the federal Liberal Party. She pointed out that other NDP Premiers had balanced budgets. In the televised leaders' debate, her rivals criticized the Ontario NDP's economic management in the early 1990s. Horwath again highlighted Rae's current role with the federal Liberals. Her campaign avoided negative attacks. She led her party to an increase from 10 to 17 seats. The Liberals won a minority government, meaning Horwath's NDP held the balance of power in the legislature.

In April 2012, 76.4% of party delegates voted for Horwath to continue as leader.

In September 2012, NDP candidate Catherine Fife won a special election in Kitchener—Waterloo. This increased the NDP caucus to 18 seats.

More special election wins followed in 2013 and 2014. Peggy Sattler won in London West, Percy Hatfield in Windsor—Tecumseh, and Wayne Gates in Niagara Falls. These victories brought the NDP caucus to 21 members.

In the 2018 provincial election, the NDP ended 23 years of being the third party. They won 40 seats and became the Official Opposition. This was their best result since forming the government in 1990. They won all seats in Old Toronto and many in northern Ontario, Hamilton, and Niagara.

In June 2019, Horwath received support from 84% of delegates to continue as leader.

Horwath resigned after the party lost seats in the 2022 Ontario general election. Peter Tabuns was chosen as interim leader on June 28, 2022.

Marit Stiles Becomes Leader

After Peter Tabuns served as interim leader, Marit Stiles was declared the new Ontario NDP leader on February 4, 2023.

In October 2023, Hamilton Centre MPP Sarah Jama was removed from the NDP group of MPPs. This happened because she was accused of not following an agreement with Stiles. Jama was said to have taken "unilateral actions" without party approval. This included making statements about the 2023 Israel-Hamas war and not working well with other NDP members. Stiles had initially defended Jama and asked her to remove her statement and apologize. Jama apologized for her posts but refused to remove the statement. This caused disagreements within the NDP.

Party Leaders

The party was known as the Ontario section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation until the New Democratic Party was founded on October 8, 1961. At that point, Donald C. MacDonald became the Ontario NDP leader.

CCF Leaders

NDP Leaders

Election Results

This section shows how the party has done in elections, including results for the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) before it became the NDP in 1961.

Legislative Assembly Elections

Election	Leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/−	Position	Status
1934	John Mitchell		7.0	1 / 90	1	3rd	Third party
1937			5.6	0 / 90	1	none	No seats
1943	Ted Jolliffe		31.7	34 / 90	34	2nd	Opposition
1945			22.4	8 / 90	26	3rd	Third party
1948			27.0	21 / 90	13	2nd	Opposition
1951			19.1	2 / 90	19	3rd	Third party
1955	Donald C. MacDonald		16.5	3 / 98	1	3rd	Third party
1959			16.7	5 / 98	2	3rd	Third party
1963			15.5	7 / 108	2	3rd	Third party
1967			25.9	20 / 117	13	3rd	Third party
1971	Stephen Lewis		27.1	19 / 117	1	3rd	Third party
1975			28.9	38 / 125	19	2nd	Opposition
1977		940,691	28.0	33 / 125	5	3rd	Third party
1981	Michael Cassidy	672,824	21.2	21 / 125	12	3rd	Third party
1985	Bob Rae	865,507	23.8	25 / 125	4	3rd	Third party (1985)
							Confidence and supply (1985–1987)
1987		970,813	25.7	19 / 130	6	2nd	Opposition
1990		1,509,506	37.6	74 / 130	55	1st	Majority
1995		854,163	20.6	17 / 130	58	3rd	Third party
1999	Howard Hampton	551,009	12.6	9 / 103	8	3rd	Third party
2003		660,730	14.7	7 / 103	1	3rd	No status§
2007		741,043	16.8	10 / 107	3	3rd	Third party
2011	Andrea Horwath	980,204	22.7	17 / 107	7	3rd	Third party
2014		1,144,576	23.7	21 / 107	4	3rd	Third party
2018		1,925,512	33.6	40 / 124	19	2nd	Opposition
2022		1,072,769	23.7	31 / 124	9	2nd	Opposition
2025	Marit Stiles	931,796	18.3	27 / 124	4	2nd	Opposition

^§Regained official party status after a 2004 special election.

Current Ontario New Democrat MPPs

These are the current Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) for the Ontario New Democratic Party.

How the Party Works

The Ontario NDP has several important roles. These include the leader, the party president, six vice-presidents, and the treasurer. These roles, except for the leader, are chosen at the party's meeting every two years. The leader is in charge of the party's elected members in the legislature. The Provincial Director manages the party's daily operations outside of the legislature.

The party's main decision-making group is the provincial executive. It includes the officers, members elected from different regions, and representatives from various groups. These groups include the Ontario New Democratic Youth, the Women's Committee, and committees for different communities.

The highest decision-making body is the provincial convention, held every two years. People from local riding associations, party sections, and groups like labour unions attend this convention.

The Provincial Council is the next highest group. It meets a few times a year between conventions. It includes members of the provincial executive, representatives from the party's elected members, and delegates from local riding associations and other party groups.

More to Explore

• List of political parties in Ontario
• List of articles about Ontario CCF/NDP members
• Ontario CCF/NDP leadership elections

See also

In Spanish: Nuevo Partido Democrático de Ontario para niños