The incumbent MPP for Windsor-Tecumseh has started campaigning.
Andrew Dowie has started door-knocking and delivering lawn signs to residents now that the snap election has officially been called.
Ontario PC Leader Doug Ford kicked off his campaign in Windsor on Wednesday after calling for the election on Tuesday, and was joined by Dowie and other PC candidates for the region.
Dowie says Premier Ford has done a lot for the province and the local region during his time in office such as advocating for the NextStar Energy EV battery plant, pushing for the construction of the new acute care hospital, and pushing for construction on Highway 3.
He says Ford is now pushing against proposed tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump that could be implemented within days.
Dowie says the province needs a strong leader to handle the next four years of a Trump presidency.
"We need someone who will absolutely have that ability to go, have the conversation, defend our interests, and get the deal. Tariffs are just number one, there's going to be many, many more - for better or for worse over the next four years - cases where Ontario's interests may be at risk. And so we need a strong leader to respond to those risks."
He says the new hospital being built is key.
"We've been waiting for so long and have been let down so many times by that process, and now we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We're going to see shovels digging this year, and we're going to see that building coming up next year, so I'm quite excited about that."
Dowie says discussions continue on the possibility of uploading the responsibility of the E.C. Row Expressway back to the province.
"This expressway, it's an urban expressway, it's one of the only ones that is not operated by the province. But one thing, I'll give a bit of caution, when you have a provincial highway you bring in Ministry of Transportation permits. That could mean a significant cost to local businesses, they'll have to get a permit for each and every load that they put on the expressway."
Dowie was first elected as MPP for Windsor-Tecumseh in June 2022 - turning the riding blue for the first time in 93 years.
Ontarians will be sent to the polls on February 27, despite the fact that an election wasn't supposed to be held until June 2026.
Ford has said Trump's threat to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods would hit Ontario and its auto sector hard.