A University of Windsor political science professor believes whether voters will get motivated to head to the polls will be the big issue on election day in Ontario.
Voters in Windsor-Essex and across Ontario head to the polls Thursday as the provincial election comes to an end.
Professor Lydia Miljan told AM800's The Shift that we saw low voter turnout in the advance polls, especially in Windsor West.
"Which is quite surprising because that seems to be hot riding to look at. But apart from that, it depends on how people view the last seven years of the Ford government," she says.
Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford is looking for another term in office after calling an early election over a year before the next election was set to take place in June 2026.
Ford triggered the snap election, arguing he needs a strong mandate to stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump and his threats to impose tariffs on Canadian goods.
Miljan says it doesn't help that it's a winter election, but she finds it troubling that we've had low voter turnout at the advance polls.
"Over the last few election cycles, that's where voter turnout was increasing because it's just more convenient; you get more choice. Having people not enthusiastically go out in advance does give me pause," she says.
According to Elections Ontario, figures show that 678,789 voters cast their ballot over three days of advance voting in this year's general election, representing 6.14 per cent of eligible voters in Ontario.
In 2022, 1,066,545 voters, or 9.92 per cent of eligible voters, voted over 10 days, while in 2018, 698,609 voters, or 6.8 per cent, cast their ballot over five days of advance voting.
Miljan says that this isn't really a change election.
"I don't know if people are hoping for significant changes; probably more of a steady state, dealing with the certainty of the same government, might be more reassuring for people. Especially considering it's more on the federal side that people are looking for change," she says.
During the 2022 Ontario election, Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives were re-elected to a second majority government, winning 83 seats, 7 more seats than they had won in 2018.
The New Democrats retained their status as the Official Opposition, winning 31 seats.
The Ontario Liberals won just 8 seats, falling short of official party status.
The Green Party retained the single seat they won in 2018.
The province recorded the lowest voter turnout in history during the 2022 election, with just about 43.5 per cent of eligible voters casting a ballot, according to Elections Ontario results.
While the polls close at 9 p.m., AM800's Election Night coverage begins at 7 p.m.