Election Results

After the polls close on election night, unofficial results, which give the number of votes cast for each candidate, are posted on our website as they are reported by the Returning Officer. These results do not include a breakdown of poll-by-poll results.

A few days after the election, the Returning Officer conducts the official tabulation. At the end of this process, the Returning Officer provides a final report for each poll to the Chief Electoral Officer with the total number of marked, declined, unmarked and rejected ballots.

Upon receipt of the official tabulation report from the Returning Officer, the Chief Electoral Officer declares the results official and then publishes a notice in the Ontario Gazette with the names of the candidates elected as Members of Provincial Parliament. This report is also published on our website.

The Chief Electoral Officer later tables the official results, called the Election Returns with Statistics from the Records, in the Legislative Assembly. This report includes the final count of electors.

Judicial recounts

The process for recounting ballots is prescribed in sections 69 to 79 of the Election Act. For there to be a recount of the ballots cast by electors, an application must be made to a judge of the Ontario Court of Justice.

Within four days (Sunday being excluded) of a Returning Officer’s close of the official tabulation and declaration of a winning candidate, an application for a recount:

A. Must be made by the Returning Officer for an electoral district if the difference between the number of votes cast for the candidate with the largest number of votes and the candidate with the next largest number is less than 25.

B. May be made by a candidate or elector in an electoral district if he or she believes that:

a. a deputy returning officer has improperly counted any ballot or improperly rejected any ballot or made an incorrect statement of the number of ballots cast for any candidate; or,

b. the returning officer has improperly tabulated the votes.

If the judge denies the application for a recount, the applicant, the Chief Electoral Officer, the Returning Officer and Election Clerk, and each candidate in the electoral district are notified.

If the judge grants the application for a recount:

1. the applicant, the Chief Electoral Officer, the Returning Officer and Election Clerk, and each candidate in the electoral district are notified; and,
2. the recount must be held within 10 days of the judge’s hearing of the application.

The judge supervises the recount and appoints the time and place where it is held. The Returning Officer and the Election Clerk must be present, and each candidate is entitled to be present and to be represented by counsel (and have as many scrutineers as allowed by the judge). No one else is permitted to be present without permission of the judge.

At the recount, all the sealed envelopes containing ballots from the electoral district may be opened and counted by hand. Additionally, tabulator ballots are counted by hand.

The judge certifies the result of the recount to the Returning Officer unless, within two days of the completion of the recount, the judge receives a notice of appeal. When the Returning Officer receives the judge’s certificate, the Returning Officer declares the candidate having the largest number of votes to be elected.

Official tabulation in the electoral districts of Mississauga—Erin Mills and Mushkegowuk—James Bay has confirmed margins of victory of fewer than 25 votes. The judicial recount for Mississauga-Erin Mills took place on Monday, March 10. The judicial recount for Mushkegowuk—James Bay is scheduled for March 17, 2025.