TORONTO -- Ontario's Green party has won its first-ever seat in the legislature with leader Mike Schreiner handily beating out his rivals.

Schreiner won by a comfortable margin in his Guelph riding.

The American-born politician moved to Canada in 1994 and became leader of the provincial Greens 15 years later.

In the 2014 election, Schreiner finished third with 19.29 per cent of the vote -- less than two per cent behind the Progressive Conservative candidate and ahead of the NDP.

And this time, it was clear Schreiner had a shot at making history with recent polls suggesting he was in the lead.

He was competing for the former seat of prominent Liberal Liz Sandals, who had decided not to run again.</s>TORONTO — Ontario's Green party has won its first-ever seat in the legislature with leader Mike Schreiner handily beating out his rivals.

Schreiner won by a comfortable margin in his Guelph riding.

The American-born politician moved to Canada in 1994 and became leader of the provincial Greens 15 years later.

In the 2014 election, Schreiner finished third with 19.29 per cent of the vote — less than two per cent behind the Progressive Conservative candidate and ahead of the NDP.</s>All politics is local, or so we’re told. Elections certainly express themselves in a telling level of local detail.

Ontario’s provincial election is the first where detailed poll-level data has been available on election night, as opposed to a week or two afterward. Here, we’ve used it to tell the stories of Ontario’s dramatic election.

Not all polls had reported when we prepared the maps, but enough have to give a general idea. Our 2014 maps use an overlay of the 2018 ridings.

READ MORE: Kathleen Wynne won her seat, but the Liberals lost official party status

Guelph elected Ontario’s first Green MPP, party leader Mike Schreiner. In the end, it wasn’t all that close, as you can see below. The Greens followed a strategy similar to the one that’s worked for them federally: focusing on one riding instead of dissipating effort and not winning any seats. (The Greens got 354,000 votes in Ontario’s 2007 election, but won no seats at all.)

READ MORE: Mike Schreiner becomes first Green Party candidate to be elected in Ontario

WATCH: Following the majority government win by the Progressive Conservatives, Eric Sorensen takes a look at the new make-up of Queen’s Park when the new government returns to the legislature.

 



It was going to be interesting to see where Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas, a new riding created in the last redistribution, went in this election. It was cobbled together out of part of Hamilton Mountain, reliably NDP, and Ancaster and Dundas, which traditionally vote either Liberal or NDP.

In the end, Ancaster voted PC, but Dundas joined Hamilton Mountain in voting NDP, swinging the riding to the NDP.

READ MORE: NDP candidate Ian Arthur wins Kingston and the Islands

Kingston’s 2018 map is unrecognizable, compared to 2014. It becomes one of a few NDP outposts in eastern Ontario,.

READ MORE: The story of the Ontario Liberals’ 2018 election campaign

As expected, Ottawa Centre swung to the NDP. Andrea Horwath had fought hard for the seat, as the party’s likeliest pickup in the Ottawa area.

WATCH: Ipsos CEO Darrell Bricker called the 2018 Ontario Election results as the “revenge of the commuters” after a majority of rural voters turned to the Conservatives.

 



Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne was re-elected in a nail-biter finish that in the end was settled by fewer than 200 votes, after the very last poll reported. Don Valley West moved west in a recent redistribution, changing its political personality but not its name. The shift favoured the PCs, adding Tory polls and dropping Liberal ones. (The map below shows the 2018 boundaries on the 2014 results.)

The political divisions in the riding are related to income, with high-income Tory polls in the north of the riding, and more mixed-income polls to the south.

St. Paul’s, an upscale midtown Toronto riding traditionally thought of as an impregnable Liberal stronghold, fell to the NDP in a three-way race. Once a solid brick of red with a few Tory polls in the wealthy Forest Hill area, the neighbourhoods to the south and west, and along Yonge St., opted for the NDP.

Ford Nation turned out for the PCs

In Toronto, PC polls have a strong relationship to polls won by Doug Ford when he was a mayoral candidate in the city in 2014 – northern Etobicoke, Scarborough and, to a lesser degree, North York. The maps raise questions about whether the federal Conservatives can hope for inroads in the 416 area code, until recently a bastion of Liberal and NDP support, in 2019.

Etobicoke North was reliably Liberal for many years. When PC leader Doug Ford ran there, some wondered if he was taking a risk, notwithstanding his family’s political dynasty in that part of the city. How did that turn out? Have a look at the maps:</s>Election day is upon us and that means people will be lining up at their assigned polling stations to cast their ballots.

If you're voting in the provincial election, here's what you need to know.

You must be at least 18.

You must be a Canadian citizen and resident of Ontario.

Where you vote is based on where you live within your electoral district.

You can only vote at the polling station assigned to you.

You can look that up on the Elections Ontario website by entering your postal code.

It's also on the Voter Information Card you may have received in the mail.
• None Ontario election path to victory runs through the 905
• None Poll Tracker |Get the latest projections here

What you need to bring

The identification you need will depend on whether you are on the voter's list. That's also something you can look up on the Elections Ontario site.

If you are on the Voter's List:
• Bring one piece of ID that has your name written the same way it appears on the Voter's List.

If you are not on the Voter's List:
• Bring one piece of ID that has your name and current residential address.

Acceptable forms of ID include an Ontario's Driver Licence, Ontario Photo Card, Band Council Identification and bank statements.
• How Ontario's 2018 election campaign will be different from 2014

Something like an Ontario's Driver Licence that includes your name and address would do. Some voters might need to bring a combination of ID to prove their name and another to prove address.

Proof of address can come in the form of a cellphone bill addressed to you and it doesn't have to be a paper copy.

You can bring up a digital copy on your phone—which is new this year.

At the voting station an election official will hand you a ballot with a list of all of the candidates running in your electoral district.

You'll be directed to a privacy screen where you will mark an "X" in the assigned bubble next to the name of the candidate of your choice.
• None Vote Compass: Compare your views to party platforms for the 2018 Ontario election
• None 9 new political parties vying for seats in Ontario election

If you make a mistake and need a new ballot, you may take it to an election official who will write "Cancelled" on the back of it.

Cancelled ballots are not counted in the official results.​

To brush up on the candidates, their platforms, their polling numbers and latest news, visit CBC's Ontario Election interactive website here: Elections 2018: Ontario Votes</s>Ontario’s political landscape is about to get a shakeup with Thursday’s election.

But it’s far from the first time that has happened. The province has seen several shifts in power and ideologies in the past — not to mention leaders who have polarized public opinion.

READ MORE: How Global News is covering the 2018 Ontario election

Here’s a look back at the province’s previous elections.

The Liberals been in power since 2003, when the party replaced the Progressive Conservatives government of Ernie Eves.

Dalton McGuinty was elected premier for the first time that year, then won a second term in 2007, and third in 2011. He eventually resigned from the position in February 2013, amid a barrage of criticism and controversies.

READ MORE: Liberal party’s fate hangs in the balance as Ontario heads to the polls

Kathleen Wynne replaced McGuinty, and led the Liberals to a majority win in the 2014 election.

Wynne is the 25th premier of Ontario and has been leader for more than five years.

The last time Ontario had a PC government was in 2003. Eves was premier from 2002-2003, and took over the party after former premier Mike Harris resigned.

Harris had been premier since 1995, and had won two majority governments. He resigned citing personal reasons during his second term in power.

The PC’s longest run in Ontario legislature spanned the leadership of six premiers from 1943 to 1985.

WATCH: Ontario Election Doug Ford arrives at his mother’s house after casting ballot

Bob Rae is the only New Democrat premier the province has ever seen. Rae became premier in 1990.

The NDP was defeated in the 1995 election, after which Rae resigned as party leader and gave up his seat in Ontario’s legislature.

Since then, Rae has assumed several positions with the federal Liberal Party. He was interim leader from 2011 to 2013, and is currently Canada’s special envoy to Myanmar.

WATCH: NDP leader Andrea Horwath says she still feels the excitement on election day

Ontario has had 25 premiers since 1867.

The province’s first premier was John Sandfield Macdonald, who was in power until 1871 when he fell ill.

READ MORE: Ontario PCs, and Liberals almost entirely ignored the NDP — until it rose in the polls

The province then entered 34 years of Liberal leadership.

There have been 10 Liberal premiers in the province, 12 Conservative, one NDP, and one from the United Farmers of Ontario party.</s>The 2018 Ontario election is coming to a close as voters in the province will elect a new government after a tumultuous campaign between Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives, Andrea Horwath’s NDP, and Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals.

Polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET, with results expected to pour in shortly after. At least seven polling stations will remain open past originally scheduled closing times due to technical issues with voting machines, according to Elections Ontario.

Across all platforms, Global News is providing comprehensive coverage of the Ontario election on June 7. Find out how to watch, listen and read on Globalnews.ca.

The hotly contested race is expected to come down to either Ford’s PCs or Horwath’s NDP as Ontario appears ready for a significant change in government following the Liberals’ 15 years in power.

Wynne last weekend conceded she won’t be Ontario’s premier after Thursday’s election. The Liberal leader’s stunning admission, seen as a move to salvage at least a few seats for her party, came with an appeal to voters to prevent either of her NDP or Progressive Conservative rivals from achieving a majority.

Heading into Thursday’s vote, the latest polls and projections have predicted that the PCs could be set for a majority government, while Wynne’s Liberals could be reduced to less than eight seats and lose official party status. There are 124 ridings being contested this year, up from 107 in 2014, meaning 63 seats are required for a majority.

The three main party leaders were out voting Thursday in their ridings.

“Feeling really great. It’s a beautiful day to change Ontario,” Ford said on his way to cast his ballot in his Etobicoke riding. “I never take anything for granted. I’m going to continue working hard right up until the last minute.”

WATCH: Ontario PC Leader Doug Ford comes to vote in 2018 Ontario election

Wynne, who is in a battle to win her Toronto seat in Don Valley West, cast her ballot with partner Jane Rounthwaite.

Wynne made history in 2013, when she became the first openly LGBT premier in Canada and first woman premier of Ontario after replacing Dalton McGuinty as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party. She won a majority government in the 2014 election.

“Jane and I marked our ballots in Don Valley West this morning. I am very committed to continuing to serve as your MPP,” read a tweet from her account.

Meanwhile, Horwath thanked all NDP volunteers and candidates who worked on campaigns across the province and said this election was about change.

“I’m energized,” Horwath told reporters. “Today of course is the day where we bring it all home. And I’m really excited.”

“I’m running to premier of this province. I’m not interested in playing footsies with the other parties.”

WATCH: Horwath speaks with reporters just hours before polls close

Green Party leader Mike Schreiner could also be in for a historic night and become the first Green elected in Ontario.

The four-week campaign, has seen a number of dramatic swings and controversies as the party leaders travelled across the province appealing to voters.

The NDP began the campaign firmly in the third spot, but surged in the public opinion polls as Ford’s campaign stumbled. Ontario hasn’t elected an NDP government since former leader Bob Rae secured a surprise victory in 1990.

While there have been no shortage of controversies throughout the campaign, just days before the election, it revealed that the widow of Ford’s brother, former Toronto mayor Rob Ford, was suing the PC leader for more than $16 million.

The suit claims Ford mishandled the estate of his late brother, causing her and her children financial harm. Her suit also alleges Ford has mismanaged the family business, Deco Labels, destroying the value of the company. Ford has denied the allegations and vowed to fight them in court.

As the results roll in Thursday night, there will be several crucial ridings to watch. Global has compiled a list of the seven most important ridings that could determine a majority or minority government for each party.</s>Amid their final whimpers of this weirdo election campaign, Ontario’s parties spent some of Wednesday urging their supporters to make specific plans to vote.

“Do you know when you’ll be voting?” an emailed blast from the Progressive Conservative campaign asked. “In the morning before work? On a break? After work? Will you be driving there? Bringing friends or family? You need to have answers to these questions.”

“If you haven’t voted yet, make a plan to vote as soon as you can,” the New Democrats implored.

Research from the United States shows that asking supporters to think through in advance how they’ll cast ballots has a significant effect on whether people turn themselves into voters. Lots of people vaguely intend to vote but don’t quite get around to it — like going to the gym — but if a campaign can get its supporters to mentally schedule a trip to the polls and start visualizing it, that changes their behaviour.

Harvard scholars tested this in a massive experiment in 2008, when Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were competing for the Democratic Party nomination for president. They got each campaign to use pre-set scripts in the phone calls they made to supporters in Pennsylvania, more than 200,000 of them. Asking voters to make plans to vote in the party primary, instead of just reminding them they ought to vote, increased turnout rates by as much as nine per cent. It makes them think through logistical problems in advance, find their voter-ID cards, and so on.

What else works? Getting people to think of themselves as voters, so that voting diligently is a small part of who you are rather than just something you sometimes do. Voters vote.

Columnists who lament low turnout rates do not help, apparently. Humans like to do what a lot of other humans are doing. If we figure lots of people are voting, we don’t want to be left out; if we figure lots of people won’t bother, we decide sullen detachment is the cool way to be.

Hey, did you know that Elections Ontario reported a huge upswing in advance voting this year? Even though they reduced the number of polling stations? An estimated 768,895 people voted during the days of early voting at the end of May, an increase of nearly 19 per cent from the last election in 2014. And overall turnout in 2014 was up from the previous election in 2011.

Eastern Ontario had some of the biggest turnouts in advance polls, too. Kingston-and-the-Islands topped Ontario’s 124 ridings; Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke and Orléans were third and fourth. Seems like lots of people are voting.

Even if the choices are not as inspiring as we might like.

The Progressive Conservatives, the party of grownups, haven’t put together a financial plan, and are running a startling number of candidates facing police and professional investigations. The leader’s sister-in-law is suing him for millions, accusing him of looting his late brother’s estate.

The New Democrats, unexpectedly competitive, did put together a financial plan but erred in the math to the tune of $1.4 billion a year. Their candidate roster includes ideologues, weirdos and malcontents.

The Liberals are the Liberals. They’ve piled up an Everest of baggage in 15 years — consequences of bad decisions and cowardice, glossed with the arrogance that power eventually brings. Even if you like them, their leader Kathleen Wynne threw the race last weekend.

The Greens are the usual mixed bag. They’re dead smart about environmental issues (every other party should steal from them) but go a bit goofy when they leave that comfort zone. Their goal this campaign is to get their leader Mike Schreiner elected in Guelph, which kind of left other candidates dangling before the election was even called.

Maybe you feel like you’re having to choose the lesser of evils. Doesn’t matter. Some combination of these people are still going to be Ontario’s government after the votes are counted. Choosing the less-evil people is really important.

Vote because you’re hopeful, vote because you’re sad, vote with your nose held, vote because you’re mad. However, whenever (as long as it’s before 9 p.m. Thursday night), for whomever. But vote. Figure out how you’re going to do it, then go do what voters like you do.</s>TORONTO — Ontario's Green party has won its first-ever seat in the legislature with leader Mike Schreiner handily beating out his rivals.

Schreiner won by a comfortable margin in his Guelph riding.

The American-born politician moved to Canada in 1994 and became leader of the provincial Greens 15 years later.

In the 2014 election, Schreiner finished third with 19.29 per cent of the vote — less than two per cent behind the Progressive Conservative candidate and ahead of the NDP.</s>The Canadian Press list by parties of elected and defeated prominent candidates.

Charles Fox, former Grand Chief of Nishnawbe-Aski Nation, defeated in Algoma-Manitoulin by Michael Mantha (NDP).

Harinder K. Malhi, status of women minister, defeated in Brampton North by Kevin Yarde (NDP).

Michael Coteau, community and social services minister, children and youth services minister, elected in Don Valley East; defeated Denzil Minnan-Wong (PC), deputy mayor of Toronto.

Daiene Vernile, tourism, culture and sport minister, defeated in Kitchener Centre by Laura Mae Lindo (NDP).

Chris Ballard, environment minister, defeated in Newmarket-Aurora by Christine Elliott (PC), former PC leadership hopeful.

Nathalie Des Rosiers, natural resources and forestry minister, elected in Ottawa-Vanier; defeated Lyra Evans (NDP), first transgender person to represent a major party in an Ontario election.

Bob Chiarelli, infrastructure minister, former mayor of Ottawa, defeated in Ottawa West-Nepean by Jeremy Roberts (PC).

Reza Moridi, research, innovation and science minister, defeated in Richmond Hill by Daisy Wai (PC).

Jim Bradley, longest current serving member of the legislature, defeated in St. Catharines by Jennie Stevens (NDP).

Soo Wong, first female Chinese-Canadian to be elected to the Ontario legislature, defeated in Scarborough-Agincourt by Aris Babikian (PC).

David Zimmer, Indigenous relations and reconciliations minister, defeated in Willowdale by Stan Cho (PC).

Laura Albanese, citizenship and immigration minister, defeated in York South-Weston by Faisal Hassan (NDP).

Rod Phillips, former head of OLG and Postmedia, elected in Ajax.

Denzil Minnan-Wong, deputy mayor of Toronto, defeated in Don Valley East by Michael Coteau (LIB), community and social services minister, children and youth services minister.

Mike Harris, son of former PC premier Mike Harris, elected in Kitchener-Conestoga.

Sam Oosterhoff, Became youngest MPP at age 19 last year, elected in Niagara West.

Troy Crowder, former NHL hockey player, defeated in Sudbury by Jamie West (NDP).

Caroline Mulroney, former PC leadership candidate, daughter of former prime minister Brian Mulroney, elected in York-Simcoe.

Lyra Evans, first transgender person to represent a major party in an Ontario election, defeated in Ottawa-Vanier by Nathalie Des Rosiers (LIB), natural resources and forestry minister.

John Turmel, holds Guinness World Records for most elections contested and lost, defeated in Brantford-Brant by Will Bouma (PC).</s>Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner has made Ontario history by winning a seat in Guelph.

"Tonight is the end of one chapter for me and the beginning of another, for Guelph, for the Green Party, for Ontario," Schreiner told supporters during his victory speech Thursday night. "I'm ready to take my seat at Queen's Park."

Schreiner told cheering supporters he got into politics to leave a livable future for his children.

"I commit to you that I will work hard for you. I will work hard to make sure that we protect the people and places we love in this province," he said. "Over the last nine years, I've learned so much about this great province and this city, this party and probably most of all I've learned a lot about myself. We are blessed. We are so blessed to live in Guelph and to live in Ontario."

He also thanked former premier Kathleen Wynne for a supportive ear over the years.

"I've had the opportunity to talk about a lot of what I've accomplished before having a seat at Queens Park, and it's partly because premier Wynne listened when I came to her with ideas about how we could make Ontario better and acted on some of those ideas and I want to thank her for that," he said.

With all 80 polls reporting in Guelph, Schreiner took about 45 per cent of the vote.

NDP candidate Agnieszka Mlynarz and Progressive Conservative Ray Ferraro each won about 22 per cent of the ballots.

Liberal Sly Castaldi took 10 per cent of the ballots.

Paul Taylor of the None of the Above Party won 0.6 per cent of the vote.

Libertarian Michael Riehl received 0.5 per cent of the vote.

Ontario Party candidate Thomas Mooney won 0.3 per cent.

Communist Juanita Burnett received 0.2 per cent of the ballots cast.

Voter turnout in the riding was about 63 per cent.

CBC projected Mike Schreiner, the leader of the Green Party, will win his seat in Guelph. Schreiner delivered his victory speech Thursday night in Guelph. (CBC)

Riding history

There is no incumbent in Guelph because former Liberal MPP Liz Sandals, who most recently served as Treasury Board President until January of this year, opted not to run in this election. She said she was ready to become "a full-time grandmother."

Sandals has held the seat since 2003.

Ontario Votes 2018 Dashboard: Get election results here starting at 9 p.m. ET

Sly Castaldi ran as the Liberal candidate, replacing Sandals. She is known in the community for her work as the executive director of Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis.

Agnieszka Mlynarz made an impact on voters during all candidates debates, representing the NDP. She recently earned her masters of arts at University of Guelph and did advocacy work as a student.

The Progressive Conservatives caused a bit of a stir when the party named former city councillor Ray Ferraro the candidate in Guelph. Ferraro was called out on social media for not attending all of the candidate debates. He spoke out against media reports that said he didn't support PC Leader Doug Ford.

Schreiner has led the Green party in Ontario since 2009.

Other candidates in Guelph included Juanita Burnett of the Communist party, Ontario Party candidate Thomas Mooney, Libertarian Michael Riehl and Paul Taylor of the None of the Above Direct Democracy Party.

Guelph riding, 2018. (Elections Ontario)
Ontario Green Party has their first ever MPP elected. Mike Schreiner is elected in Guelph district in southwestern Ontario.