The 1981 Ontario general election was held on March 19, 1981, to elect members of the 32nd Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada.
The governing Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, led by Bill Davis, was re-elected for a twelfth consecutive term in office. The PCs finally won a majority government after winning only minorities in the 1975 and 1977 elections. The Liberal Party, led by Stuart Smith, was able to maintain its standing in the Legislature, while the New Democratic Party, led by Michael Cassidy, lost a significant number of seats, allowing the Tories to win a majority.
Campaign.
A number of unregistered parties also fielded candidates in this election.
There were a number of Rhinoceros Party candidates in the Toronto area, and the party may have also fielded candidates elsewhere in the province. The Workers Communist Party (Marxist–Leninist) a single candidate, Judy Darcy. Ronald G. Rodgers, founder of the Détente Party of Canada, contested a Toronto constituency.
Social Credit leader Reg Gervais announced prior to the election that he planned to run in Nickel Belt, but could not follow through and resigned at a meeting of nominated candidates where John Turmel was appointed interim leader of the Ontario Social Credit Party during the campaign, though there has never been independent confirmation of this (nor is it clear if the Ottawa-area candidacies of Turmel and Raymond Turmel and Serge Girard and Dale Alkerton and Andrew Dynowski were approved by the remaining few members of the official Social Credit Party of Ontario).
Results.
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Synopsis of results.
 ;templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" / ;
 ;templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" / ;  = open seat
 ;templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" / ;  = turnout is above provincial average
 ;templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" / ;  = winning candidate was in previous Legislature
 ;templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" / ;  = not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature
 ;templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" / ;  = incumbent had switched allegiance
 ;templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" / ;  = incumbency arose from byelection gain
 ;templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" / ;  = previously incumbent in another riding
 ;templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" / ;  = Liberal-Labour candidate
 ;templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" / ;  = other incumbents renominated
 ;templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" / ;  = multiple candidates
Seats changing hands.
Eighteen seats changed allegiance in this election:
 ;templatestyles src="Col-begin/styles.css"/ ;
MPPs elected by region and riding.
Party designations are as follows:
 ;templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" / ;  PC
 ;templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" / ;  Liberal
 ;templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" / ;  NDP
 ;templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" / ;  Liberal-Labour
 ;templatestyles src="Col-begin/styles.css"/ ;
Constituency results.
Algoma:
Algoma—Manitoulin:
Armourdale:
Beaches—Woodbine:
Bellwoods:
Brampton:
Brantford:
Brant—Oxford—Haldimand:
Brock:
Burlington South:
Cambridge:
Carleton:
Carleton East:
Carleton-Grenville:
Chatham—Kent:
Cochrane North:
Cochrane South:
Cornwall:
Don Mills:
Dovercourt:
Downsview:
Dufferin—Simcoe:
Durham East:
Durham West:
Durham—York:
Eglinton:
Elgin:
Erie:
Essex North:
Essex South:
Etobicoke:
Fort William:
Frontenac—Addington:
Grey:
Grey—Bruce:
Haldimand—Norfolk:
Halton—Burlington:
Hamilton Centre:
Hamilton East:
Hamilton Mountain:
Hamilton West:
Hastings—Peterborough:
High Park—Swansea:
Humber:
Huron—Bruce:
Huron—Middlesex:
Kenora:
Kent—Elgin:
Kingston and the Islands:
Kitchener:
Kitchener—Wilmot:
Lake Nipigon:
Lambton:
Lanark—Renfrew:
Lakeshore:
Leeds:
Lincoln:
London Centre:
London North:
London South:
Middlesex:
Mississauga East:
Mississauga North:
Mississauga South:
Muskoka:
Niagara Falls:
Nickel Belt:
Nipissing:
Northumberland:
Oakville:
Oakwood:
Oriole:
Oshawa:
Ottawa Centre:
Ottawa East:
Ottawa South:
Ottawa West:
Oxford:
Parkdale:
Parry Sound:
Perth:
Peterborough:
Port Arthur:
Prescott and Russell:
Prince Edward—Lennox:
Quinte:
Rainy River:
Renfrew North:
Renfrew South:
Riverdale:
St. Andrew—St. Patrick:
St. Catharines:
St. David:
St. George:
Sarnia:
Sault Ste. Marie:
Scarborough Centre:
Scarborough East:
Scarborough—Ellesmere:
Scarborough North:
Scarborough West:
Simcoe Centre:
Simcoe East:
Stormont—Dundas and Glengarry:
Sudbury:
Sudbury East:
Timiskaming:
Victoria—Haliburton:
Waterloo North:
Welland—Thorold:
Wellington—Dufferin—Peel:
Wellington South:
Wentworth:
Wentworth North:
Wilson Heights:
Windsor—Riverside:
Windsor—Sandwich:
Windsor—Walkerville:
York Centre:
York East:
York Mills:
York North:
York South:
Yorkview:
York West:
Post-election changes.
Hamilton West: Stuart Smith resigned his legislative seat on January 25, 1982, and a by-election was called for June 17, 1982.
York South: Donald C. MacDonald resigned his legislative seat in 1982, and a by-election was called for November 4, 1982.
Stormont—Dundas and Glengarry: Osie Villeneuve died in 1983, and a by-election has called on December 15, 1983:
Frontenac—Addington: Liberal MPP J. Earl McEwen crossed the floor to join the Progressive Conservatives in 1984.
Hamilton Centre: Sheila Copps resigned her legislative seat in 1984, and a by-election was held on December 13, 1984:
Ottawa Centre: Michael Cassidy resigned his legislative seat in 1984, and a by-election was held on December 13, 1984.
Ottawa East: Albert J. Roy resigned his legislative seat in 1984, and a by-election was held on December 13, 1984:
Prescott and Russell: Don Boudria resigned his legislative seat in 1984, and a by-election was held on December 13, 1984:
Wentworth North: Eric Cunningham resigned his legislative seat in 1984, and a by-election was held on December 13, 1984:
Riverdale: Jim Renwick died in 1984.
Kitchener: Jim Breithaupt resigned in 1984.
Rainy River: T. Patrick Reid resigned in 1984.
Eglinton: Roy McMurtry resigned his seat in 1985 to take a government position in the United Kingdom.
References.
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