1977 Ontario general election

The 1977 Ontario general election was held on June 9, 1977, to elect the 125 members of the 31st Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
The Progressive Conservative Party, led by Premier Bill Davis, was re-elected for an eleventh consecutive term in office, again with a minority in the legislature. The PCs won an additional seven seats, but were not able to win a majority. The Liberal Party, led by Dr. Stuart Smith, lost one seat compared to its result in the previous election, but formed the Official Opposition because the NDP lost more seats. The New Democratic Party, led by Stephen Lewis, lost five seats, losing the status of Official Opposition to the Liberals.
Sheila Copps, future federal cabinet minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, made her political debut in this election, finishing second in the riding of Hamilton Centre. This was the first election in which Jim Bradley, the second-longest serving MPP in Ontario history, was elected.

Renaming of ridings

A 1976 Act made changes to the names of two ridings:

Campaign

Candidates	PC	Lib	LL	NDP	Comm	Ltn	Ind	SC		Total
3	64	62	2	64						192
4	37	37		37	16	10	7	4		148
5	14	14		14	8	13	6	1		70
6	8	8		8	7	7	8	2		48
7	2	2		2	2	1	4		1	14
Total	125	123	2	125	33	31	25	7	1	472

A number of unregistered parties also contested this election. The North American Labour Party, consisting of Lyndon LaRouche supporters, ran three candidates in Toronto and three elsewhere in the province. The Revolutionary Marxist Group and League for Socialist Action fielded one candidate apiece; soon after the election, both groups merged into the Revolutionary Workers League.
Some members of the Social Credit Party also ran in the election, although it is not clear if they were formally endorsed by the party.

Results

Analysis

Parties	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
	58	57	10
	33	38	52
	33	30	68
	1		1
				23	8
				19	9
				13	6
				6	1
				1

Seats changing hands

Eleven seats changed allegiance in this election:
;PC to NDP

Hamilton Mountain

;PC to Liberal

St. Catharines

;Liberal to PC

;NDP to PC

MPPs elected by region and riding

Party designations are as follows:
;Northern Ontario
;Ottawa Valley
;Saint Lawrence Valley
;Central Ontario
;Georgian Bay
;Hamilton/Halton/Niagara
;Midwestern Ontario
;Southwestern Ontario
;Peel/York/Durham
;Metropolitan Toronto