Ontario voters will be heading to the polls next Thursday to cast their ballot in the Feb. 27 provincial General Election.

The most recent polls show a strong indication that Doug Ford’s Conservative government will hold on to power for a third straight term but with fewer seats than they held previously.

The Conservatives could lose as many as a half dozen seats in ridings that were previously held by the Liberals. The Liberals are expected to gain as many as 20 seats, mostly at the expense of the NDP, whose status in the polls has been on the decline since the leadership debate.

Heading into the election, the Conservatives held 79 seats, the NDP 28 seats, the Liberals nine seats and the Green Party two seats. There were also six independent MPPs.

Whether or not the Liberals will be able to leapfrog the NDP and regain official opposition status is one of the things to watch next Thursday night.

One seat the Liberals won’t have to worry about is here in Orléans where incumbent Stephen Blais is expected to win quite easily.

Blais was first elected to Queen’s Park in a by-election in 2020 when he was able to capture just over 55 per cent of the vote. He was re-elected in 2022 when he received 46 per cent of the votes compared to 33 per cent for the Progressive Conservative candidate and 14 per cent for the NDP candidate.

Blais’ main opponent this time around is Progressive Conservative candidate Stéphan Plourde.

The NDP are pinning their hopes on University of Ottawa student Matthew Sévigny, while the Green Party has community advocate Michelle Petersen as their candidate.

Other names on the ballot include New Blue candidate Patricia Hooper, Libertarian Ken Lewis and independent candidates Arabella Vida and Burthomley Douzable