Collapses, menacing calls, reptilian kitten-eater: A look at past Ontario elections [Video]

The Progressive Conservatives are looking to win a third consecutive majority government for the first time in more than 50 years when Ontario votes on Thursday.

PC leader Doug Ford said he called the snap election because he needs a renewed mandate to deal with U.S. trade uncertainty despite already holding a decisive majority.

His main rivals — the NDP’s Marit Stiles, Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie and Mike Schreiner of the Green Party — have suggested the unusual winter campaign is Ford’s gambit to pre-empt a federal election and any revelations from an RCMP investigation into his government’s now-reversed decision to open up parts of the protected Greenbelt for housing development.

The last time a party pulled off three or more consecutive majorities in Ontario was a string of eight mandates the PCs won between 1945 and 1971.

Here is a brief history of the past 25 years of Ontario …