[1] Because of the outbreak of war, the Legislative Assembly had passed Acts in 1942[2] and 1943[3] to defer the calling of a general election.

The latter extension had received royal assent in April 1943, but Premier Harry Nixon came into office the following month and opted to call an earlier election on June 30, 1943 for August 4, 1943.

This began forty-two uninterrupted years of government by the Tories who combined moderate progressive policies with pragmatism and caution.

The Liberals fell to third place behind a new force, the socialist Ontario Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), led by Ted Jolliffe, went from obscurity to form the Official Opposition, winning 32% of the vote and 34 seats in the legislature, just four short of Drew's Tories.

Two members of the banned Communist Party of Ontario running as "Labour" candidates won seats in the Legislature for the first time in this election: A.A. MacLeod in the Toronto riding of Bellwoods, and J.B. Salsberg in the Toronto riding of St. Andrews.