The province of Ontario heads to the polls today. And while our international readers may not find that so interesting, take note: The first openly gay leader of a Canadian province, Kathleen Wynne, is likely to lose, and polls suggest it will be at the hands of the brother of the infamous, crack-smoking Rob Ford, the late mayor of Toronto. Doug Ford has been branded Canada’s version of Donald Trump – oh, and Rob Ford’s widow is accusing him of bilking her and her children of millions of dollars in a recent lawsuit.

We’ve had some amazing analyses on The Conversation Canada about the wild election in Canada’s most populous province for the past few weeks, and we have another must-read today on how, or whether, misogyny and homophobia played a role in Wynne’s fortunes by Brock University’s Sharlee Cranston-Reimer. It joins an updated piece on Ford’s populism; a look at the leader of the left-wing New Democrats, Andrea Horwath, who’s given Ford a run for his money; a guide for non-partisans on how to vote; and a look at what might transpire in Ontario if there’s no majority government elected today.

Also today, Blayne Haggart of Brock University has a chilling piece tied to the G7 summit on how Donald Trump’s tariffs against Canada and the EU aren’t really just the product of his erratic leadership – they're a sign of the increasing willingness of the United States to impose its will on its neighbours and closest friends, and it’s unlikely to change if someone else is president.

In non-political news, Julia von Oettingen of McGill University and Rajesh Vedanthan of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have an encouraging piece on efforts by the World Health Organization to make the most crucial diagnostic tests available globally, particularly to those in the developing world.

And finally, predators like sharks, wolves and lions are both revered and feared, but what should we do when they threaten local animal populations? According to a new study by a team of researchers, including Robert Lennox, PhD candidate at Carleton University’s Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology lab, predators are essential to ecosystems “and we would be wise to work hard to conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all.”

Happy Election Day, Ontario readers! And to all our readers,  we'll be back in your inbox tomorrow.