“My friends, a new day has dawned in Ontario.We are going to turn this province around so our children and their children will always be proud to call Ontario home.”Doug Ford

·     Ontario NDP is official opposition

·     Green Party wins historic seat in Guelph

·     Bhutila Karpoche (NDP, Parkdale-High Park)  makes history by becoming the first Tibetan ever elected to public office in North America

·     Premier Wynne resigns

Elected

Doug Ford will be Ontario’s next premier, leading the Progressive Conservatives to a majority government in a stunning shift of power on Thursday night.

A beaming Ford addressed his raucous supporters following his victory, saying he vowed to get right to work to put more money in taxpayers’ pockets.

“We have taken back Ontario,” he said to chants of “Doug! Doug! Doug!”

“We have delivered a government that is for the people and will respect your hard earned tax dollars. And my friends, the party with your hard earned tax dollars is over. It’s done!” Tonight, we have sent a clear message to the world: Ontario is open for business,” added Doug Ford.

“My friends, a new day has dawned in Ontario,” he said, his voice quivering. “We are going to turn this province around so our children and their children will always be proud to call Ontario home.”

Moments after Ford spoke, a glum Kathleen Wynne announced that she was stepping down as Liberal party Leader. “I am resigning as the Leader of the Ontario Liberal party,” Wynne said, choking up. “I have spoken to the party president and asked him to start the process of choosing an interim leader. It is the right thing to do,” she added. “There is another generation and I am passing the torch to that generation.”  Despite her party’s dismal results , Wynne managed to win her seat in Don Valley West.

Premier Kathleen Wynne herself predicted Liberal defeat just days before the vote, as she admitted her party had such low support it would not form government again. The Liberals came to power in 2003 under Dalton McGuinty, and when he stepped down in 2013, Wynne took the reins. She led the party to a majority in 2014, despite the party already being bogged down by scandals at eHealth Ontario, air ambulance service Ornge and a price tag of up to $1.1 billion to cancel two gas plants. Her popularity began to dip after taking power, and reached well below 20 per cent in 2016 and 2017, in large part due to anger over rising hydro prices, and this time the party couldn’t even touch the double digit.

The status of the NDP as Official Opposition was cemented. “I am deeply humbled that Ontarians have asked us to serve as the new Official Opposition,” NDP Leader Andrea Horwath beamed to a cheering sea of orange. “Today millions of people voted for change for the better. We have won more seats than we have held in a generation.”  The NDP leader, who has represented the Hamilton area since 2004, won the riding in 2014 with more than half of all votes cast, and Thursday night was quickly declared the winner with an even higher margin of victory.

The Greens made history  with the leader winning the party’s first ever seat in the Ontario Legislature. Schreiner, who has led the provincial Greens since 2009, finished third in the last election won by Liz Sandals, a veteran Liberal who didn’t run this year.

New comer Deepak Anand defeats Amrit Mangat

In the newly created riding of Mississauga-Malton, PC candidate and political newcomer Deepak Anand defeated NDP challenger Nikki Clark and Liberal candidate Amrit Mangat.

Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria wins Brampton South

Progressive Conservative candidate Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria unseated the Liberals in Brampton South, winning 39.9 per cent of the vote.  The riding was formerly held by Liberal incumbent Amrit Mangat, who ran for Mississauga-Malton and was also defeated by the PCs.

Vic Dhillion makes way for Amarjot Sandhu

Liberal incumbent Vic Dhillon’s five-term reign in Brampton West came to an end . Progressive Conservative candidate Amarjot Sandhu, a realtor with Royal LePage, held 39.4 per cent of the vote, NDP candidate Jagroop Singh held 37.9 per cent, and the Liberals’ Dhillon 18.8 per cent. In 2003, Dhillon won over the riding from PC MPP Tony Clement in a major reversal for the area.

Nina Tangri defeats Bob Delaney

After 15 years as the MPP for Mississauga-Streetsville, Bob Delaney has been unseated in Queen’s Park.

It took Nina Tangri, the PC candidate for the riding, four attempts, but the 52-year-old finally defeated the longtime incumbent being declared the winner before with more than 40 per cent of the vote with more than half of the polls reporting.

Kaleed Rasheed wins in Mississauga East-Cooksville

PC candidate Kaleed Rasheed has won the riding of Mississauga East-Cooksville.

Rasheed defeated Liberal incumbent Dipika Damerla with 40.9 per cent of votes, to Damerla’s 29.8 per cent. The riding has been held by the Liberals since 2007, with Damerla’s election in 2011 and re-election in 2014.  Damerla served as the Minister of Senior Affairs and also held the position of Associate Minister of Health and Long-Term Care and Wellness, Parliamentary Assistant (PA) in a number of portfolios, including PA to the to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, the Minister of Community and Social Services, and the Minister of Infrastructure. Prior to his election, Rasheed has worked in banking, telecommunications and the service sector, with his most recent position being an Enterprise Account Executive at Blackberry.  Rasheed graduated from the University of Guelph-Humber with a Bachelor of Business Administration and an MBA from Bradford University School of Management in the United Kingdom.

Prominent winners

• Gurratan Singh (NDP, Brampton East) — 
• The brother of federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, Gurratan Singh has overcome criticism after a 2006 photo emerged during the campaign of him holding a vulgar anti-police sign at a demonstration. Gurratan Singh beat Sudeep Verma (PC)and another high-profile candidate, Parminder Singh (Liberals), host of Hockey Night in Canada in Punjabi.
• Bhutila Karpoche (NDP, Parkdale-High Park)— Rookie candidate made history by becoming the first Tibetan ever elected to public office in North America.
• Mike Schreiner (Green- Guelph) The Greens made history with the leader winning the party’s first ever seat in the Ontario Legislature. Schreiner, who has led the provincial Greens since 2009, finished third in the last election won by Liz Sandals, a veteran Liberal who didn’t run this year.

Prominent losers

Charles Sousa (Liberal, Mississauga-Lakeshore) — The finance minister lost to Conservative Rudy Cuzzetto. Sousa, who has represented Mississauga South since 2007.

Kevin Flynn (Liberal, Oakville) — Conservative Stephen Crawford beat Flynn, who has represented this riding since 2003. As labour minister, Flynn ushered in the Liberals’ major changes to labour laws, including a controversial minimum wage increase to $14 this year and a promised hike to $15 in 2019. Flynn has represented this riding since 2003, and won in 2014, with more than 50 per cent of the vote.