Liberal Glenn Thibeault wins Sudbury byelection

Liberal Glenn Thibeault has been elected as Sudbury’s new member of the Ontario Legislature.

With all polls reporting, Thibeault had 10,626 votes in the Thursday byelection with 41.2 per cent of the vote.

NDP candidate Suzanne Shawbonquit had 8,985 votes, 34.9 per cent of the vote.

Listen to the election night speeches from Glenn Thibeault and Suzanne Shawbonquit:

Morning North6:01Thibeault wins Sudbury riding byelection

The provincial byelection for the riding of Sudbury saw the Liberals reclaim the seat they lost to the NDP in the last election. Glenn Thibeault came out on top in the end. We have some of the speech by Thibeault and runner up Suzanne Shawbonquit.​

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Independent candidate Andrew Olivier had 3,177 votes with 12.3 per cent of the vote, and Progressive Conservative Paula Peroni had 1,933 votes or 7.5 per cent.

Olivier had run as the Liberal candidate in the June 2014 provincial election and intended to run again, but the party appointed Thibeault instead.

Olivier made headlines in December when he alleged Liberal Party members had offered him a job or appointment to step aside. Ontario Provincial Police and Elections Ontario are investigating the claims.

"I know there's much work to do and bridges to rebuild and I'm fully prepared to do that," Thibeault said minutes after his victory.

Premier Kathleen Wynne was in Sudbury and credited the victory to her party focusing on the positive and to Thibeault himself.

"We know he's a community leader and that's why he won. Because people know and trust Glenn Thibeault."

Listen to Wynne's speech here:

Morning North2:24Kathleen Wynne speech following Thibeault win

Premier Kathleen Wynne was in Sudbury last night. She was here many times in the last month. You can hear her speech to party faithfuls at Glenn Thibeault's victory party.

Thibeault said he's thankful the people of Sudbury put their faith in him.

"I also want to recognize all the candidates who put their names forward and contributed to a lively debate," he said.

"Our differences as candidates originate from the same place: our love for this community."

Thibeault, used to winning by sizable margins in federal elections, admitted to some anxious moments Thursday night. The NDP was up by 400 votes at one point.

"Of course. I was worried from the day I made the decision to the minute I won. Politics is a funny game and you can never take it for granted. And if you ever do, I don't think you should be in politics."

Rookie New Democrat candidate Shawbonquit told supporters that she wishes Thibeault luck in convincing the Liberal government to stop ignoring Northern Ontario.

"If he is looking for an ally to get Sudbury's voice heard in Toronto, he will find one in me," she said.