73 new MPPs ride Ontario's wave of change to Queen's Park

The election that saw Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives score a decisive win is bringing sweeping change to the faces in the Ontario Legislature. 

Nearly 60 per cent of the MPPs who'll take their seats at Queen's Park once the legislature resumes are newly-elected. 

Of the 124 ridings in Ontario, 73 were won by people who have never been an MPP. There were 49 incumbents who won re-election, while two victorious PC candidates — Christine Elliott and Jane McKenna — served as MPPs in past sessions.

Here's a glimpse at a few of the soon-to-be MPPs: 

Rod Phillips - PC, Ajax

Rod Phillips, 53, knows his way around the corridors of power. He served as chief of staff to the labour minister in the early days of the Mike Harris government, and went on to become chief of staff to Mel Lastman when he served as mayor of the newly amalgamated city of Toronto. Phillips was president and CEO of Ontario Lottery and Gaming from 2011 to 2014, then chair of the board of directors at Postmedia until becoming the PC candidate in Ajax last year. 

Bhutila Karpoche - NDP, Parkdale-High Park

Bhutila Karpoche, 34, arrived in Canada in 2002. As a newcomer of Tibetan heritage, she made do with a variety of temporary jobs before finding work in the field of public health. She did a master's degree at University of Toronto and is working toward a PhD in public health at Ryerson. She also worked as an assistant to Cheri Di Novo, her predecessor as MPP for Parkdale-High Park. 

Prabmeet Sarkaria - PC, Brampton South

Prabmeet Sarkaria, 29, is a corporate and commercial lawyer with the Toronto-based firm Miller Thomson LLP. He has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Wilfrid Laurier, concentrating in finance, and parlayed that into a job with TD Securities. Sarkaria received his law degree from the University of Windsor. He serves on the board of KarmaGrow, a social enterprise that encourages community farming, providing fresh vegetables to food banks in the Greater Toronto Area. All five Brampton ridings were hard-fought between the PCs and NDP, with Sarkaria winning his race by more than 2,700 votes. 

Ian Arthur - NDP, Kingston and the Islands 

Ian Arthur has a job that you don't typically see on a politician's resume. He's the executive chef at an upscale restaurant in Kingston, called Chez Piggy.  Arthur was born in Newfoundland but grew up northeast of Kingston on a farm, from which his family sold organic vegetables. He started working in the food industry to pay his way through Trent University. He joined Chez Piggy in 2009 and became executive chef in 2012. He's also been active in the local food movement in Kingston.  

Natalia Kusendova - PC, Mississauga Centre

Natalia Kusendova is a nurse, who has worked both in emergency rooms and in correctional facilities. She immigrated to Canada at age 12 and grew up in Mississauga. In a campaign video, she said she likes to relax through salsa dancing and coached a salsa team while in university. She speaks five languages, including French, Polish and Czech. Kusendova sought the PC nomination in the riding, losing to Tanya Granic Allen, but then became the candidate only days before the campaign began, when leader Doug Ford disqualified Granic Allen. 

Doly Begum - NDP, Scarborough Southwest 

At 29, Doly Begum will be the youngest New Democrat among the party's caucus. Begum, a fluent Bengali speaker, came to Canada as a child and grew up in Scarborough. She has a bachelor of arts from the University of Toronto and a master's degree in development administration and planning from University College London. Begum became co-ordinator of the Keep Hydro Public campaign in 2016 and has worked as a research analyst for the Society of Energy Professionals, a union whose members include engineers at Ontario Power Generation and lawyers with Legal Aid Ontario. She has served on the board of the Warden Woods Community Centre in Scarborough.