Against another big PC win, NDP keeps hold of London's orange core
NDP incumbents earn decisive wins in city's 3 downtown ridings
On a night when Doug Ford cruised to a third straight majority in Thursday's Ontario election, the NDP managed to hold off PC challengers and retain their orange core in London's three central ridings.
While the PCs are poised to return to Queen's Park with 80 of the legislature's 124 seats, incumbent NDP candidates pulled off wins in London's three central ridings, delivering second-place finishes for the PC challengers:
- Terence Kernaghan won in London North Centre over city councillor Jerry Pribil.
- Peggy Sattler won in London West, finishing ahead of educator Beth Allison.
- Teresa Armstrong held on to London-Fanshawe, beating landscape business owner Peter Vanderley.
Liberal candidates running in London's three core ridings finished third, another poor showing from a party that once drew strong support from the Forest City.
In the rural ridings outside of London, the PCs dominated. Former agriculture minister Rob Flack won in Elgin-Middlesex-London by 16,000 votes over Liberal Doug Mactavish.
WATCH | Rob Flack tells his supporters he's ready to work for Ontario:
In Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, Steve Pinsonneault cruised to a win over Liberal challenger and Lucan Mayor Cathy Burghardt-Jesson in a rematch of a byelection held last spring.
Ridings north of London also delivered easy PC wins. Incumbent Lisa Thompson won in Huron-Bruce and first-time candidate Paul Vickers won in Grey-Bruce-Owen Sound.
Election timing a challenge
After thanking supporters gathered in a downtown pub to celebrate his win, Kernaghan chided Ford for setting off what Kernaghan described as an unnecessary election. Ford triggered the rare mid-winter vote more than a year before necessary, saying he wanted a stronger mandate to take on Trump's tariff threats.
"This election was called in the middle of winter, and I think that's something everyone had a struggle with," said Kernaghan. "It was harder to get to people's doors, it was harder to get the message out."
In the final week of the campaign, polls suggested the seat, which Kernaghan has held since 2018, could fall to Pribil.
Instead, Kernaghan was able to win by a wider margin this time: more than 6,800 votes compared to just over 4,000 votes in 2022.
WATCH | Terence Kernaghan's election victory speech:
Sattler said she'll focus on affordability issues when the legislature resumes sitting.
"One of the top priorities is the rising cost of living," she said. "Lots and lots of people are struggling. I heard more about that in this election than I've heard in any of the four elections previously."
As for fending off the PC threat in the closing weeks of the campaign, Sattler said the NDP's ground game in London made the difference despite the challenges of door-knocking in frigid weather.
Armstrong, whose portfolio within Ontario's NDP includes her role as critic for childcare and pensions, said she'll be back to work as soon as tomorrow.
"I am so happy that Peggy and Terence are still going to be representing London. Previously I was dreading working with anybody but them, so I am just so excited they're back in, and they're wonderful representatives for their areas. All of us together are a really strong team for London."
And while the NDP candidates criticized Ford for the timing of the election, Flack echoed Ford's justification that the U.S. tariff threats made it necessary.
"We continue to protect Ontario and defend Ontario to make sure our best interests are met when we sit at the table. I know people questioned it but ultimately, that's what it was about."
Voter turnout rebounds
Heading into Thursday's vote, there were concerns that Ontario might again be heading for a dismal voter turnout, given the unusual timing of the election. Voter turnout hit a historic low of 43 per cent in 2022 and only six per cent of voters cast ballots in early voting.
However, early returns from Thursday's results suggest voter turnout in the core London ridings rebounded this time.
Voter turnout in London West was 50 per cent, while London North Centre's was 47.5 per cent and 41 per cent in London Fanshawe. All three totals are improvements over 2022.
"People were thinking that the snow would be voter suppression, but obviously, this was not a factor in London North Centre," said Kernaghan.
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With files from CBC's Isha Bhargava and Alessio Donnini