PCs gain at least one seat in northeastern Ontario

Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives are projected to win a third straight majority, but results are more mixed in northeastern Ontario, with a mix of Progressive Conservative and NDP candidates elected to the legislature.

The electoral map in the region looks similar to after the 2022 election, although Progressive Conservative Bill Rosenberg was able to pick up Algoma-Manitoulin.

Michael Mantha had represented the riding since 2011, when he was a member of the NDP. In 2023 he was kicked out of the party because of allegations of workplace misconduct. He continued to serve as an independent MPP after his removal from the party.

Mantha finished fourth behind the NDP's David Timeriski and Liberal Reg Niganobe.

The two closest races were in Sault Ste. Marie and Mushkegowuk-James Bay.

In the Sault, Progressive Conservative candidate Chris Scott had a narrow 118 lead over the NDP's Lisa Vezeau-Allen with all polls reporting. CBC has not yet projected Scott as the winner because of the narrow vote margin.

Scott said he believes his team's door-to-door campaign made the difference.

"We knew it was gonna be really competitive. We knew that we were we're going up against a really great slate of candidates from the other parties," he said. 

Guy Bourgouin, the NDP incumbent In Mushkegowuk-James Bay, had a narrow four-vote lead over PC candidate Dave Plourde with all polls reporting. CBC had not yet declared him the winner as of 11:38 p.m. due to the narrow margin. 

Plourde told CBC News he will pursue a recount, due to the close results.

France Gélinas has extended her win streak in Nickel Belt to six consecutive elections. The NDP MPP was first elected in 2007 and has won the district in every provincial election since then. She had a more than 4,000-vote lead over Progressive Conservative Randy Hazlett.

Gélinas said she did run into voters who wondered if it was best to go with the Progressive Conservatives considering they were likely to win another majority government. 

"I heard it, but it was easy to convince them otherwise," she said.

"Once you brought them back and said 'What kind of a job do you think the Conservative government is doing with health care?' They did not want to support the Conservative."

Progressive Conservative Vic Fedeli was re-elected in Nipissing with more than half the vote. Fedeli, who most recently served as Ontario minister of economic development, job creation and trade, has represented the riding since 2011. He was the city of North Bay's mayor before entering provincial politics.

Progressive Conservative candidate Graydon Smith held onto his seat in Parry-Sound Muskuka, beating Green Party candidate Matt Richter, who was a close second. Richter was one of the party's main hopes to increase their seat count in the legislature.  

In Sudbury, it was a race between NDP incumbent Jamie West and Progressive Conservative challenger Max Massimiliano, a local restaurant owner. West came out ahead with more than 45 per cent of the vote.

West said it was a frustrating race because the election wasn't necessary.

"We were not scheduled for an election for another year and a half. Doug Ford had a majority... he could force through anything, but all parties said they would work together," he said.

West added that issues like hallway medicine and the high cost of living have worsened under Premier Ford.

In Timiskaming-Cochrane NDP incumbent John Vanthof held off a stiff challenge from Progressive Conservative candidate Tory Delaurier, the current mayor of Iroquois Falls, by fewer than 1,000 votes.

PC candidate George Pirie, who served as minister of mines, was re-elected in Timmins with a sizeable lead over the NDP's Corey Lepage. Pirie was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 2022, and previously served as the mayor of Timmins.