Elections are stressful for political parties and candidates – more for some than for others.
In last night’s vote in Ontario, 83 progressive conservatives, 31 new Democrats, eight liberals, one green and one independent, were elected to Queen’s Park.
Some races were real destroyers, others – a total explosion.
In 19 of Ontario’s 124 rides, less than five percent of the vote was shared by the winners of their closest rival. On the other hand, 21 races were won with huge margins of more than 30 percent.
Pre-election data in Ontario show that the closest race for both the share of votes and the total number of unprocessed votes was in Bari-Springwater-Oro-Medonte. Incumbent PC President Doug Downey defeated Liberal contender Jeff Lehmann by just 1.6 percent, or 609 votes.
Downey was the state’s attorney general in Prime Minister Doug Ford’s government, while Lehmann was mayor of Barry. Public opinion polls put the two candidates on election day.
In the end, the result was much stricter than in 2018, when Downey won the ride with 16.5% of the vote.
Here’s a look at the top 10 races in the election:
Last week’s election was decided by the lowest turnout in Ontario’s history. Only about 43.03% of eligible voters voted, according to Elections Ontario, compared to 57% in 2018. This time, about 1.2 million fewer voters went to the polls.
The race also saw fewer really close races. In 2018, nine rides were ultimately decided by 1.6% or less of the share of votes, five of which were below one percent. Three rides – Scarborough – Guildwood, Thunder Bay – Attican and Brampton Center – were won by less than 100 votes.
The biggest blows in this election were also slightly more restrained than in 2018.
For the second time in a row, the biggest victory came at Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke, a reliable PC stronghold since 2003. John Jacobuski won with 44%, definitely a commander, but less than the 52.5% difference he secured last time.
The largest total share of votes (other than the victory margin) won by each candidate in the election is 64.9% of PC George Pirie in Timins.
Piri took the place of Gilles Bison, the longest-serving NDP lawmaker in the province since he was first elected in 1999.
Here’s a look at the 10 biggest wins since last week’s election.
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