Liberal dominance in Toronto and 905 earns Wynne majority

Domination in Toronto and the 905-belt earned Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals a majority government on Thursday night.

The Liberals erased their previously-held minority status by snatching crucial seats in Toronto and painting most of the seat-rich 905-region red – claiming 38 of 44 GTA ridings.

NDP and PC incumbents were toppled by their Liberal opponents in several key ridings, ultimately giving the Liberals the seats they needed to form a majority.

Former Toronto deputy mayor and incumbent PC Doug Holyday was soundly defeated in Etobicoke-Lakeshore by Liberal Peter Milczyn.

“I was surprised that throughout the province we’ve actually lost seats,” Holyday said before conceding that PC Leader Tim Hudak’s political messages failed to resonate with voters. Hudak announced Thursday that he was stepping down as leader.

“I think the issues that we put forward, the million jobs and the 100,000 positions (cut) from the civil service, weren’t explained properly,” Holyday admitted. “It’s disappointing, but life goes on.”

The NDP lost its long-held seat in Trinity-Spadina when Liberal Han Dong wrested the riding from veteran incumbent Rosario Marchese.

“Now the real job starts,” Dong said during a spirited victory speech. “I ran the campaign on accessibility. I will always be accessible to my friends, to Liberals and to every constituent in this riding. That’s my motto.”

Marchese was gracious in defeat: “Thank you for allowing me to represent this riding and to represent this party,” he said.

In Davenport, Liberal Cristina Martins defeated NDP incumbent Jonah Schein.

Beaches-East York proved to be a dogfight, with Liberal Arthur Potts emerging with the razor-thin victory over NDP incumbent Michael Prue.

Here’s a look at the results from some of the other key ridings in the GTA/905-belt that ultimately shaped the province’s political landscape on Thursday night:

Burlington: Liberal Eleanor McMahon defeated PC incumbent Jane McKenna.

Whitby-Oshawa: PC incumbent Christine Elliott held onto the riding, fending off Liberal Ajay Krishnan.

Mississauga-South: Liberal Charles Sousa easily held onto his riding, beating PC candidate Effie Triantafilopoulos.

Toronto-Danforth: NDP incumbent Peter Tabuns held off Liberal candidate Rob Newman.

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