EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared on The Trillium, a Village Media website devoted to covering provincial politics at Queen’s Park.
The Progressive Conservatives won a clear third majority on Thursday night, with the results called just 10 minutes after the polls were closed.
But in other ridings across Ontario, the races were a bit more neck-in-neck.
Here are some of the surprises from election night:
Eglinton—Lawrence
PC candidate Michelle Cooper, executive director of the PC Ontario Fund, narrowly won a riding the Liberals were hoping to flip to red.
The NDP’s candidate, Natasha Doyle-Merrick, even withdrew herself from the race just before Elections Ontario’s registration deadline to support the Liberals and to avoid splitting the vote.
Etobicoke—Lakeshore
The Liberals were able to flip the riding red, electing Lee Fairclough and beating out PC incumbent Christine Hogarth. Hogarth has held the riding since 2018.
Kanata—Carleton
The Liberals managed to keep this seat after winning it in a 2023 byelection following the abrupt resignation of PC MPP and cabinet minister Merrilee Fullerton, who had held the riding since 2018.
PC candidate and Ottawa Catholic School Board trustee Scott Phelan came second to incumbent Karen McCrimmon. Both Crombie and Ford had made multiple trips to the Ottawa region throughout the campaign.
Nepean
This Ottawa-area riding has also flipped red, with Liberal candidate Tyler Watt. The riding was previously held by PC MPP Lisa MacLeod, who announced last year that she would not be seeking re-election.
Oshawa
NDP incumbent Jennifer French won in a rematch against former MPP Jerry Ouellette, who held the same riding for the PCs from 1995 until French defeated him in 2014.
The Liberal candidate, Viresh Bansal, was dropped from the ticket after the PCs found what they called “racially insensitive” and “homophobic” social media posts. His suspension also came after other Liberal candidates called for his removal.
Toronto—St. Paul’s
The Liberals managed to flip this NDP riding back to the red, with former CP24 anchor Stephanie Smyth beating out incumbent Jill Andrew.
Andrew has held the riding since 2018. Prior to this, Toronto-St. Paul’s was historically a Liberal stronghold.
Hamilton Mountain
For the first time since 1999, the PCs have claimed Hamilton Mountain.
The NDP’s loss of incumbent Monique Taylor, who left to run for the riding federally, appears to have hit the party hard. The party, which has held the riding since 2011, came third place behind the Liberals, according to unofficial results.
Parry—Sound Muskoka
The Greens will only get two seats in the legislature. Parry—Sound Muskoka candidate Matt Richter was unable to clinch the win, giving PC incumbent Graydon Smith his second electoral win.
Thunder Bay—Superior North
NDP Lise Vaugeois held on to this riding, which was seen as a three-way race. The PCs were hoping to pick up the riding after coming close in 2022, making multiple trips up north during the campaign.
Ajax
The Liberals picked up a riding that’s been held by the PCs since 2018, electing Robert Cerjanec and beating out incumbent Patrice Barns.
Sault Ste Marie
The NDP came close to flipping the Sault orange, but PC candidate Chris Scott edged them out.
Sault Ste Marie has been a favoured campaign stop among party leaders, with the NDP launching its health-care platform there. Leader Marit Stiles confidently named the riding as one that she hoped her party would win.
Hamilton Centre
The NDP have managed to hold on to this riding amid a turbulent campaign that saw their candidate go up against former caucus member, turned Independent, Sarah Jama.
Jama was ousted from the party in 2023 over what the NDP said was a failure to work collaboratively with the leader over her statements about war in the Middle East.
Robin Lennox will now be the riding's representative.
Haldimand—Norfolk
Independent Bobbi Ann Brady has made history, winning the riding without a party affiliation for the second time.
Brady first ran as an Independent in 2022 after the resignation of PC MPP Toby Barrett, who had held Haldimand—Norfolk as a member of the PCs since 1995. Brady had been an aide to Barrett for most of his time at Queen’s Park.
She decided to run as an Independent after the PCs appointed a candidate for the riding rather than hold an open nomination.
Algoma—Manitoulin
Independent incumbent Michael Mantha has lost to PC candidate Bill Rosenberg.
Mantha has held the riding since 2011, primarily under the NDP banner. He was ousted from the party in 2023 amid a workplace misconduct investigation that concluded he had sexually harassed a female employee at his Elliot Lake office and requested sexually explicit photos.
The NDP and the Liberals were hoping to get a shot at taking the riding back, but there were concerns that Mantha could potentially split the centre-left vote and aid the PCs to victory.
Don Valley North
In a surprise twist, the Liberals were able to pick up the typically blue Don Valley North, electing Jonathan Tsao.
Incumbent and former PC member Vincent Ke, who was running as an Independent, came third.
Ke left the PC Party in 2023 amid allegations of election interference — allegations he has denied and is fighting in court.
Downtown Toronto ridings
The NDP were able to hold on to Toronto Centre and University—Rosedale, with both incumbents returning to Queen’s Park. The Liberals were making big efforts to reclaim the ridings, which turned orange in 2018.
Sudbury
NDP incumbent Jamie West held on to the riding despite PC attempts to flip the riding back to blue.
Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte
PC incumbent Doug Downey held on to the riding, despite the close race in 2022, with less than one percentage point between him and Liberal candidate Jeff Lehman.
This year, the Liberals ran former Ontario Medical Association president Dr. Rose Zacharias, and Downey won by a 14-point margin.
York South—Weston
Without a Ford on the ballot, this riding was a possible pickup for the Liberals or the NDP, but the PCs held on to it in a very close race.
Michael Ford, the nephew of PC Leader Doug Ford, decided not to run again after a single term at Queen’s Park. Ford managed to flip the riding — which has historically bounced between red and orange — blue, unseating NDP then-incumbent Faisal Hassan in the 2022 election.
The Liberals had held the riding between 2007 and 2018.
On Thursday, PC candidate Mohamed Firin beat the Liberals’ Daniel Di Giorgio by a margin of 144 votes.