Voters head to polls to fill York—Simcoe, Scarborough Southwest seats in byelection

Along with the Hamilton East—Stoney Creek riding, voters headed to the polls Thursday in York—Simcoe and Scarborough Southwest to determine who will be their MPPs.

The Hamilton East—Stoney Creek seat was left vacant after the retirement of the former progressive conservative MPP Neil Lumsden last month.

There are two additional seats up for grabs: one previously held by former PC Cabinet Minister Caroline Mulroney, while the other was held by the NDP.

With polls closing at 9 p.m., the race is on in three different ridings across Ontario, and while the results won’t impact Premier Doug Ford’s majority government, many analysts are calling this a referendum on his leadership.

“This is the first time voters have gone to the polls since Doug Ford’s summer drama of expenses, including one scandal that saw a cabinet minister lose their job,” said Sabrina Nanji, a journalist and founder of the Queen’s Park Observer. “He had been getting a lot of flack for his private jet purchase.”

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Ford has recently rebounded in the polls since U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his threats on Canada.

“When we’re talking about Trump, that’s really good for Ford in the polls,” said Nanji. “He gets to put on his ‘Captain Canada’ cape and go elbows up, and we have seen that, including some colourful language from him recently.”

We’ll see if that rebound in the polls translates to Ford’s party, with two of the three by-elections in ridings currently held by the PCs, including Hamilton East—Stoney Creek.

Over in York—Simcoe, the Progressive Conservatives will try to hold on to the seat, formerly held by Mulroney.

“That one, I think, is a bit of a slam dunk for the Conservatives — it has long been a riding that bleeds Tory blue,” said Nanji. “What I’ll be watching for is the nitty-gritty — what is the margin, what is the turnout for Susan Lahey, who is another local councillor who is flying the PC banner.”

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The third by-election is set to take place in Scarborough Southwest, a former NDP riding.

“This is theirs to lose,” said Nanji. “I think this is shaping up to be more of a battle between the NDP and the Liberals. The Liberals have Ahsanul Hafiz, who is a member of the Bangladeshi community, same as Fatima Shaban for the NDP, this is a really big community in this riding.”

The liberals are hoping for a win, ahead of the party’s leadership race in November.

CHCH News will be live Thursday night at 11 p.m. with the results, and the latest news on the by-elections, including who voters have chosen as the new MPP of Hamilton East—Stoney Creek.

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