Progressive Conservative incumbent Caroline Mulroney has been re-elected as MPP for York-Simcoe in a sweeping victory and her best yet in the riding.
Based on results from all 52 polls, Mulroney has been elected for her third consecutive term after receiving 24,705 votes or 59.40 per cent on Feb. 27, beating out her previous results of 56.76 per cent in 2022 and 57.26 per cent in 2018.
As the results rolled in, smiles, cheers and applause filled the Lions and Sun Bar and Lounge in East Gwillimbury, where Mulroney and her supporters celebrated. The PC candidate said she was “humbled” by the results and “very grateful” to the voters for turning out in February.
“Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart for re-electing me,” Mulroney said. “I promise to continue working as hard as I can for York-Simcoe and continue to protect Ontario.”
She attributed much of the success to the hard work of her campaign manager and team, who worked through “terrible” weather, including whiteout conditions.
In addition to being held in winter, the timing of the election was also unique for happening while the country and province were facing U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.
“We heard it at the doors: people were nervous, people are scared, and people are concerned about what the future holds,” Mulroney said.
Dealing with those threats was a major pillar of the PC platform which included five main goals: fighting back against American tariffs while building Ontario’s economy, protecting workers, keeping Ontario competitive, tackling crime, and improving health care.
Mulroney said she heard from voters that they liked the way party leader Doug Ford stood up for Canada, both here at home and as the head of the premiers in Washington.
“It’s about who do you trust to stand up for Ontarians, to stand up for Ontario jobs, for our workers for our families, and the only one is Doug Ford,” Mulroney said.
After calling a snap election on Jan. 28 and sending voters to the polls on Feb. 27 — about 15 months ahead of schedule — Ford was also re-elected premier as the party won a third straight majority government.
The daughter of former prime minister Brian Mulroney, she said that before he passed, her father told Ford all he would need in the next election is a billboard featuring Ford’s image and one word: leadership.
“He didn’t even know how right he was going to be,” she said.
Since she was first elected in 2018, Mulroney has held cabinet positions as Minister of Francophone Affairs, Attorney General of Ontario, Minister of Transportation, and more recently President of the Treasury Board.
She recently received an endorsement from Bradford West Gwillimbury Mayor James Leduc, who said Mulroney, Ford and their government have been “fantastic partners” for the town.
She helped launch the Bradford Bypass project in 2019, supported the phosphorus reduction plant and other efforts to help Lake Simcoe, and has announced funding for new schools and expansions in Bradford and Holland Landing, among other things.
Still, she said there’s “so much more” that needs to be done and promised the party would improve health care, connect everyone to a primary care provider and build more schools.
Her victory comes over Fatima Chaudhry (Ontario Liberal Party), Justin Graham (Ontario New Democratic Party), Jennifer Baron (Green Party of Ontario), Brent Fellman (New Blue Party of Ontario), Sean Conroy (Ontario Libertarian Party), Alana Hollander (Ontario Party) and Franco Colavecchia (Ontario Moderate Party).
While she came in a distant second, Chaudhry was still grateful to gain the support of 9,937 voters, or 23.89 per cent — an increase over the 2022 provincial election when then Liberal candidate Walter Alvarez-Bardales received just 17.25 per cent.
“I think it’s a victory in itself,” she said. “We came a long way in a short time.”
When it comes to the most successful part of her campaign, Chaudhry credited the efforts of her team, noting they worked at all hours and through all sorts of weather, including a snow storm.
She’s committed to running again in the next election when Chaudhry hopes to have even more engagement with voters.
“Thank you to everyone who supported us — we couldn’t have done this without you,” she said.
Similarly Graham was content with coming in third with 3,216 votes, or 7.73 per cent, a decrease from 2022 when then NDP candidate Spencer Yang Ki received 4,083 votes, or 11.15 per cent.
Still, Graham was grateful for the support he received and called it “a little bit overwhelming,” especially as he didn’t have as much time to engage with voters as he would have liked.
“I think everyone here at home stood up for me and it feels good,” he said.
In future, he’d like to get out to more of riding and speak with residents beyond Georgina, perhaps even by holding open houses.
In the meantime, he’s happy to see an increase in voter turnout and hoping to convince even more people to head to the polls next time.