Bob Bailey won his fifth election and is returning to the Ontario legislature as MPP for Sarnia-Lambton.
The Progressive Conservative candidate, who walked into his election headquarters at the Legion Hall in Petrolia alongside wife Elizabeth shortly after he was declared the winner, said he was excited to represent the people of Sarnia-Lambton for another term at Queen’s Park.
He added he wasn’t overly concerned heading into election night, but he always runs scared. “I never take it for granted,” he said.
Bailey also took a few moments to praise his fellow candidates.
“It was a great campaign and just a privilege that the people of Sarnia-Lambton have shown their faith in me again,” he said.
As he arrived at the hall shortly before 10 pm, Bailey had a 5,600-vote lead over NDP candidate Dylan Stelpstra – more than 51 per cent of the vote – with 32 of 77 polls reporting.
“I’m very proud of the work people on the campaign did,” Stelpstra said. “I’m very proud that we put in the hard work and listened to people.”
Stelpstra said the cost of living was the “undercurrent” of the conservations he had with voters during the campaign.
“But if I had to put a finger on the number one issue I got while I was (canvassing), it would be health care,” he said. “That really came across in conversation with people — a lot of people opposed to privatization, health care workers opposed to Bill 124.”
Just a short time before he arrived, it was also announced in the hall that Bailey’s party had won another majority government.
Liberal Mark Russell was holding on to third place ahead of Keith Benn of the New Blue Party. Candidates for the Green, Populist and Ontario parties followed well behind them.
Outside a polling station early in the evening, Petrolia’s Eric Phillion, 37, said he was expecting Bailey to win another term.
“Until you get some young blood to challenge him within the local party, I think it’s his seat to lose,” said Phillion, who added he has been an NDP member for 20 years.
“The NDP have been growing locally,” he said. “It’s just Andrea Horvath I think has grown fairly stale within the party.”
Bailey, who won in 2018 with nearly 53 per cent of the vote, has held Sarnia-Lambton since 2007 when he defeated Caroline DiCocco, who had been the Liberal culture minister when that election was called.
“Bob’s a pretty reliable person who generally gets done what he says he’s going to do, or what he can do,” said Petrolia’s Terry May.
Reporting of results from Sarnia-Lambton was delayed because Elections Ontario kept one local poll open an extra 30 minutes because of technical problems.
-With files from Terry Bridge and Carl Hnatyshyn
THE RESULTS
(44/77 polls reporting)
Bob Bailey (PC): 12,556 (51.6%)
Dylan Stelpstra (NDP): 6,016 (24.7)
Mark Russell (Lib): 2,333 (9.59)
Keith Benn (NBO): 1.807 (7.4)
Mason Bourdeau (GPO): 744 (3.06)
Ian Orchard (ONP): 226 (0.93)