Liberals Hold On To Longtime Seat In Byelection
Posted September 18, 2009 1:11 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The McGuinty government landed a huge victory Thursday night as the Liberal Dr. Eric Hoskins won a byelection in the riding of St. Paul’s in Toronto.
The Liberals took 48 per cent of the vote despite spending scandals and widespread opposition to the Harmonized Sales Tax that plagued Premier Dalton McGuinty throughout the summer.
Hoskins thanked the Premier, his election team and the voters, but he also had kind words for his opponents.
“I’d like to acknowledge the other candidates in the byelection tonight for having the courage to put their names on the ballot and for debating important public policy issues. This is the essence of our democracy,” he said to loud applause.
The Conservatives were hoping newspaper columnist Sue-Ann Levy could win the riding that’s been held by the Liberals for the past decade. But she managed to get only 28 per cent of the vote.
The NDP candidate, Julian Heller, came out with 17 per cent.
The midtown riding of St. Paul’s was held by former cabinet minister Michael Bryant before he left politics in June to head up the business-oriented agency Invest Toronto.
He has since been charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death for an incident with cyclist Darcy Allan Sheppard on September 1.
