Doug Ford will once again serve as premier of Ontario, and he’s got two blue buddies with him from the Chatham-Kent area.
Trevor Jones and Steve Pinsonneault were re-elected as Progressive Conservative MPPs for Chatham-Kent–Leamington and Lambton-Kent-Middlesex respectively Thursday night.
Given the margin of victory, one might say they were crowned rather than elected.
Jones received 52 per cent of the vote in C-K–L while Pinsonneault garnered 53.5 per cent of the vote in L-K-M.
Early returns had Jones, his family and his team celebrating at Tru’s in Chatham about 20 minutes after polls had closed.
He said the hard work on the campaign trail paid off.
“We kept a tight schedule. We worked hard every day through the cold,” he said. “We went to every corner of our riding, talked to thousands and thousands of people. We heard their concerns.”
The two-time MPP said the overwhelming concern raised by voters was the tariff issue from the U.S. on Canadian goods. U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to place 25-per-cent tariffs on goods coming into the U.S. from Canada.
“Tariffs; people’s jobs; people’s livelihoods,” he said. “This is a manufacturing hub, an agri-business hub. These are the jobs that are in peril with the tariffs.”
The Conservatives return to power with what Jones said is a “fresh, renewed mandate.”
For Ford, he became the first premier of the province since 1959 to be elected to three straight majority governments.
Jones said Ford was the best choice to lead the province at this time, something backed by the electorate.
“Voters saw the issue as a leadership issue,” he said. “The issue needs to be: Let’s deal with the tariffs, let’s deal with the economy.”
At the local level, Jones said his main task is to represent his constituents.
“I am here and happy to be the MPP for Chatham-Kent–Leamington. That’s my privilege,” he said. “I’ve earned the trust. We have a big, diverse riding with tons of communities within it.”
He pancaked his opponents, receiving 22,250 votes. Liberal Bill Kirby was second with 7,856 votes; NDP’s Christian Sachs received 7,333; New Blue’s Rhonda Jubenville garnered 3,387; Green Party’s Matthew Davey had 1,241; and Ontario Party’s Phillip St-Laurent received 704 votes.
Provincially, the PCs took 75 seats (63 were needed for a majority), after having 83 in the wake of the 2022 election. The NDP will lead the opposition with 25 seats, while the Liberals grabbed 13, the Greens two, and the Legislature will see an independent sit as well.
