WATCH: PC leader Tim Hudak announces his resignation
Tim Hudak is stepping down as Progressive Conservative leader as his rival Liberal Kathleen Wynne is poised to ride to a majority victory.
“This has been a long campaign, without question. It has been a hard-fought campaign. We did not receive the results that we had wanted, but let me tell you this: I could not be more proud of the work of our team, and the positive message of hope and jobs and change that we offer,” he told a crowd chanting his name in Grimsby, Ont. shortly before 11 p.m. Thursday evening.
IN DEPTH: Ontario election 2014
Hudak said he plans to speak with his caucus shortly to discuss the selection of an interim leader. It appears he will keep his seat as MPP for Niagara – West Glanbrook, which he won handily Thursday evening.
He thanked his wife Deb Hutton and “my gorgeous, fun daughters Miller and Maitland – they have stuck by me through thick and thin. They have offered me tremendous support,” he said.
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“I am proud of what our team has accomplished,” he said, adding that the Tory caucus, on par to be several seats smaller than its previous incarnation, “will put private sector job creation first in every decision, because turning around Ontario’s jobs crisis the only way to get real security and prosperity for all Ontario families.”
The Liberals and PCs were neck-and-neck through much of the campaign, but Hudak appeared in the lead with people who said they were likeliest to vote. He was also seen as the winner of the only televised leaders’ debate, appearing poised and on-message.
But Hudak’s promise of tough medicine, especially his stated plan to cut 100,000 public-sector jobs, proved toxic to his campaign. And his promise to create a million more jobs within eight years soured as economists picked apart his math.
READ MORE: Fear of Hudak, disillusionment with Horwath helped Wynne win
Hudak has led the PCs since 2009, when he was the dark-horse candidate beating more prominent MPPs including Christine Elliott, now his deputy leader, and Frank Klees, who has since retired.
He faced a small insurrection at a PC convention last fall when some party members tried to instigate a leadership review that ultimately fell flat.
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