NDP candidate Ian Arthur won the riding of Kingston and the Islands in the 2018 Ontario election.
In the end, the executive chef turned politician beat out Liberal incumbent Sophie Kiwala, who held the MPP position in Kingston and the Islands for the last four years.
When the announcement came that Arthur won, he said he would not stop working for the people of Kingston and the Islands, despite the majority government the PCs won on Thursday night.
“We’ll see what kind of policies they try to push on the people of Ontario, but I’ll go to work every day trying to protect the folks here in Kingston and the Islands, and all across the province.”
GALLERY: Doug Ford’s PCs win majority
Arthur took an early lead, with Kiwala trailing behind, and PC candidate Gary Bennett nearly tying with Kiwala.
When asked about the Liberals losing party status, their seven seat win just shy of the eight seat minimum needed, Kiwala said that she believes the political landscape has change.
“There’s a certain level of toxicity in politics right now that is very unfortunate. I think we have to work on trying to bring up the level of dialogue and making it a lot more respectful.”
Veteran Green candidate Robert Kiley had a good showing, but came in a distant fourth, pulling in 6.5 per cent of the vote, a small dip from his showing in 2014, where he received just over 7 per cent of the vote..
Arthur was celebrating on election night at a downtown Kingston bar, with hordes of supporters ready to celebrate with him.
The celebrations for the NDPs may have been raucus, but the PCs dominated the ridings surrounding the city-centre. With Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, Bay of Quinte and Hastings—Lennox and Addington all going PC, Kingston and the Islands is a blip of orange surrounded by a sea of blue.
WATCH: NDPs react to Ford victory