Skip to main content

Timiskaming-Cochrane incumbent feels he won, no winner declared yet

Share

It is a tight race in the Timiskaming-Cochrane riding where the NDP incumbent is seeking a fourth term at Queen's Park and PC challenger Bill Foy is giving him a run for his money.

Elections Ontario has not declared a winner, but as of 9:30 a.m. Friday, incumbent John Vanthof has a 1,600 vote lead over Foy with 80 out of 82 polls reporting.

Vanthof told CTV News in a video interview that he feels he won the riding, but knew while going door-to-door it was going to be a close one.

"The first time I ran in 2007, I came within 634 votes of taking out a minister, so I’m used to that. And we didn’t find out till 1:30 in the morning, so this isn’t the first time, but this one was tough," Vanthof told CTV News in a phone interview.

"We weren’t expecting to win by the same margin as last time. There’s been a lot happen in the last four years, you know, but it was, I’m going to be up front, it was closer than I would have liked."

Of the votes that have been counted, the voter turnout is 40.3 per cent in the riding.

At the time of publication, here are the standings:

  • NDP John Vanthof has 9,251 votes
  • PC Bill Foy has 7,650
  • Liberal Brian Johnson has 1,461
  • Green Party Kris Rivard has 1,341
  • New Blue Party Garry Andrade has 1,127
  • Ontario Party Geoffrey Aitchison has 346
  • Libertarian Eric Cummings has 238
  • None of the Above Direct Democracy Party Jeff Wilkinson has 160

In the 2018 election, the NDP took 42.9 per cent of the vote and the PC party had 22.4 per cent.

Last night, the NDP lost one seat in northeastern Ontario. Timmins mayor and PC MPP candidate George Pirie took the seat from long-time NDP incumbent politician Gilles Bisson.

The NDP managed to hold onto its seats in Nickel Belt, Sudbury, Algoma-Manitoulin and Mushkegowuk-James Bay.

Doug Ford has won another majority for the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party on Thursday night. The PC party has retained its seats in Nipissing, Sault Ste. Marie and Parry Sound-Muskoka in addition to taking Timmins.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Stay Connected