Northeastern Ontario sees little change in provincial election

Despite a huge change in the political landscape across Ontario, little in northeastern Ontario changed on Thursday night.

Ontario voters elected a Progressive Conservative majority government. However, in the nine ridings across northeastern Ontario, only one changed power. In Sudbury, incumbent Liberal candidate Glenn Thibeault lost his seat to the NDP's Jamie West.

In Nipissing, incumbent Progressive Conservative MPP Vic Fedeli says he's elated and honoured by the results both in his riding and across the province.

"The election was clearly about a choice for the people of Ontario," he said.

"There's no question they made the right choice."

In Sault Ste. Marie, Ross Romano of the Progressive Conservatives was re-elected. The PC's Norm Miller took the riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka again.

Romano says his party has plenty of priorities, including moving forward on the Ring of Fire.

"I want to try and make sure ferrochrome processing facility comes to my community," he said.

The NDP's John Vanthof won his riding for the third time of Timiskaming-Cochrane. With his party in opposition status, he says the NDP will push the PCs on issues important to the north.

"The PCs have promised to bring back passenger rail to northeastern Ontario, something that we're very passionate about," he said.

"So if we can work together with them on that, and if they are not planning to do it we will push them and force them to do it."

New ridings

The riding of Timmins-James Bay was split into two ridings: Timmins and Mushkegowuk-James Bay.

The NDP's Gilles Bisson, who was the MPP for Timmins-James Bay took the Timmins riding, while the NDP's Guy Bourgouin took Mushkegowuk-James Bay.

NDP incumbent candidate France Gelinas took the Nickel Belt riding, as did the NDP's Michael Mantha in Algoma-Manitoulin.

"I see that I'm getting more and more people in my caucus, so it's pretty exciting," Gelinas said.

"I just saw that Jamie West will be joining us. [I'm] really happy that Sudbury has gone NDP also. "