'believe in the team' — ford pcs win big but new democrats hold windsor west
it was the big prize doug ford wanted in this election ...
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it was the big prize doug ford wanted in this election but couldn’t have.
the progressive conservative party of ontario leader rolled to a third consecutive majority thursday, once again taking essex and windsor-tecumseh along with him.
but he failed to make it a local hat trick.
in windsor west, ndp lisa gretzky comfortably fought off pc candidate tony francis, hanging on to the last riding west of london that isn’t tory territory.
gretzky increased her vote total from the last ontario election in 2022, despite polls going into election day putting her neck-and-neck with francis.
“i was hearing something completely different from the polls,” gretzky told reporters thursday night. “what we saw tonight, the vote, i think is really the most important goal, and sends a very strong message to doug ford and the conservatives.”
‘you can’t take the people here for granted.’ windsor west ndp candidate lisa gretzky speaks to reporters while celebrating her provincial re-election victory at her campaign headquarters on walker road on thursday night, feb. 27, 2025.
taylor campbell
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windsor star
“i think the people in windsor west, they showed doug ford that you can’t take the people here for granted,” gretzky added. “i got a stronger mandate than last election.”
the pc party made an aggressive push in recent elections for union endorsements and labour votes in windsor-essex, eating away at the ndp’s traditional base.
after taking essex and windsor-tecumseh from the ndp in the last election, ford kicked off his 2025 campaign in windsor west, stating his party was gunning for gretzky.
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ford made repeated campaign visits to windsor where he took several shots at gretzky, most recently on wednesday, the final day of campaigning, when he called her “a lump on a log” that “doesn’t do anything.”
the insults didn’t work.
gretzky took 19,392 votes (52.1 per cent), a notable jump from 2022 when she garnered 13,396 votes (46 per cent).
francis, thursday’s runner-up, received 14,665 votes (39.4 per cent).
it was a different story elsewhere in windsor-essex, where three conservative mpps each won second mandates, including trevor jones in chatham-kent—leamington.
andrew dowie pulled in 48.2 per cent of the vote with 21,285 ballots cast for him in windsor-tecumseh. the ndp runner-up, gemma grey-hall, received 13,721 votes (31 per cent).
“the last couple years i’ve been learning the ropes at queen’s park and now i’m in overdrive to do a better job to make sure windsor is kept on the map,” said dowie.
“doug ford knows our community. the relationship with the united states is something he knows is important to us.”
in essex, anthony leardi collected 30,785 votes (55.5 per cent), more than doubling the totals of ndp runner-up rachael mills, who received 12,047 votes (21.7 per cent).
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leardi also noted tense relations with the u.s., saying his boss’s call for a snap election was the right move.
ford, who already had a majority government, called an election 16 months ahead of schedule, arguing he needed a new mandate to deal with the trump administration and its threats of punishing trade tariffs.
“i think it was necessary to show the americans that our government is going to be around just as long as donald trump, if not longer,” said leardi. “this was absolutely necessary, and it had to be done.”
sending a message to trump: progressive conservative anthony leardi, who won re-election in the riding of essex thursday, speaks to reporters while celebrating his win at sutton creek golf club in essex.
millar holmes-hill
/
windsor star
given the incumbents’ name recognition, lack of major contenders, and the pcs riding high in pre-election polls, essex and windsor-tecumseh had been expected to stay blue.
ford’s early election gamble, and hammering home that he is best equipped to deal with trump, paid off in those ridings as it did across most of ontario.
but from the start, windsor west was touted as a riding to watch.
gretzky had incumbent status, labour support, and a track record for voters to judge her on. and the liberal candidate withdrew, likely giving gretzky a boost with left-leaning voters.
another factor that might have gone in gretzky’s favour: unless tony francis knocked on their door, windsor west voters didn’t see much of him throughout the 28-day campaign.
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“i would have liked to have done more discussion in public,” francis told the star when asked on election night whether he would have done anything different.
francis, dowie, and leardi all followed a provincewide pc protocol to avoid debates, media questions, and other public forums during this election.
but leardi and dowie had incumbent status on their side and the ridings they represent also boast heavy rural populations, which are more likely to vote conservative.
francis was a newcomer candidate with less name recognition. but he said the edict to stay low-key came from the top.
‘believe in the team’ — windsor west progressive conservative tony francis, the only tory candidate this side of london not to win thursday, talks with supporters during an election night party at windsor palace on feb. 27, 2025.
trevor wilhelm
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windsor star
“it’s a team sport, right? that was the strategy at the time,” said francis. “there’s a lot of smart people and they decided that was a strategy to apply.
“so, you either believe in the team or you don’t believe in the team.”
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