Friday, March 06, 2009

Curtains for John Tory

It's the end of the road for Ontario PC leader

When John Tory lost his seat during the 2007 Ontario general election, he had to know how badly he needed to win in a by-election.

Last night he failed to do that.

Liberal candidate Rick Johnson won the the Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock by-election by a margin of 2.5% of the vote. His 43.7% of the electorate narrowly trumped Tory's 41.2%.

"I'm very disappointed in the results of the election, as we all are, but the voters can never be wrong in what they decide, and I respect their decision," Tory announced while conceding the by-election.


Tory's loss represents something of a double defeat for the Ontario PCs. The seat he lost last night was one held by the Tories after the 2007 election. Laurie Scott won the seat against Johnson in 2007, then resigned so Tory could seek election.

With no seat in Queen's Park, there's nothing left for Tory to do but resign as the leader of the Progressive Conservative party of Ontario.

To date, Tory hasn't commented on whether or not he'll do so.

"As for me, I will have more to say about my plans tomorrow," he announced. "For now, I will only say that I gave this campaign my very best."

He can't expect to lead his party from the press gallery. The Ontario Conservatives need a Tory leader in the legislature, not Tory in the press box.


Other bloggers writing about this topic:

John LaForet - "Good Night and Good Luck John Tory"

Authur Kong - "Local Values Trump John Tory Ambitions"

Vlad Gebov - "John Tory Defeated by Rick Johnson"

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