Ontario's opposition leaders say the results of five provincial byelections that saw the Liberals lose three seats are proof that voters are tired of the scandal-plagued government.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath told reporters Friday that she was "over the moon" after NDP candidates Peggy Sattler and Percy Hatfield won the London West and Windsor-Tecumseh ridings respectively.
She said the voters have sent a "very strong" message to the Liberal government that they're tired of the "arrogance that they've seen from the Liberals" and the wasting of "hard-earned" taxpayers' dollars.
Horwath said there's no guarantee she'll continue propping up the minority Liberals now that it's evident her party can win seats.
Despite winning only one of the five ridings up for grabs, PC Leader Tim Hudak told reporters he was thrilled to have candidate Doug Holyday take the Etobicoke-Lakeshore seat.
Holyday's victory marks the first time a PC candidate has held a seat in the city of Toronto since 1999.
Hudak, too, said voters are clearly ready for change.
"Last night, voters sent a message that they want to see a government that will get our fiscal house in order and listen to priorities of tax payers and not just the Liberal party," he said.
Following the victory of Liberal candidates Mitzie Hunter and John Fraser in Scarborough-Guildwood and Ottawa South, Premier Kathleen Wynne admitted late Thursday that the party had suffered in large part due to public outrage over the cancellation of two gas plants by her predecessor, Dalton McGuinty.
The ballooning costs of cancelling gas plants in Oakville and Mississauga – now pegged at $585 million -- continue to dog Wynne's government. The Premier said the public seemed especially angry that information about the cost of the cancellations appeared to be withheld from them.
"I totally get that," she said.
But on Friday, she reiterated her message that her administration is focused on transparency and openness.
"Byelections are an opportunity for citizens to send a message to government, that message was sent and we've heard that message loudly and clearly," she said.
Wynne stressed that since taking office she's made more than 135,000 documents pertaining to the gas plants publicly available.
She also said that while Thursday's byelections were about the past, next year's general election will be about the future.
Following Thursday’s byelections, the Liberals now hold 50 seats at Queen's Park. The Progressive Conservatives and the NDP now have 37 and 20 seats respectively.
With a report by CTV's Queen's Park Bureau Chief Paul Bliss
