Progressive Conservative incumbent Bob Bailey will serve a sixth term as Sarnia-Lambton's MPP after being re-elected during the 44th Ontario general election.
Bailey, who was first elected in 2007, was declared the winner shortly after 9:10 p.m. on Thursday.
A viewing party for Bailey was held at the Wyoming Legion, where fewer than 100 supporters were present.
Bailey arrived to applause and gave a short speech, thanking his wife, his constituents, and his campaign staff.
"I felt that if the constituency work done by my staff meant anything, I should be re-elected, but, you never know," said Bailey. "I felt quite confident because of the work my staff did with me. They do the lion's share of the work every day, they're the face of the riding."
During this election campaign, Bailey didn't attend any candidate debates but instead visited several local businesses and posted about it on social media. He defended the decision despite some criticism over social media.
"If you look at the numbers tonight, it worked," he said.
While speaking with local media, Bailey also commended his colleagues from all different parties.
"They were great to work with," he said. "It was a very clean campaign, no dirt was thrown. That's not the same in some of the other campaigns in Ontario," Bailey said. "The people of Sarnia-Lambton are like that, they're decent people. All of my opponents were the same."
Bailey was acclaimed as the candidate for the riding in December 2024, about a month before PC Leader Doug Ford called a snap election in January.
Early projections from Thursday night placed NDP candidate Candace Young in a distant second. She met with her supporters at GRIND | kitchen + bar in downtown Sarnia.
Young said it was a whole new experience for her to run in the election.
"The result is a little disappointing, but I'm so proud of the campaign we ran," she said. "I'm proud of all of the volunteers [and] organizers who have helped, and I'm also really proud of the platform that the Ontario NDP put out."
Other candidates who ran in the Sarnia-Lambton riding included Liberal candidate Rachel Willsie, the New Blue Party's Keith Benn, Independent Nathan Colquhoun, Libertarian Jacques Boudreau, the Ontario Party's Mark Lamore, Populist Ontario's Tom Stoukas, and the Green Party's Pamela Reid.
Voting totals from the 44th Ontario general election likely won't be finalized until Friday morning.
Preliminary figures from advance polls showed that 6.14 per cent of eligible Ontarians voted early, down from 9.92 per cent in 2022.
Elections Ontario told Sarnia News Today on February 24 that 5,806 votes were cast at advance voting locations for the Sarnia-Lambton riding, representing 6.59 per cent of registered voters in the electoral district.
-With files from Melanie Irwin, Josh Boyce, and Stephanie Chaves