Steve Pinsonneault has won his second provincial election in just over nine months.
The Progressive Conservative candidate for Lambton-Kent Middlesex was re-elected Thursday night in the 44th Ontario General Election.
Pinsonneault was surrounded by friends, family and party faithful at the Sertoma Club in Thamesville as the results were announced.
He said it was the culmination of hard work.
"Right from the time I got elected in May I started going to every community in the north end of the riding," said Pinsonneault. "A lot of people didn't know me so I made sure I got to every community. I met with all the mayors, I met with the wardens, most of the councillors, went to the long-term care homes, I went to the hospitals, everything that's important."
Pinsonneault said he spent a lot of time during the campaign knocking on doors and getting to know people.
"They have legitimate concerns, whether that's health care or education, the economy, the tariffs and how that's all related," he said. "Believe it or not the Carbon Tax is still talked about every day, and even though that's a federal issue, it's talk about and you know that's all part of the cost of living."
Pinsonneault served as a municipal councillor in Chatham-Kent for 17 years before running for the vacant MPP seat in the Lambton-Kent-Middlesex by-election in May, 2024.
Elections Ontario said 678,789 eligible voters cast their ballot early during three days of advance polls in the snap February election.
That's 6.14 per cent of eligible voters, down from 9.92 per cent during the provincial election in 2022. In Lambton-Kent-Middlesex 4,898 people voted early (5.33 per cent of eligible voters).
Pinsonneault defeated Liberal candidate Cathy Burghardt-Jesson by, NDP candidate Kathryn Shailer finished third, followed by New Blue Party candidate Andy Fisher and the Green Party's Andraena Tilgner.