UPDATE, 11 p.m.
Dawn Gallagher Murphy thanked her supporters and campaign staff as she gave her victory speech amid dozens of people cheering her.
“I am proud of the work we’ve done and we’re just getting started.”
Gallagher Murphy said she and her party have a responsibility to ensuring communities and families can thrive and businesses can grow. She said that means ensuring good-paying jobs, tackling the housing crisis, keeping taxes low and making the right investments in Southlake Health.
“I take that responsibility seriously. Whether it’s right here in Newmarket-Aurora or at Queen’s Park, I will continue to work tirelessly to make sure your voices are heard. We have so much more to accomplish together. More jobs to create, more homes to build and more opportunities to secure for the next generation.”
Gallagher Murphy won with 47.43 per cent of the vote, with Liberal challenger Chris Ballard garnering nearly 42 per cent of the vote.
Voter turnout was 44.66 per cent.
Campaign manager Ryan Puviraj said they had a small and mighty team who worked through all sorts of elements to make the campaign happen. Over 30 days, he said they knocked on 25,000 doors across the entire riding.
“It’s safe to say the hard work definitely paid off,” he said. “We were cautious throughout. We knew this was going to be a tough fight.”
Gallagher Murphy led her speech by calling up her husband, Ivan, and her son, Robert, expressing appreciation for their support in particular.
“Your love and encouragement means everything to me,” she said. “My strength and determination through these past four weeks have come through these two. I am so lucky to have these two in my life.”
She also thanked her fellow candidates.
“Running for public office is no small task, and I respect anyone willing to step forward to serve their community,” she said. “Democracy is a privilege, and the people of Newmarket-Aurora have made their voices heard. This campaign was about all of us and what we can achieve together.”
Newmarket-Aurora NDP candidate Denis Heng said tonight was not the result he had hoped for.
“Not the results I feel like progressive voters in Newmarket-Aurora were looking for, but this is democracy,” he said.
With all polls reporting, Gallagher Murphy won re-election according to unofficial results with 20,780 votes, 2,425 more than second-place Liberal Chris Ballard, who had had 18,335 votes. Heng was a distant third with 2,754 votes, followed by Green Party candidate David Jakubiec with 1,096 votes.
“She’s the one that had the most votes in a first-past-the-post system,” Heng said. “Congratulations to her. I hope that she is able to represent the voters in the riding. All the voters in our riding.”
The NDP fared better than the Liberals across the province, and will form the official opposition.
Heng said that the new Conservative government will have a challenge ahead to manage big issues like health care, affordable housing and tariffs from the U.S.
“The Ontario NDP will be there to make sure to hold them to account,” Heng said.
Heng said he entered the election to be a positive choice for progressive voters and he wants to continue to work on progressive policy.
“As long as there are voters that believe, like myself, in NDP policies, I will be there. Not only during elections, but between elections, to continue to support and figure out how we can make our community a better one for everyone.”
NewmarketToday could not reach Ballard on election night.
UPDATE, 10:25 p.m.
A jubilant Dawn Gallagher Murphy arrived around 10:15 p.m to her cheering supporters after her re-election in Newmarket-Aurora .
Gallagher Murphy took time to embrace and take photographs with her supporters as she came onto the scene at her local gathering at Wicked Eats. With 56/60 polls reported, Gallagher Murphy had a 2,743 vote lead over second place Liberal Chris Ballard.
Gallagher Murphy campaign volunteer Julian Neal said he is pleased with the results and it is a majority government as expected.
He said her re-election is because of how much work she put in as an MPP.
“Obviously, she’s worked hard the last few years she’s been here. I think that’s a testament to how well she’s done for Newmarket-Aurora,” she said.
Gallagher Murphy will be making a victory speech shortly.
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UPDATE, 9:38 P.M.: Newmarket-Aurora Conservatives are celebrating as their party gets another majority.
The energy at Wicked Eats where local Conservatives have gathered has picked up as the official polls confirm Doug Ford is winning re-election as premier.
Local Conservative Harish Sharma said he is excited to see the party's next government.
"We are very much confident that Doug Ford and his party will be able to deliver the promises," Sharma said.
Incumbent Dawn Gallagher Murphy's polling lead has grown steadily throughout the night. As of 9:37 p.m., Dawn has a margin of 2,983 votes over second-place Chris Ballard with 46 of 60 polls reporting.
Supporter Christopher Van-Lane said he has worked with Gallagher Murphy over the past few years.
"She's been a very solid MPP for this riding," she said. "I support her. As far as I'm concerned, she's a great person to work with ... I'm glad to know her and I really hope she gets in again as MPP."
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As polls near closing at 9 p.m. in Newmarket and Aurora, both the Liberals and Conservatives are hosting gatherings to watch the results come in.
Incumbent Dawn Gallagher Murphy’s campaign is gathering at Wicked Eats tonight, with the Conservatives an expected frontrunner both provincially and at the local level based on the latest polling.
But Newmarket-Aurora Liberals have not given up and are gathering at TJ’s Bar and Grill in Newmarket in what is being referred to as a “victory party” ahead of time.
Regardless, Conservatives out early at Gallagher Murphy's gathering also expressed confidence. Supporter Glen Lais said his party is going to win tonight.
"People are looking for consistency, security," Lais said. "People are afraid of change at the moment. Doug Ford represents the only person that's capable of dealing with what we're facing."
The Conservatives have won the Newmarket-Aurora riding in the past two provincial elections by sizeable margins, by 5,602 votes over the Liberals in 2022 and by 12,408 votes over the second-place NDP in 2018. But Ballard won the riding back in 2014 by 3,197 votes.
Other candidates in the riding include NDP Denis Heng, Green David Jakubiec, Ontario Moderate Party Yuri Duboisky and New Blue Shirin Khasbakhi. While the NDP came in third in the riding in 2022, the local campaign said it is not having a local gathering for supporters on election night.
The Green Party, which came in fourth in this riding the past few elections, said its candidate Jakubiec was not available for media appearances in this campaign.
The snap election campaign has carried on throughout February and came with some difficult timing for incumbent Gallagher Murphy. Former constituency manager Teena Bogner made a labour board filing in December accusing Gallagher Murphy of workplace bullying and an unjust firing, with a hearing initially scheduled for February but settled beforehand. On the same day as the election call Jan. 28, news broke about a group of anonymous former employees also alleging workplace bullying by Gallagher Murphy.
Gallagher Murphy has also taken fire from other candidates for not attending either of the two all-candidates events, something that also occurred during her campaign in 2022.
However. Conservative supporters remain confident about their fortunes for the night.
"We're going to win. I know we are," Conservative Stephanie Tonner said.
Lais said he still would have liked to have seen more news ideas in the election as opposed to the status quo. But, he aid Ford has done a good job positioning himself as a stable leader.
"Always, you want more. You want something better. But I think Doug Ford is the best of the three (biggest political leaders)," he said.
NewmarketToday will be updating this story with coverage from both the Conservative and Liberal gatherings as the night goes on.
Follow the local results for Newmarket-Aurora and Ontario live as they come in tonight on this page below the story. To catch up on the latest developments in the provincial race, go to our Ontario Votes page.
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