Progressive Conservative candidate Susan Lahey has secured her first term as MPP for the riding; Premier Doug Ford says voters have ‘supported a team that will stand up to tariffs’
Susan Lahey has kept York-Simcoe in the PC Party’s hands.
The East Gwillimbury town councillor, small-business owner, and single mother of two celebrated her victory in the riding’s byelection on Thursday evening. This marks Lahey’s first term representing the riding after voters chose her over Naomi Davison (Liberals), Bobby Nikmard (New Democrats), Matt Pearce (Green Party), David Ghobrial (New Blue), Sean Conroy (Libertarian), and Gerald Auger (Ontario Party).
Unofficial results as of Sept. 3 at 10:03 p. m. indicated that with all 55 polls reporting, Lahey received 11,491 votes (49.81 percent). Davison finished second with 8,942 votes (38.76), while Nikmard came in third with 974 votes (4.22) and Pearce placed fourth with 642 votes (2.78). Conroy (394 votes), Ghobrial (383), and Auger (244) trailed further behind.
Davison witnessed the Liberals take second place in the riding once more, but this time they had a much stronger performance than their previous showing of 23.90 percent in 2025.
“It was an incredible result, and I’m really proud of the community,” Davison said in an interview. “I didn’t need to win for this to be a success.”
She doesn’t want people to label York-Simcoe as strictly conservative anymore because she feels that overlooks the 51 percent of those who voted differently.
“People are waking up to the damage (Premier) Doug Ford’s government is doing in Ontario,” Davison mentioned.
She hopes these election results will encourage the premier to reconsider whether his approach is “really worth it.”
When asked about her next steps, Davison stated that these results aren’t a setback for her.
“I still have a position that I love and enjoy, and if people want me to continue, I will keep fighting for my community,” she noted. “It doesn’t end here – I just have a bigger team now.”
The PC Party announced that all campaign events on byelection night were closed to media due to its policy. Lahey’s campaign promised to send comments and photos right after her speech concluded, but Bradford Today hadn’t received them by 10:55 p. m.
Provincial byelections were also held in two other ridings on Thursday – Hamilton East-Stoney Creek was won by PC’s Jeff Beattie while Scarborough Southwest went to NDP’s Fatima Shaban.
Ford congratulated Lahey through social media.
“Congratulations to our newest members of Ontario PC team, Susan Lahey and Jeff Beattie,” he wrote. “Voters have backed a team that will stand up to tariffs, protect our workers and invest in services and infrastructure that Ontario families rely on.”
In an earlier interview with Bradford Today, Lahey shared her top three priorities for York-Simcoe include lowering prices and making housing affordable, ensuring infrastructure keeps pace with growth, and providing residents access to quality healthcare closer to home – all while preserving their quality of life.
Lahey is a long-time resident of the riding who actively volunteers in her community.
She leads Eastern Art Consultants Inc., an appraisal firm she started back in 2006.
Lahey also participates on the governance committee for Community and Home Assistance to Seniors (CHATS) as well as serving on Southlake Health’s The Bridge newsletter editorial committee; she has volunteered with Mount Albert Lions Club too.
Ford announced on June 17 that he had appointed Lahey as candidate for York-Simcoe.
She takes over from Caroline Mulroney who resigned last June and is set to join Royal Bank of Canada as vice-chair starting Sept. 14.
The PCs have never lost this riding since its creation back in 2007 – Julia Munro won it multiple times before Mulroney took office in 2018 receiving several prominent roles within Ford’s cabinet afterward.
The riding covers roughly 1,100 square kilometers including Bradford West Gwillimbury, East Gwillimbury, Georgina, and King.
The population according to the 2021 Census was recorded at 124,458 people. Elections Ontario notes there are currently 109,883 registered voters within this area.
The turnout was recorded at 21 percent.
This past Thursday also saw provincial byelections take place across two other ridings – Hamilton East-Stoney Creek awarded PC’s Jeff Beattie while Scarborough Southwest went home with NDP’s Fatima Shaban.
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