EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared on The Trillium, a Village Media news source devoted to covering provincial politics at Queen’s Park.
The Ontario NDP and Progressive Conservatives maintained their positions in three provincial byelections held on Thursday.
The NDP triumphed in Scarborough Southwest, while the Progressive Conservatives claimed victory in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek and York-Simcoe.
Premier Doug Ford was present in Hamilton to congratulate his candidate, Jeff Beattie, following his win.
“I just want the people of Ontario and all of Canada to know that we’re going to continue to fight,” he stated outside the PC victory party. “We’re going to fight against Donald Trump. We’re going to make sure that we protect people’s jobs, protect their communities and protect them, and we’re going to continue doing that.”
Ford conducted a press conference in Hamilton on Aug. 24 shortly after telling Donald Trump to “kiss (his) ass” regarding the president’s tariff threat.
He returned to the riding to reveal a “Lake Ontario Now and Always” sign after Trump signed an order renaming it “Lake America” seemingly out of retaliation.
Monique Taylor, a former MPP who ran for the NDP in the riding but lost to Beattie, believed that the conflict with Trump favored the PCs.
“I think he played that card again, and it worked for him, right?”
Scarborough Southwest
The NDP successfully retained Scarborough Southwest as Fatima Shaban won Thursday’s provincial byelection and reclaimed the seat for her party months after former MPP Doly Begum switched parties to run federally for the Liberals.
Shaban garnered over 40 percent of the vote and led Liberal candidate Ahsanul Hafiz by more than 2,200 votes based on unofficial results from Election Ontario.
“I am feeling absolutely amazing. I am just so grateful to my team. We have worked incredibly hard,” Shaban expressed after her win.
“I was able to connect with the people of Scarborough Southwest. I grew up here. I’m raising my family here. I have dedicated my life to this community. They know I’m there consistently, that they trust me, and that I’m going to do right by them,” she added.
Shaban’s success comes amid a tough contest in the riding with significant implications for all major political parties across Ontario.
Scarborough Southwest has been an NDP bastion since 2018 when Begum unseated a long-standing Liberal incumbent. She was re-elected in 2022 as well as again in 2025’s provincial election.
In that last election, Begum captured nearly 43 percent of votes while finishing about 12 points ahead of the Progressive Conservatives; meanwhile, Liberals came third.
The political scene shifted dramatically earlier this year when Begum resigned her provincial seat for a federal run with Liberals – winning by a landslide nearly capturing 70 percent of votes during an April byelection. This resulted in a disheartening defeat for federal NDP candidate Shaban who received less than six percent of votes then.
“I think that was a very different election in very different circumstances,” opposition NDP Leader Marit Stiles said before results were announced. “And in this riding, this riding has been solidly NDP for eight years.”
“She’s known in the community for being somebody who really works hard for people,” Stiles noted.
Shaban pointed out she didn’t “run to win” back then.
“Federally, the NDP was struggling. There were so many things happening before. I ran campaigns out of my own living room. I didn’t run simply seeking victory; I ran because I wanted a platform highlighting important issues we faced. Right now we had our entire team together; it was an incredible campaign,” she said while mentioning they knocked on 170 thousand doors throughout their efforts.
The Liberals aimed at leveraging Begum’s decisive federal win – presenting voters with compelling reasoning: suggesting they might be ready once again moving from NDP back towards Liberals at Queen’s Park too.
Liberals hoped Begum would bolster their campaign although both parties confirmed she had not participated actively alongside them during this time period.
Ahsanul Hafiz had initially secured fiercely contested Liberal nomination against former federal Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith narrowly winning by only 19 votes; Erskine-Smith pursued this provincial seat aiming potentially launching himself into Ontario Liberal leadership role later on down road as well!
PCCandidate This timewas Dr. Noor Tarun, a localphysicianwhohadranonthe Conservativeballotin2025federalelection. The PCs’performanceintheridingwasconsiderablystrongerthanmanyotherpartsof Toronto.
Candidates This timewas Dr. Noor Tarun, a localphysicianwhohadranonthe Conservativeballotin2025federalelection. The PCs’performanceintheridingwasconsiderablystrongerthanmanyotherpartsof Toronto.
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