Ontario byelection: Liberals, NDP hope to unseat PCs in Bay of Quinte [Video]

Voters in an eastern Ontario riding head to the polls Thursday in a provincial byelection that may end up being a tighter race than its recent electoral history would suggest.

The Bay of Quinte riding has only been vacant for a month, since cabinet minister Todd Smith resigned, but Premier Doug Ford called the byelection just five days after Smith announced his abrupt departure.

Smith had represented the Bay of Quinte riding since 2018 — as well as one of the two ridings it was created from since 2011 — and won with nearly 50 per cent of the vote in the last two elections.

But the Bay of Quinte’s predecessor ridings have also elected Liberals in the recent past, and Smith’s stronghold on the riding through four elections was at least partly due to his status as a very well-liked representative, said Mitch Heimpel, director of policy at strategic …