Ontario byelection: PCs hold onto seat [Video]

The Progressive Conservatives have won a provincial byelection in eastern Ontario, retaining a seat previously held by a popular cabinet minister, though the result was much closer than the riding has seen in the past two elections.

Tyler Allsopp, a municipal councillor in Belleville, will now represent the Bay of Quinte at the legislature after winning Thursday’s byelection.

It was a race with a rapid turnaround, as Premier Doug Ford announced Allsopp as the Progressive Conservative candidate and called the byelection just five days after the seat became vacant.

Todd Smith, who was education minister at the time he resigned but had held several other cabinet portfolios including energy, represented the region through four elections. He won the last two in Bay of Quinte with nearly 50 per cent of the vote.

Allsopp’s margin of victory was not quite as wide — capturing about 39 per cent of the vote …