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Will Bouma is heading back to Queen’s Park for another term.

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Bouma was declared the MPP elect for Brantford-Brant less than 20 minutes after the polls closed to earn a third term in office.

“When the Premier (Doug Ford) called the election he said we needed a strong mandate to combat the tariffs that could be coming from the United States,” Bouma said after he was declared the winner. “The people of Brantford-Brant recognized the need to protect our economy, jobs and our community.

“They’ve given us the mandate we need.”

Speaking to supporters, Bouma said he is humbled to be chosen to represent the riding for a third term.

“I want to thank the people of Brantford-Brant for their confidence and their support,” Bouma said.

Bouma became emotional as he thanked his wife Joni and his children for their support.

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Although protecting the community as best as possible from the impact of tariffs that could be imposed as early as next week is important, Bouma also spoke about the priorities for Brantford-Brant.

“We have four elementary schools underway right now as well as a new Catholic secondary school that needs to get built,” Bouma said. “Of course, what’s top of mind for everyone is a new hospital.

“The premier made a commitment to the community in September and I’m looking forward to seeing what that’s going to look like.”

During a visit to Brantford in September Ford announced more than $21 million in funding to repair major infrastructure problems at Brantford General Hospital. He also made reference a planning grant that’s needed to take plans for a new hospital to the next stage of planning.

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With all 61 polls reporting, Bouma finished with 24,169 votes of 47.3 per cent of the 51,239 ballots cast. He was followed by Harvey Bischof, of the NDP with 12.002 votes or 23.5 per cent of the ballots cast.

Ron Fox, of the Liberals had 10,364  votes or 20.3 per cent of the ballots cast while Karleigh Csordas of the Greens had 2,567 or five per cent.

Bischof thanked all of the volunteers who worked on his campaign as well as those who supported him.

“We ran a good, positive campaign,” Bischof said. “As for the results, I think they also show that there are thousands of people who need our voice and need our support.

“There are thousands of people who have been left behind who can’t afford housing and are having to make tough decisions.”

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Bischof said the NDP ran a campaign that provided real solutions to problems faced by thousands of Brantford-Brant residents.

Although he said it’s too early to commit to running a third time, Bischof said he will continue to be part of the fight to help those who have been forgotten and left behind.

Fox also thanked his supports and those who worked on his campaign.

“I think we ran a good campaign and I think we laid a good foundation for future campaigns,” Fox said. “We increased the vote substantially and I think that will help us going forward.

“I’m grateful for the work of the campaign team and all of the volunteers who helped out.”

The Liberals in 2022 were represented by Ruby Toor who received; 6,083 votes.

The Fox campaign generated more than 10,000 votes.

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Fox thanked the federal Liberal riding association in Brantford-Brant for helping his campaign.

Meanwhile, Joshua Carron, of the New Blue Party received 1,138 (2.2 per cent), Rob Ferguson, of the Libertarian Party received 500 votes (one per cent), Mike Clancy of the None of the Above Party received 316 votes (0.6 per cent) while James Carruthers, of Ontario Alliance received 83 votes (0.2 per cent).

Bouma was first elected to the Ontario legislature in 2018 when he received 24,437 votes (42 per cent of the ballots cast)

In 2022, Bouma was returned to office with 20,738 votes while Harvey Bischof, of the NDP, finished second with 13,283 votes.

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