It was expected to be a close race, but early in the evening the NDP’s Peggy Sattler jumped ahead of PC candidate Ali Chahbar and was able to hold the lead.

Once all the votes were counted, Sattler had 41.9 per cent of the vote, while Chahbar had only 32.7 per cent.

Speaking to her supporters Sattler says “I want to thank the people of London West for trusting me with their vote. I take that trust seriously and I am honoured by that decision.”

She also addressed the fact that the riding has been a long-time Liberal stronghold, with former MPP Chris Bentley holding the riding for nearly 10 years from October 2, 2003 to February 14, 2013.

“I know for many voters in London West voting NDP was not something they had a history of doing, but they told me they became open to the NDP because of Jack Layton’s message of hope and optimism.”

PC candidate Ali Chahbar ended the night in second place. It was his second run at the position.

“We did everything we possibly could do, knocked on as many doors, spoke to as many people and I think the fact that we narrowed the gap was a testament to the hard work that we did. At the end of the day you trust in the infinite wisdom of the voters and it is what it is. We worked hard, we have our head high and we move forward.”

Liberal candidate Ken Coran finished the night in third place with just 15.8 per cent of the vote.

The former head of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation was seen by many as a parachute candidate, and the move may have backfired for the Ontario Liberal Party.

“Well obviously the electorate has spoken. They had concerns about the party, perhaps me as well. But it was a learning experience for us all. As you can see from the energy in this room we were growing every day with momentum and if the campaign would had been a few weeks longer who knows if it would have been the same result.”

The NDP candidate in Windsor-Tecumseh also won. Percy Hatfield had widely been expected to pick up the seat.

The Liberals were able to retain two of their seats, John Fraser winning in Ottawa South, former premier Dalton McGuinty’s riding, and Mitzie Hunter in Scarborough-Guildwood.

The Progressive Conservatives picked up one seat in the Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding. Doug Holyday, the former Etobicoke mayor and current Toronto deputy mayor taking the seat in a tight race with the Liberals.