Bobbi Ann Brady says she set out in this Ontario election to prove that her win in Haldimand-Norfolk as an independent in 2022 was not a fluke.
But, she says, she never imagined she would end up winning by one of the largest margins in the whole province.
Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives won their third consecutive majority government, but in Haldimand-Norfolk in southern Ontario, Brady soundly defeated her Tory opponent in Thursday's election by more than 20,000 votes.
She says the Progressive Conservatives "waged war" in the riding, spending money and bringing in cabinet ministers to canvass, but the people in her riding have come to value her independent voice in the legislature.
Brady has PC roots and worked for the Tory representative for the riding for 23 years, but decided to run in 2022 as an independent because the party would not hold an open nomination meeting, instead appointing a candidate.
Brady says she has a lot of work she wants to get to, but first she's going to take a bit of time for herself, to read a book or two and tackle the month's worth of laundry she jokes is sitting in her home.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2025.