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It will likely be status quo at Queen’s Park for the fall sitting of the legislature with the Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats poised to hold onto their seats Thursday after three provincial byelections.

Doug Ford’s PC government was well on its way to retaining the seats left vacant by a pair of former cabinet ministers as Susan Lahey was leading handily in York—Simcoe and Jeff Beattie picked up enough votes to represent Hamilton East — Stoney Creek.

The NDP, meanwhile, kept its seat in Scarborough Southwest with Fatima Shaban holding steady at about 40% of the vote throughout the night.

Scarborough Southwest has elected Fatima Shaban as their next MPP. A voice from this community, for this community, joining Marit Stiles and the Ontario NDP to make life more affordable and get Scarborough its fair share.

Congratulations, Fatima. Let's go get it. pic.twitter.com/U2GkZdYqYJ

— Ontario NDP (@OntarioNDP) September 4, 2026

“Congratulations, Fatima,” the Ontario NDP account on X posted on Thursday night. “Let’s go get it.”

PC majority not at stake

The results of the byelections mean little in the day-to-day workings at Queen’s Park with Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives maintaining their large majority of 79 seats . The New Democrats are second with 27 seats followed by the Liberals at 14 and the Greens at two.

Two Independents are also sitting in the provincial legislature.

The battle for Scarborough Southwest had promised to be the most fascinating race after the NDP’s Doly Begum bolted provincial politics for a run at representing the riding federally for the Liberals. She won the federal riding handily in an April 13 byelection, beating the Conservatives’ Diana Filipova with almost 70% of the vote.

In the end, Shaban (40.47% of the vote) kept the seat orange as she outlasted the Liberals’ Ahsanul Hafiz (30.3%) — whose candidacy was contested by former Beaches—East York MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith before he lost the nomination vote, unsuccessfully appealed the results and opted instead for a run at municipal politics — and the PC’s Noor Tarun (23.37%) with the Green’s Mark Bekkering (3.38%) well behind in fourth.

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Candidates fighting for ex-cabinet ministers’ seats

In York—Simcoe, Lahey will likely succeed former PC cabinet minister Caroline Mulroney , who opted in the spring to step away from politics. The former East Gwillimbury councillor is beating the Liberals’ Naomi Davison and the NDP’s Bobby Nikmard handily with the Green’s Matt Pearce placing fourth.

Meanwhile in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, Beattie, a former Hamilton city councillor, won a tightly contested race with 38.87% of the vote against the NDP’s Monique Taylor (32.9%) and the Liberals’ Heino Doessing (23.45%), while the Greens’ Pascale Marchand was fourth (2.66%) in a riding previously held by former CFL player Neil Lumsden, another former PC cabinet minister.

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