Bobbi Ann Brady set out in this Ontario election to prove that her win in Haldimand-Norfolk as an independent in 2022 was not a fluke, but winning by the second-largest margin in the province is "mind blowing," she said.
Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives won their third consecutive majority government, but in Brady's southern Ontario riding she soundly defeated her Tory opponent in Thursday's election by more than 20,000 votes.
"One of the things that I said at the beginning of this campaign is I don't enter a race to lose," she said Friday in an interview.
"I am extremely competitive, and not only do I want to win, but I want to send a clear, clear message...We're not just going to squeak by. But I never imagined that the numbers would be that resounding last night."
Brady garnered 33,669 votes while independent candidates across all 124 ridings got a total of 54,278 votes, meaning that 62 per cent of all independent votes cast went to Brady.
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.
She won Haldimand-Norfolk in 2022 by about 2,000 votes and this time the Progressive Conservatives "waged war" in the riding, spending money and bringing in cabinet ministers to canvass.
But Ford himself unwittingly ended up being a boon to her campaign, Brady believes.
She asked him during an April 2024 question period session in the legislature if he would follow Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's lead in announcing he would stop collecting the federal carbon levy on home heating. At the end of his response to Brady, Ford said, "By the way, you won't have a job next election."
That galvanized people in Haldimand-Norfolk behind her independent candidacy, Brady said.
"The people here went, 'Whoa, wait a minute,'" she said. "'You don't yell at our MPP. You don't tell us that she's going to be out of a job'...So he did me a huge favour by actually losing control in the Ontario legislature that day."
Brady said that in 2022 many voters weren't sure what it would mean to have an independent elected official, but she believes she has convinced them that she can fully represent their interests without being beholden to a party.
"(There's) very tight messaging that the parties hold their MPP accountable to," Brady said.
"You don't represent your constituents. You are a brand ambassador. We've done a lot of work in this riding ensuring people know the difference between a brand ambassador and a champion for their communities."
Brady's 2022 win was the first time since 1995 that an independent representative was elected to the Ontario legislature. It's a rare feat made all the more rare by repeating it, said Jonathan Malloy, a political science professor at Carleton University.
"It鈥檚 exceptionally rare to win once, and to win twice is truly impressive," he said.
"The fact that she鈥檚 won twice suggests that she really has obviously some local appeal. She obviously knows the riding very well and she resonates very well with people to build such an impressive personal profile."
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, spend time with family, read some books, tackle the mountain of laundry she says has been piling up and do some cleaning.
"The dust bunnies are bigger than my animals in the house," she jokes.
"I've got a few things that I need to do, but...I'm a Type A personality. I'm not going to be off for long."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2025.
Allison Jones, The Canadian Press
