Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak today issued the following statement on the by-elections in Kitchener-Waterloo and Vaughan.

“I want to congratulate Tracey Weiler and her team who worked tirelessly to promote our bold, conservative ideas to put Ontario on the right path. She was the only candidate running for the first time in a highly competitive riding and made a terrific showing. She has a great career in public life ahead of her.

“I also want to congratulate Tony Genco and his team for running a strong and spirited campaign in Vaughan. Tony and his team have a lot to be proud of for running a well-organized campaign in one of the safest Liberal seats despite the hastily called election. We look forward to building on the momentum of Tony’s campaign.

“As newly-elected MPPs Catherine Fife and Steven Del Duca prepare to take their seats in the Legislature, I also extend my congratulations and my best wishes that they will effectively contribute to bringing forward thoughtful ideas to help Ontario out of our current jobs and spending crisis.

“Tonight’s result has shown that public sector unions from across Ontario were provided with the perfect opportunity to concentrate their resources and lash out against the wage freeze we’ve been consistently pushing. They bought Kitchener-Waterloo and now we can expect the rest of Ontario taxpayers to pay for it as the NDP cut more budget deals to keep the Liberals in power.

“This is bad news for Dalton McGuinty. He rolled the dice with an expensive appointment to trigger a by-election to try and gain his coveted majority. He failed and taxpayers lost. Even worse, he put off taking the urgent action needed to deal with Ontario’s jobs and debt crisis.

“Now, more than ever, as public sector union bosses further entrench their interests in this minority parliament, we need to keep the government’s feet to the fire. The Ontario PC Caucus will proudly standup as the sole standard bearer of fiscal sanity and private sector job creation in this province.

“Each voter who cast a ballot for Tracey Weiler and Tony Genco expressed an unshakable vote of confidence in our province and its potential. Tonight it is clear that more and more people agree with us that Ontario can and will do better.”