Kathleen Wynne in tight race, resigns Liberal leadership

Ontario: Outgoing premier Kathleen Wynne took the stage Thursday evening and announced she would be stepping down as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party.

“I am passing the torch,” she said, declaring she would not get emotional and saying her party was “still standing.”

As she fought to hold on to her riding of Don Valley West, Wynne acknowledged it’s been a “difficult night” for her Liberals, who saw their party’s presence in the legislature all but disappear.

The Progressive Conservatives under Doug Ford are set to form a majority government, with the New Democrats under Andrea Horwath acting as the official Opposition.

Wynne admitted last week that she was unlikely to win after five years as premier.

However, she urged voters to support Liberal candidates to help prevent a majority Tory or NDP government.

Earlier in the evening, scores of bright red signs cheerfully instructed “re-elect Kathleen Wynne,” the news trucks were lined up ready to capture the results of Ontario’s 42nd election.

But inside York Mills Gallery, twinkly lights reflected off empty floors, the small room sparsely populated with Liberal party staffers, volunteers and reporters — a stark contrast to the horde gathering at the Toronto Congress Centre for Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford’s campaign party.

As polls closed across the province Thursday, the campaign’s culmination couldn’t be described as a celebration.

A reckoning, perhaps, a farewell party after 15 years of Liberal rule. Or, “the beginning of the rebuild,” said Ontario Liberal campaign co-chair Deb Matthews.