After winning in the Feb. 27 election, Ernie Hardeman addressed his supports at the Woodstock Legion. He thanked his campaign team and those in attendance for their role in the victory.
(Jeff Helsdon Photo).
By Jeff Helsdon
LJI Reporter
Ernie Hardeman successfully kept Oxford blue in the 2025 provincial election, capturing 55 per cent of the vote.
It was only six minutes after the polls closed until the media were declaring that Premier Doug Ford and the PCs had won a third mandate. Two minutes later, media called it a majority and Hardeman’s campaign manager Shelley Ratelband announced his victory locally to a cheering crowd at a post-election party in the Woodstock Legion.
Final results for Oxford were: Hardeman 27,061 votes (55.26 per cent); Liberal Bernia Martin, 11,348 votes (23.17 per cent); NDP Khadijah Haliru, 5,374 votes (10.97 per cent); Green Party of Ontario Colton Kaufman, 2,182 votes (4.46 per cent); Ontario Party Grace Harper, 1,414 votes (2.89 per cent); New Blue Party Peter Beimers, 1,317 votes (2.69 per cent); Libertarian Henryk Szymczyszyn, 276 votes (0.56 per cent). Voter turnout was 49.20 per cent, an improvement over the 46.45 per cent in 2022.
Arriving at the party, Hardeman entered to cheers and thanked Ratelband and his campaign team, his family, and supporters.
“It is as great an honour today as it was in 1996,” the nine-term MPP said humbly. “The worry about winning didn’t decrease in all those races. The first one was the easiest as I had nothing to prove. After that, it became a report card on my past service.”
Asked about the highlights of the campaign, Hardeman said he was pleased with the candidates running and how the election was conducted.
“It was never personal when they talked to the media about the election – they were fighting the Ford government,” he said.
One of the personal highlights for Hardeman was the leader’s debate, and how the premier did a good job presenting his platform.
“It didn’t matter what the other leaders put forward, he didn’t lose his cool,” Hardeman said.
One of the things Hardeman said he had to defend the most on the campaign trail was why there was an early election.
“The reason we had to do that is the premier said in order to negotiate, you need to be there for the duration,” he said.
Hardeman said he is looking forward to getting back to work representing the people of Oxford and assisting with challenges they may face. Those challenges ranged from helping individual constituents who have an issue with government services to working with municipalities and hospitals to get the health and addiction hub in place in Woodstock.
On the health care front, Hardeman said money was announced to assist with primary care, but not yet doled out before the election. He is hopeful the next announcement could include funding for a nurse practitioner-led clinic in Tillsonburg. He did mention the preference for health care delivery with wraparound services that included many health practitioners.
Word from other candidates
Although a distant second, Martin was positive on the results.
“We have achieved an outcome that many thought was impossible given the short campaign period, the weather conditions, and the voting history in this riding,” she said. “We reached new voters, and we educated people.”
Many people told Martin she was a “solid candidate and had a lot of potential” but they couldn’t vote Liberal.
“We will have to take a closer look at that sentiment and determine how best to address that concern for voters who really were looking for a provincial representative that could take on the issues facing our riding,” Martin added.
Going forward Martin said she is not interested in running federally and will focus on her role as a city and county councillor until the next provincial or municipal election.
Haliru wasn’t surprised with the results on election night.
“From day one, we knew this was going to be a long shot, but for me, this campaign wasn’t just about winning a seat. It was about aligning so well with the NDP and hopes of what we could do with (leader) Merits Stiles’ new fire as we saw in her role of opposition, and it was also about asserting my place at the table, showing that first-generation immigrants, diverse voices, and women like me belong in these spaces,” she said.
A positive for Haliru was being vetted and validated as the candidate for the NDP.
“I've been misunderstood and silenced in my journey so many times,” she said. “It showed me, and hopefully others, that our stories, our experiences, our ideas matter. I had the chance to engage with people directly, to hear their hopes and frustrations, and to stand proudly in my truth as a Black, Muslim, immigrant woman running in a space where people like me are often underrepresented. That visibility and validation alone is a win”
One thing she heard at the doors is people are tired of being unheard on many issues.
As for the future, Haliru said this wasn’t her “last dance”. She vowed to continue to show up at the provincial, municipal and community level.
Beimers was disappointed with the results on election night, and didn’t see any positives coming out of the campaign.
“Not much, if anything,” he answered. “$190 million spent to bring the Liberal Party to official party status. Everything Doug Ford will do in the immediate future, he could have done without this election. Truly a waste of taxpayers’ money.”
On the campaign, he heard concerns about the educational system, gender identity, critical race theory, how expensive life is becoming and housing costs.
Beimers said he would like to run again if the opportunity presents itself. “I still believe New Blue's policies are the best for Ontario, that it is truly the only conservative option for Ontario,” he said. “New Blue will be here, ready, for when the people of Oxford and Ontario realize that the PC Party has abandoned traditional conservative values.”
Harper was hoping to win, but was happy to spread the word about the Ontario Party.
“Also, because we are a grassroots movement, every time we run a campaign, we learn a great deal about the political process,” she said. “We hope to use this campaign to put the Ontario Party in a position to win Oxford next time round.”
She saw a positive in meeting so many people at the door and hearing their stories. These included a Tillsonburg resident in a senior’s apartment complaining of an elevator not running for a year to concerns about Bill 197 taking away the ability for municipalities to say no to landfills.
Harper has plans to run again either municipally or provincially.
Responses were not received from the Libertarian or Green Party candidates.
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