The results of today’s five Ontario byelections won’t change the status of the government.  It will remain a minority Liberal government.  But the results are being viewed as a test of the leadership of new Premier Kathleen Wynne.  Most of the races are too close to call, including the hotly contested Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding where Toronto City Councillors Doug Holyday and Peter Milczyn are neck and neck in the polls – Holyday for the P.C.’s, Milczyn for the Liberals.

NDP leader Andrea Horvath tells AM 740/Classical 96.3FM News, her party is the only one of the three that will actually get results for Ontario voters.  “They have the choice between the arrogant Liberals, who are going to continue in the same vein as they have for the last ten years, or  sending a Tim Hudak Conservative who’s going to shout from the sidelines but not getting anything done, or voting for a New Democrat who’s going to work hard and actually get real results for folks.  And I think that’s the fundamental choice for folks voting in these five ridings.”

The New Democrats are widely expected to take Windsor-Tecumseh and are in a two way race with the Progressive Conservatives in London South.  The votes are also crucial for PC Leader Tim Hudak, who lost a big lead heading into the 2011 election and lost a long-held Tory seat in Kitchener-Waterloo in a 2012 byelection.  The PC’s haven’t elected anyone in Toronto since 1999.  The Liberals best chances appear to be in Scarborough-Guildwood and in former Premier Dalton McGuinty’s old riding of Ottawa-South.  In both of those ridings, the Tories are also considered contenders.

Listen for comprehensive coverage of the Ontario byelection results Friday morning on AM 740 and Classical 96.3FM News.