Michelle Cooper wins

 The Eglinton–Lawrence Election Results 

The Dream That Got Away

Last week, in an election story by reporter Stephen Weir, two-time NDP candidate Natasha Doyle-Merrick announced that she was withdrawing from the race in the Eglinton–Lawrence riding. She stepped aside to prevent Michelle Cooper, the Progressive Conservative rookie candidate, from overtaking the Liberal hopeful.

“I recognize that the race in Eglinton–Lawrence (including the Yonge–Eglinton area) is a clear two-party contest between the Liberals and Conservatives. To prevent a Conservative win and more years of neglect, I’m stepping aside to avoid a vote split,” Doyle-Merrick said days before last week’s vote.

In an official campaign press release, the former candidate expanded on her decision to withdraw.

“Lawrence Heights is my home. It is a community of talented, intelligent, and ambitious people who deserve to be heard—not just used every four years for votes,” she wrote.

“This election is crucial because Doug Ford and the Conservatives have shown zero interest in delivering support to all residents in the riding.”

Eglinton–Lawrence is a diverse and affluent riding in Toronto, Ontario, with a mix of upper-middle-class and working-class neighbourhoods. It has a significant population of Italian, Jewish, and Filipino residents, along with growing South Asian and Black communities. The median household income is higher than the city average; however, pockets of lower-income households exist, particularly in the rental-heavy neighbourhood of Lawrence Heights—Doyle-Merrick’s home community.

For the past eight years, Robin Martin, a white lawyer, has served as a backbencher at Queen’s Park, making little impact in the legislature. She is not seeking re-election in 2025. Instead, the PC Party put forward Michelle Cooper, a wealthy former fundraiser for the Conservative Party in the province.

So how did it all turn out? Call it the dream that got away. The ballots have been counted, and Michelle Cooper squeaked out a victory for the Ford government.

Michelle Cooper of the Progressive Conservative Party narrowly defeated Vince Gasparro of the Ontario Liberal Party by a margin of 167 votes. Cooper secured 19,556 votes (48.48%), while Gasparro received 19,389 votes (48.07%). Leah Tysoe of the Green Party garnered 1,390 votes, accounting for 3.45% of the total.

Maybe if Green Party candidate Leah Tysoe had also dropped out of the race, Cooper wouldn’t have secured a seat.

Although Doyle-Merrick’s withdrawal from the election caught the NDP by surprise, days after the election, she was being lauded as a hero on social media.

“This is what a true goodwill politician does—sacrificing an attempt to be an MPP in the name of fighting regressive conservatism. Utmost respect for Natasha Doyle-Merrick,” posted popular Toronto Twitter user T.Dot.Resident.a