Hot News: Ontario election 2014: NDP to sweep southern tip of Ontario

The erosion of Liberal support continues in southwestern Ontario.

The region was once a Liberal stronghold, with heavyweight cabinet ministers holding down the fort.

But it will likely be without a cabinet minister for the first time in a decade with the NDP projected by CBC to sweep the province's three most southwestern ridings; Windsor West, Windsor-Tecumseh and the rural riding of Essex.

In a tight race, CBC projects the NDP's Linda Gretzky to steal Windsor West from Liberal Minister of Child and Youth Services Teresa Piruzza.

The NDP put a lot of effort into winning the Windsor West riding.

Party leader Andrea Horwath made three trips to Windsor during the campaign. She was here as recently as last week.

Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne came to Windsor once, to participate in a collective campaign kickoff for a number of candidates.

Windsor-Tecumseh and Essex were never in doubt Thursday as the NDP's Percy Hatfield and Taras Natyshak ran away with the ridings, respectively.

Hatfield was one of the first MPPs to be projected a winner. Natyshak was projected a winner minutes later.

Until tonight, Liberals had at least one MPP in one of those three ridings since at least 1995.

Piruzza's loss marks the first time 11 years no member provincial government will hold a seat in Windsor or Essex County.

Former Windsor-Tecumseh Liberal MPP Dwight Duncan was named Minister of Energy in 2003, before eventually becoming the Minister of Finance under former premier Dalton McGuinty.

In 2004, Windsor West MP Liberal Sandra Pupatello, who held the seat for 12 years, was named to cabinet. Kathleen Wynne last year named Pupatello's protégé, Piruzza, the Minister of Child and Youth Services.

Liberals have been losing seats from London down through the last two elections.

Post By http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-votes-2014/ontario-election-2014-ndp-to-sweep-southern-tip-of-ontario-1.2673972