With 42.9% of the total vote in Thursday's provincial election, Scarborough Southwest MPP and Ontario NDP Deputy Leader Doly Begum was re-elected in the riding in yet another landslide triumph.

She is the granddaughter of the former chairman of Manumukh Union of Sadar Upazila of Moulvibazar district,Sujon Miah.She immigrated to Canada as a child with her family,and was raised in Scarborough, Ontario, attending W. A. Porter Collegiate Institute in the Clairlea neighbourhood of Toronto.

Doly is a graduate of the University of Toronto and has a Masters in Development, Administration & Planning from University College London. Begum was married to Bangladeshi-Canadian lawyer Rizuan Rahman until his death from cancer in September 2024.

'I thought of a lot of things to say today, but, you know, the only thing I think I could say is today’s win is for the entire team, and for Scarborough,” said Begum addressing her supporters during her victory speech.

“Throughout this election, you showed what the strength of unity and community looks like, and I am so proud of every single one of you who fought that tough fight.”

This will be Begum’s third term as Scarborough Southwest MPP since she first won the seat in the 2018 provincial election.

Also running in the riding was Addie Daramola of the Progressive Conservative party who finished second with 30.6 per cent of the vote, Qadira Jackson of the Liberal Party was third with 22.9 per cent of the vote, followed by Mark Bekkering of the Green Party with 3.5 per cent of the vote.

Begum expressed her appreciation for the other Scarborough Southwest candidates running against her.

“It’s really tough putting your name forward for any political representation or any politics, so I congratulate and thank them for putting their names forward,” said Begum in an interview with Beach Metro Community News.

At the age of 29, Begum established herself as the youngest New Democrat among the party’s caucus and is the first Bangladeshi-Canadian to be elected to a legislative body in Canada.

Prior to being an NDP candidate, Begum worked as the Co-Chair of the Scarborough Health Coalition, Vice-Chair of the Warden Woods Community Centre, a research analyst at the Society of Energy Professionals, and was chief coordinator of the province-wide Keep Hydro Public campaign.

Support for Begum has been prevalent amongst voters in the Scarborough Southwest riding since she was first elected MPP in the 2018 provincial election with 45.66 per cent of total votes. In that year, she defeated 15-year Liberal incumbent Lorenzo Berardinetti.

The 2022 provincial election saw similar victory numbers for Begum, where she won with 47.68 per cent of votes over the Progressive Conservative (27.60 per cent) and Liberal (18.56 per cent).

“I think this win means a lot for the community. It means that we have got a lot of work to do, and people believe in the work that I’ve been doing. They believe in the hard work that we have shown for the last seven years,” said Begum on Thursday night.

Begum, like many other political candidates, expressed her disapproval of the early election call by Ontario Premier and leader of the Progressive Conservative party Doug Ford.

“I think it was a waste of $189 million. We could have used that money on so many things. People need housing, we need to fix our schools, we need to fix our healthcare system,” said Begum.

“Just like Doug Ford has had priorities that are really missed priorities and mismanaged tax dollars, this election was another one where we saw people’s tax dollars go into something that wasn’t necessary right now.”

Begum said the most pressing issue afflicting the province is the cost-of-living crisis, and one she and the Ontario NDP (as the province’s Official Opposition party for the third time since 2018) will be working hard on.

“Cost of living is the most important issue – and that comes with a few things. We need to make sure that we’re supporting people with housing, and that means being able to afford a home; whether it’s renting, mortgage, or just being able to buy a home,” said Begum.

Across the province, Ford’s Progressive Conservatives were re-elected to their third straight majority government. According to Elections Ontario unofficial results, the PCs won 81 seats, the NDP 26, the Liberals 14, and the Green Party two.

Here are the unofficial results from Election Ontario for Scarborough Southwest:

Doly Begum (NDP) – 14,557 (42.89 per cent).

Addie Daramola (Progressive Conservative)  – 10,400 votes (30.65 per cent).

Qadira Jackson (Liberal)  – 7,786 votes (22.94 per cent).

Mark Bekkering (Green Party) – 1,194 votes (3.52 per cent).

Elections Ontario said the voter turnout in Scarborough Southwest was 41.67 per cent. In the 2022 provincial election, the voter turnout in Scarborough Southwest was 44.34 per cent.