The Conservative Party's last, best hope for a majority government – after Prime Minister Stephen Harper blew their chances in Quebec with his attack on the arts – rested with three key numbers on election night: 9-0-5 . That's the area code surrounding Toronto and was where Stephen Harper hoped to vanquish the remaining Jean Chretien-era Liberals who once dominated Ontario.
With just a handleful of seats from the Ontario region that kept right-wing Conservative Premier Mike Harris in power, Harper could have gained a majority government and told Quebec to frappe la rue.
But voters in area code 905 hung up on the Conservatives and helped the Liberals hang on Tuesday night. As a result, Harper is left with a minority government.
Ironically, one of the only Liberal seats in 905 to go Conservative was Halton - where party-switching MP Garth Turner was handily defeated. Turner had been turfed from the Tory caucus for telling too many caucus tales in public and then joined the Liberals but could not hold the seat.
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