So Ontario Agriculture Minister Carol Mitchell was defeated - by a huge margin.Probably wind turbines and solar panels did her in.
So now that we have Tory blue across the vast landscape of Ontario, and red concentrated in big cities, especially Toronto, farmers better look out because those opposed to factory farms, antibiotics in livestock and poultry rations and pesticides to control weeds, insects and fungi are going to have greater influence than ever before.
Forget science! Forget the reasoned arguments of civil servants within the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The decisions will be made in Premier Dalton McGuinty's office, just as they were in the decision to ban the "cosmetic use" of pesticides, to sign a green-energy deal with Samsung, etc., etc.
Farmers have long had political clout far beyond their numbers, mainly because they have been a determined minority with nobody in the general public strongly opposed. Besides, city people loved farmers.
The politics have changed. Now we have determined minorities in the anti-pesticide groups, the animal welfare activists and the organic movement. They, too, are pressing causes that city people generally favour because they've been convinced that these causes will improve the environment and health.
One of the first thing McGuinty has promised today is an "economic update" from his finance minister, Dwight Duncan.
I expect the new outlook will bear precious little resemblance to the election-campaign outlook. Batten down the hatches! We're in for some stormy political and economic times.