NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. - Tim Hudak is stepping down as leader of Ontario's Progressive Conservatives in the wake of a resounding defeat at the hands of Kathleen Wynne's Liberals.
Hudak, who became leader of the party in 2009, announced his resignation after congratulating Wynne on her majority government win.
He says he will stay on until a new leader can be chosen, but plans to retain his Niagara-area seat.
But Hudak couldn't resist a parting shot, saying Ontario residents deserve a government that believes in transparency and creating jobs -- the primary themes he has used over the last 40 days to beat up on the Liberals.
He calls it a hard-fought campaign, one in which he says the party should be proud.
During the campaign, he simply dismissed or ignored economists who said the Conservatives had made a fundamental math error in their promise to create one million jobs over eight years.
