Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory failed to win a seat in the legislature, losing Thursday's byelection to Liberal candidate Rick Johnson. (Peter Redman/Canadian Press)

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory has failed in his bid to regain a seat in the legislature, losing Thursday's byelection to Liberal Rick Johnson.

The result casts doubt on Tory's future as leader.

In a brief speech during which he took no questions, Tory thanked his supporters and said he'd discuss his future Friday at the legislature.

"Obviously, I'm very disappointed with the results of the election, as we all are," he said. "But the voters can never be wrong in what they decide, and I respect their decision."

The final results showed Johnson winning the riding of Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock by 906 votes, Tory drew 41 per cent of the vote to Johnson's nearly 44 per cent.

The other candidates were New Democrat Lyn Edwards and the Green party's Mike Schreiner.

MPP stepped aside

The sitting PC member, Laurie Scott, resigned so Tory could seek the seat. Scott won the riding by close to 10,000 votes in the 2007 election.

After winning the leadership in 2004, Tory won a 2005 byelection in the riding of Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey. In 2007, he decided to run in the hometown Toronto riding of Don Valley West, where he lost.

It took Tory 15 months to persuade one of his colleagues to give up a secure seat so he could again lead the party from the floor of the legislature.

Speaking outside his campaign office in downtown Lindsay before the polls closed, Tory acknowledged the past 15 months haven't been easy.

"It's been a challenging period of time for me personally, and it's been challenging politically," Tory said.

Political observers predicted that a byelection loss would almost certainly lead to his resignation as leader and perhaps the end of his political career.

The ruling Liberals fought hard for the Peterborough-area riding, blanketing the airwaves with ads and urging voters to "vote local" with candidate Johnson, a school board chairman who has lived in nearby Pontypool for more than 20 years.

With files from the Canadian Press