ONTARIO (AP) – Ontario Liberals scored a third straight victory in a provincial election in Canada’s economic center on Thursday, but fell one seat short of a majority and will need support from opposition legislators to stay in power.

Dalton McGuinty strode to the podium through a sea of supporters, as the returning premier of Ontario but a humbled leader of Canada’s most populous province.

The Liberal leader’s pursuit for another majority mandate fell short by only one seat, leaving him at the helm of Ontario’s first minority government in 26 years.

The Liberals had 53 seats, while the Progressive Conservatives had 37 and the NDP had 17, the most seats that party has held in 16 years.

Had Mr. McGuinty won a third consecutive majority, he would have been the first premier in 50 years to perform the feat in Ontario.

McGuinty was easily re-elected in his Ottawa South riding and the other major party leaders also claimed their seats.

Even with the win, it’s a long fall for the Liberals after losing 17 seats Thursday. When the writ was dropped, the Liberals held 70 seats, the Conservatives 25 and the NDP 10 while two seats were vacant.

The win was widely expected to be a narrow one. Political analysts predicted the election would come down to the wire and the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives were neck-and-neck in a race that was seen, at first, to be a sure win for the PCs.

The last time Ontario had a minority government was in 1985 when the Liberals ended the Progressive Conservatives 42-year rule with the help of Bob Rae’s NDP.

Conservative leader Tim Hudak’s front-runner campaign proved to be strong competition for the incumbent McGuinty, who appeared sluggish on the month-long trail, but rebounded near the end.

But Mr. Hudak saw his lead disappear in the final weeks of the campaign as he scrambled to connect with voters on a platform that looked very similar to that of the Liberals, albeit with some promises to lower taxes and curb spending.

During the campaign, the Liberals promised more money for their priorities of healthcare and education.

They say they can rein in a C$16 billion ($15.4 billion) deficit and ween the province off its dependency on the auto sector by investing heavily in renewable energy.

A vow to scrap Ontario’s C$7 billion green energy deal with South Korea’s Samsung and end above-market prices for renewable power were the party’s only big policy difference with the Liberals.

Negative media play about right-wing crime and punishment ideas and moves deemed anti-immigrant and homophobic also did the Conservatives few favours.