‎He was conquered, he saw, he came back.

And all hailed Tim Hudak upon his return to the legislature.

The former Progressive Conservative leader on Thursday ‎made his first appearance in the legislature since his party was defeated in the June 12 election.

“It’s great to be back,” a visibly relaxed Hudak told reporters after attending the daily question period in the legislative assembly.

His arrival, the morning after he was quietly sworn in as the MPP for Niagara West-Glanbrook, had the chamber abuzz.

Premier Kathleen Wynne, who is still suing Hudak for libel stemming from comments he made about the Liberals’ gas-plants scandal, bounded across the floor to greet him.

Wynne and her former rival chatted amiably for a few moments before she returned to her seat on the other side of the house.

Deputy Premier Deb Matthews and Government House Leader Yasir Naqvi were among the many Liberals who warmly welcomed him back.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath had blamed Hudak’s controversial promise to cut 100,000 public-service positions for sparking a wave of strategic voting that helped the Liberals and hurt her party.

But on Thursday, Horwath was magnanimous.

“There’s really nothing to do about it at this point. The people have spoken, we have a new legislature,” she said.

“He’s back to take his seat, which as an elected member he should be doing. I welcomed him back.”

Hudak, who has since been succeeded by interim Tory Leader Jim Wilson, emphasized he has few regrets.

“I’m proud of the campaign that we put forward, proud of our team — ultimately voters chose other options, I respect their decision,” he said.

Always affable, Hudak spent most of the one-hour question period moving from row-to-row in the legislature saying hello to MPPs from all three parties and welcoming the new Liberal and NDP members to the house.

“Sometimes folks see what happens on camera, they don’t see what happens behind the scenes. We’re all members that are here to make the province a better place,” said the 19-year MPP.

“It was nice to be in the legislature and welcome members who are newly elected and catch up with colleagues as well.”

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The Tories are expected to decide next month when to elect a new leader. It’s widely believed a leadership convention may not be held until May.

So far the only declared candidate is MPP Christine Elliott (Whitby-Oshawa).

MPPs Vic Fedeli (Nipissing), Lisa MacLeod (Nepean-Carleton), Monte McNaughton (Lambton-Kent-Middlesex), MP Patrick Brown (Barrie) and CivicAction chair Rod Phillips are all considered possible candidates.

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