MPP Rob Cerjanec is dropping out of the Nov. 21 Ontario Liberal leadership race.
Cerjanec, who won the Ajax riding in 2025, announced Sunday that he had made “the difficult decision to suspend” his leadership campaign.
Sources close to the campaign told the Star that the rookie MPP faced a cash crunch against better-funded opponents like former federal cabinet minister Navdeep Bains and Etobicoke-Lakeshore MPP Lee Fairclough.
An insider said Cerjanec told his supporters Sunday night that “although the campaign had received numerous financial commitments, they would not be coming until September at the earliest.”
“He is also dealing with some personal matters at the same time,” said the source who spoke confidentially in order to recount private conversations.
“Rob outlined that the campaign has raised over $100,000 and made the June payment to the party,” said the insider, referring to the instalments paid toward the $150,000 entry fee for the leadership race.
“But as (the) campaign would be pushing up on the debt ceiling of $50,000, (that would make) it challenging to organize an effective tour and run an effective campaign that could win.”
The insider said Cerjanec told supporters “it was too early to say if he will get involved in one of the other leadership campaigns.”
The other two candidates in the running to succeed Bonnie Crombie, who resigned in January, are policy adviser Dylan Marando and finance technology engineer Eric Lombardi.
While the Liberals governed Ontario under premiers Kathleen Wynne and Dalton McGuinty from 2003 until 2018, they have been in the political wilderness since being toppled by Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives eight years ago.
The leadership race, however, has energized the party’s base with hopes of returning to power after the next election, expected in 2029 or 2030.
