Ontario Liberals to elect new leader in the fall

Leadership hopefuls must submit papers, including 250 signatures from party members, by July 31 to be nominated and can sign up new members until Sept. 7, with an exception until Sept. 25 for campus Liberal clubs. Online voting by ranked ballot will take place from Nov. 9 to 20. 

“The leadership process is an opportunity to bring Liberals together, grow our movement across Ontario, and put forward leadership that is ready to earn the trust of Ontarians and offer a real alternative in the next election,” said party president Kathryn McGarry, a former MPP for Cambridge.

That provincial election is not expected until 2029 or 2030.

The $150,000 entry fee — $50,000 more than the last leadership race — is to be paid in installments, starting with a $5,000 payment within seven days of the candidate registering with Elections Ontario. Subsequent payments rise to $25,000 with the last one due Oct. 30.

There is also a mostly refundable $25,000 deposit to ensure compliance with the rules. Candidates must pay 25 per cent of all money raised to the party. 

In ranked balloting, voters list their candidates in order of preference. The party will release details on voting locations and the announcement of a new leader at a later date. 

Pressure to set a date increased a month ago when Bonnie Crombie quit as leader earlier than expected.

Upon receiving a lukewarm 57 per cent support in a leadership review vote last September, Crombie said she would resign and pledged to stay on until her replacement was chosen. But as the months dragged on, the former Mississauga mayor decided the time had come.

“As we begin a new year, I believe this is the right moment for me and for the party to move forward,” she said in January. 

Veteran Liberal MPP John Fraser (Ottawa South) has been named interim leader, his third time in the role since the party’s crushing 2018 defeat at the hands of Premier Doug Ford following almost 15 years in power.

“The timing couldn’t be more important,” Fraser said of the leadership race. “The NDP is in a period of uncertainty and Doug Ford’s Conservatives are out of gas, out of ideas and out of touch with Ontarians.” 

While Crombie led the party back to official status in the legislature with 14 seats — and increased its popular vote to almost 30 per cent, ahead of the Official Opposition NDP — she failed to win a seat in last February’s election that vaulted Ford to a third majority government.

Similarly, her predecessor Steven Del Duca, now mayor of Vaughan, could not win a seat in the 2022 election and subsequently resigned as leader.  

Their fates have sparked a debate within the party over the pros and cons of electing a boss who is not an MPP.   

The presumptive front-runner in the race is Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith (Beaches—East York), who last week signalled his intent to seek the provincial party’s nomination in neighbouring Scarborough Southwest following the resignation of New Democrat MPP and deputy leader Doly Begum. She is planning to run federally for the Liberals in the riding in the wake of MP Bill Blair’s resignation. 

Several caucus members have expressed interest in running for leader but have been waiting for details on the race before making final decisions, including Adil Shamji (Don Valley East), Stephanie Bowman (Don Valley West), Lee Fairclough (Etobicoke—Lakeshore) and Rob Cerjanec (Ajax).

Other potential leadership candidates include former federal party president Mike Crawley, more recently a banking and energy executive, and city councillor Josh Matlow (Toronto—St. Paul’s).