She’s been a hospital president and played on Canada’s 1998 World Cup rugby team. Now, first-term MPP Lee Fairclough is setting her sights on leading Ontario’s Liberal party.
When Fairclough (Etobicoke-Lakeshore) officially registers Friday, she will become the first member of the legislature in the Nov. 21 race to replace Bonnie Crombie, who resigned in January.
Having a voice at Queen’s Park is crucial after the last two leaders failed in that regard, putting the third-place party at a disadvantage in efforts to hold Premier Doug Ford to account, Fairclough told the Star.
“It has been eight years since the Liberals have had a leader with a seat in the legislature,” the married mother of two teenage boys said in a wide-ranging interview.
Indeed, the last time that happened was when Kathleen Wynne was premier for five years ending in 2018.
“I have heard from many Liberals that this is important to them this time. It’s not the only thing, but it’s the combination of that and having leadership experiences and the ability to connect with people,” added Fairclough, who defeated one of Ford’s MPPs in last year’s election as his Progressive Conservatives cruised to a third majority.
She is the second candidate in the race that requires signatures from at least 250 party members and a $150,000 entry fee paid in installments. Policy adviser Dylan Marando entered April 22.
A medical radiation therapist who treated cancer patients for three years before returning to school for a master’s degree in health administration from the University of Toronto, Fairclough went on to hold a variety of positions in the health-care sector.
“It’s grounding to have had that time. I can still see the faces of the patients that I cared for,” she said. “It reminds me what’s important.”
Fairclough became the president of St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and served as senior vice-president of clinical care at Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Canada’s largest mental health teaching hospital.
Fairclough is touting that mix of experience on the front lines and in the executive suite, along with helping her eighth-ranked rugby squad finish fourth at the World Cup in Amsterdam after an upset win over France.
“Partisan politics is a team sport,” said Fairclough, who was raised in Southampton on the shores of Lake Huron and counts former Liberal cabinet minister Murray Elston, her MPP as a child, as a backer, along with former health minister Deb Matthews and MPPs Ted Hsu and Lucille Collard.
“We need a leader right now who knows how to be a team player and knows how to lead teams. That will be the root of how we rebuild as Liberals again.”
Fairclough has been travelling the province, talking to party members as part of her bid, and hosted a hospitality suite at the recent federal Liberal convention in Montreal.
Only candidates who have officially registered for the race can begin raising money from donors toward a spending limit of $1 million.
Others considering runs for the leadership include Liberal MPP Rob Cerjanec (Ajax), Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith (Beaches—East York) and former federal minister Navdeep Bains, who recently resigned as a senior Rogers Communications executive. Friday is his last day in the post.
Leadership hopefuls have until July 31 to enter the race and can sign up new party members until Sept. 7 (with an exception for campus Liberal clubs, which have until Sept. 25).
Voting takes place online from Nov. 9 to 20 by ranked ballot, with the winner to be announced the next day.
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