Mayor Bonnie Crombie has entered the competition to become the leader of the Ontario Liberals, expressing her desire to revitalize and reinvigorate the party.
Crombie joins three other contenders in the race: MP Nate Erskine-Smith, MP and former Ontario cabinet minister Yasir Naqvi, and current provincial caucus member and former MP Ted Hsu.
The Ontario Liberals will employ ranked ballots for their leadership election, scheduled for late November, with the results set to be announced on December 2nd.
Since 2014, Crombie has served as the mayor of a city located west of Toronto and was previously a Liberal MP from 2008 to 2011.
Three weeks ago, she initiated an “exploratory committee” as a preliminary step toward her leadership aspirations.
In today’s candidacy announcement speech, Crombie emphasized her conversations with Liberals throughout the province, who expressed the need for the party to adopt a “big tent” approach.
“We must reaffirm our commitment to Ontarians that the Ontario Liberal Party represents the entire province, spanning from our northern and rural communities to our small towns and major cities,” she stated to her supporters.
“Our party’s aging infrastructure needs to be rebuilt and modernized to compete in today’s fast-paced political landscape effectively. This includes securing the necessary funds to rival other parties in head-to-head competition.”
Considered a leading candidate, Crombie has already faced criticism from fellow contender Erskine-Smith, who argued that her assessment of the former Liberal government’s shift to the left indicates a lack of ambition in leadership.
The party plans to organize at least five debates across the province during the leadership race.
Additionally, Adil Shamji, one of the Liberals’ seven legislative members, is exploring the possibility of a leadership bid.
