Ontario Liberals one step closer to new leader with one-member, one-vote system
HAMILTON- Ontario Liberals are getting closer to picking a new leader who will be under hefty pressure to deliver a reversal of fortune.
In a bid to shake things up, party activists from across the province voted overwhelmingly Saturday to adopt a one-member, one-vote system of ranked ballots, where candidates are listed in order of preference.
This scraps the live, made-for-TV drama of a traditional leadership convention where delegates vote in a series of ballots until a successful candidate wins more than 50 per cent support.
It's an important step," said Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith (Beaches-East York), who is seriously considering a run to lead the provincial party and was one of several hopefuls to speak in favour of the new system - which is similar to ones used by other parties.
You have a direct voice in who your next leader is going to be. It will be a powerful way to engage people," he added.
But there's still no date for a leadership vote or rules surrounding the race, such as an entry fee.
Those details will be set in the coming weeks by party officials being elected this weekend at the Liberals' first annual general meeting since the June 2 election, which left them a distant third place in the legislature for the second term in a row behind the official opposition NDP now headed by Marit Stiles.
Erskine-Smith and fellow Liberal MP Yasir Naqvi (Ottawa Centre), another potential contender for the leadership, are pushing the party to move quickly.
We should elect a new leader by sometime in November or December of this year so that the new leader has the opportunity to start doing the rebuiding work," said Naqvi, a former Ontario cabinet minister.
An official start to the race would clear the way for candidates registering with the party and Elections Ontario to begin issuing tax receipts to donors, improving their fundraising prospects.
About 1,500 Liberals gathered at a downtown convention centre for their biggest annual meeting in two decades, hopeful for the future but still licking their wounds from a disastrous June vote that prompted Steven Del Duca to quit as leader after failing to make a breakthrough or reclaim his old riding of Vaughan-Woodbridge.
This is pretty good for a party with eight seats," Naqvi noted as he surveyed the crowd.
Veterans of the 15 years the Liberals spent in power until toppled by Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives in 2018 were encouraged.
I see a lot of new faces I don't recognize and that's a good thing," said Lloyd Rang, a speech writer for former premier Dalton McGuinty. McGuinty did not attend but his successor, Kathleen Wynne, was making the rounds.
The strong turnout shows the June failure to win official party status - which requires 12 MPPs and would have brought the small Liberal caucus about $2 million in funding - was a much-needed wake-up call, said a former cabinet minister who spoke confidentially to discuss internal deliberations.
Everyone slept through the last election."
Insiders noted a break in tradition at the convention because there was no tribute to Del Duca, now mayor of Vaughan, as is customary for former leaders.
An analysis of ballots compiled by the Liberal party and obtained by the Star showed Del Duca would have won on the first ballot at the 2020 convention under several forms of one-member, one-vote systems.
Potential leadership candidates were courting supporters in convention hall meeting rooms and hallways by day and in busy hospitality suites by night in a neighboring hotel and nearby bars.
They include first-term MPPs Stephanie Bowman (Don Valley West), emergency room physician Dr. Adil Shamji (Don Valley East) and Ted Hsu (Kingston and the Islands).
Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, a former Liberal MP, drove through a snowstorm to make an appearance at one suite as backers tout her as a possible candidate. She did not rule out a run.
Right now, I'm here as mayor ... we have many things we need to accomplish," she told the Star. Certainly, there's a number of people indicating to me that they would be supportive if I chose a different path."
One Liberal strategist said delaying a leadership vote until 2024 could entice Crombie - who last fall won a third term as mayor with 77 per cent support - into the race because it would give her more time to meet her goals of building more housing and infrastructure in Mississauga.
If Bonnie comes in it's a game-changer," he predicted, speaking confidentially in order to discuss internal deliberations, and noting Crombie has high name recognition and governing experience without ties to the previous McGuinty and Wynne regimes.
Party treasurer Tim Shortill told delegates the party brought in $2.5 million from fundraising last year but noted it must do much better.
That must be our focus."
Ford raised a record $6 million Thursday night at a $1,500-a-plate private fundraiser in Etobicoke.
Rob Ferguson is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @robferguson1