Six candidates have registered to run for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party, opening a contest to decide who will take the helm of the party next. According to the report, the contenders now have around a month to sign up new party members, who will be eligible to vote in the race. The campaign is unfolding as the Liberals show signs of recovery after a difficult stretch at the ballot box.
The best-known name in the field is Navdeep Bains, who the report says has the most name recognition among the candidates. Bains previously served as a cabinet minister for the federal Liberals before moving into the private sector as an executive with Rogers. That background gives the contest a contender with experience in both federal government and the corporate world.
Two of the candidates are current members of provincial parliament. Lee Fairclough, who is serving her first term as the MPP for Etobicoke Lakeshore, is also the former president of St. Mary's General Hospital in Kitchener and once played rugby for Canada. 'I've been a leader. I'm a sitting MPP. I've won here at Etobicoke Lakeshore in Ford's backyard, which I think is important,' she said.
The other sitting legislator in the race is Stephanie Bowman, the MPP for Don Valley West. According to the report, she registered only shortly before the deadline, having initially backed another MPP who ultimately dropped out of the contest. Her late entry adds a second current caucus member to the field seeking the party's top job.
Also running is Dylan Marando, whose name, the report notes, is not well known outside Liberal circles. He is pitching his behind-the-scenes experience in government as what sets him apart from his rivals. 'I have more experience in the executive offices of government than all the other leadership candidates combined,' he said. 'I've worked for two premiers and a prime minister. I was at the table when we built $10 a day childcare.'
The youngest candidate is Eric Lombardi, a former housing advocate who is 32 years old. He is the only contender to have released a full platform, a document the report describes as more than 100 pages long, and he has made housing his central issue. 'The housing crisis wears a human face and I've seen it every day of my work,' he said, describing housing as 'emblematic of a broken status quo because it speaks to a deeper inequality.' Lombardi has also framed his campaign around what he calls the need for generational change.
The leadership contest comes at a notable moment for the Ontario Liberals, who have endured three straight disappointing elections, losing official party status in 2018 before regaining it in the most recent vote. Recent polls suggest the party's popularity is climbing even with only an interim leader in place, while support for Premier Doug Ford and the governing Progressive Conservatives has been slipping. According to analysis featured in the report, the shift has less to do with who leads the Liberals and more to do with voters seeing the party as the clear alternative to the Conservatives. The first debate is scheduled for next Monday, with members set to choose their new leader in November.