Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie considering run for Ontario Liberal leadership: source
Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie is "now actively considering" a run for the Ontario Liberal leadership, CBC News has learned.
A source close to the mayor says Crombie has received support from people across the province who would like her to run for the leadership.
The source said Crombie was also encouraged by people at the 2023 Liberal National Convention in Ottawa on the weekend.
According to the source, Crombie plans to speak with family and friends before making a decision.
Crombie won a third term as mayor in October last year, receiving 77 per cent of the vote.
Meanwhile, Nate Erskine-Smith, Liberal MP for Beaches-East York, has announced he is running for the leadership.
Erskine-Smith, the first person to announce a bid officially, held an event in Scarborough on Tuesday evening to kickoff his leadership campaign.
The Toronto MP has been elected at the federal level three times since 2015 and says he's running to rebuild the provincial party.
Other candidates considering a run for the leadership include MP Yasir Naqvi and three Liberal MPPs at Queens Park — Adil Shamji, Stephanie Bowman and Ted Hsu.
The Ontario Liberals will announce a new leader on Dec. 2 to replace Steven Del Duca, who resigned after the party did not win enough seats in last year's election to have official party status at the legislature for the second campaign in a row.
The Liberals have said the party will soon announce the opening date for official candidate registration. The deadline to register has been set for Sept. 5 and candidates must pay an entry fee of $100,000 and a refundable $25,000 deposit.
Party members will cast their votes by ranked ballot on Nov. 25 and Nov. 26, with the Liberals set to announce round-by-round results the following weekend.
