Ontario Liberals are picking a new leader — here are their pitches to run the party
After a disastrous 2022 election that saw the Ontario Liberals win only eight seats and party leader Steven Del Duca resign, a new leader will be selected Saturday to face off at the polls with Doug Ford in 2026.
The four candidates vying for a chance to bring the Liberals back to official party status are Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, Liberal MP and former provincial cabinet minister Yasir Naqvi, Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith and former Liberal MP and current provincial caucus member Ted Hsu.
Voting took place last weekend, with a winner to be announced Saturday in downtown Toronto. Candidates signed up a record number of members during the leadership race, with more than 100,000 people eligible to vote for the new leader, up from 44,000 and 38,000 in the two previous contests.
Each of the four candidates recently joined CBC Toronto's Metro Morning to tell Ontarians why they believe they are the right person for the job.
Here's what they had to say to voters.
Bonnie Crombie
Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie is the perceived front-runner — Naqvi and Erskine-Smith teamed up to try and block her potential win. She says her experience going head to head against Ford as Mississauga mayor makes her the right candidate to take him on again.
Crombie says she would hire more doctors, nurses and teachers in Ontario, and thinks she has the fiscal know-how to find money to do it.
Listen | Bonnie Crombie explains why she should be the next Liberal leader:
Nate Erskine-Smith
Erskine-Smith, the MP for Beaches-East York, wants people to see the Liberals as a vehicle to make a difference.
He says he may not have a ton of name recognition, but also says that's not the only thing that matters, adding that he knows how to work across party lines to get things done.
Erskine-Smith says he is a community-minded politician who has a track record of progressive advocacy.
Listen | Nate Erskine-Smith on how he would approach being leader:
Ted Hsu
Ted Hsu is the current MPP for Kingston and the Islands.
He says he has a track record of winning tough elections by bringing in voters from other parties through his broad background. Hsu has a doctorate in physics from Princeton University and worked for global investment bank Morgan Stanley in Tokyo.
Hsu says he'd be able to connect with people who haven't previously come out to vote.
Listen | Ted Hsu explains why he should be the one to take on Doug Ford:
Yasir Naqvi
Naqvi has been with the Liberal party at provincial and federal levels since 2007. He's currently the MP for Ottawa Centre and served in former premier Kathleen Wynne's cabinet.
He says he wants to champion "practical Liberal solutions." Naqvi says the party needs to choose local candidates and run a grassroots campaign in the next election to take on Ford.
Naqvi says he wants to go back to provincial politics because he's concerned about Ontario's direction under Ford.
Listen | Yasir Naqvi talks about the 'practical solutions' Ontario needs:
