Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie officially kicked off her campaign to become leader of the Ontario Liberal Party on Wednesday with a special event attended by dozens of cheering supporters.
Speaking from Mississauga shortly after 5 p.m., Crombie said she has the “experience and energy” necessary to take on Doug Ford in the next provincial election, slated for the spring of 2026.
The campaign launch comes a day after Crombie officially registered as a candidate, and less than a month after she announced she was forming an “exploratory committee” to consider entering the race.
“In the weeks leading up to today I have had conversations with many Liberals across our province,” Crombie said.
“They told me that they want a leader who will stand up and fight for Ontarians. They told me that we need to return to the big tent party that has been our success.”
The Ontario Liberal party, which captured just eight seats in last year’s provincial election, failed to secure official party status for the second consecutive vote.
The Liberals have been without a leader since former party head Steven Del Duca resigned following the 2022 provincial election campaign.
In her remarks, Crombie took aim at Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government and its policies on healthcare, education and the environment.
“Our healthcare is in crisis. Our education system is being shortchanged. Our environment is fragile. And life in Ontario is becoming more unaffordable,” she said.
“So, what is Doug Ford and the Conservatives answer? Privatize healthcare. More online learning. Helping their buddies get richer. That is not the Ontario you want, and it is not the Ontario I want.”
Crombie also criticized the Ford government’s decision to open up parts of the Greenbelt and Ontario Place to developers, saying it’s “just plain wrong at a time when rural emergency rooms are being closed.”
“Conservatives have picked fights with healthcare workers, nurses and doctors, the very people who keep our province’s health system together,” she said.
“They have also fought with education workers, Indigenous Peoples, and something I know a little bit about, municipalities.”
Crombie was a Liberal MP from 2008 to 2011 and has served as the mayor of Mississauga since 2014.
In the past, Crombie has described her political style as centrist, saying that if she were to run for leader of a provincial party, she would focus on “addressing what’s broken.” This, she said in May, would include the province’s health-care and education system, as well as the downloading of responsibilities onto municipalities.
Ford has already made it clear he is ready to battle it out with Crombie should she win the leadership bid, saying last month that he wasn’t surprised to hear she was exploring a run.
“My first reaction is what took you so long?” Ford said on May 24. “She’s been campaigning for five years.”
Crombie has hinted that she won’t leave her position as mayor while running for the Ontario liberal leadership, saying she’ll campaign on weeknights and weekends.
She is the fourth candidate officially registered in the leadership race. She joins MPs Nathaniel Erskine-Smith and Yasir Naqvi, as well as Liberal MPP Ted Hsu.
Ontario Liberals will cast their votes on Nov. 25 and Nov. 26. The party will announce the new leader on Dec. 2.
With files from CTV News Toronto’s Katherine DeClerq
