Bonnie Crombie is taking a leave of absence from her role as Mississauga mayor to focus on her campaign for the Ontario Liberal top job. From October 7 onwards Mississauga councillors will take turns as acting head of the City.
“I can confirm that Mayor Crombie informed her council yesterday that she will be taking a leave of absence as the Mayor of Mississauga as she undertakes her bid to become the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party,” a statement from Crombie’s office said on Thursday.
“In her absence, the City will operationalize the Acting Mayor By-law, which will see councillors rotate as Acting Head of Council on two-month rotations to fulfill mayoral duties such as chairing council and committee meetings and attending official city events on behalf of the mayor,” the statement read.
“The mayor has all the confidence that Mississaugans are in good hands and that council will continue to press forward on the issues that matter most to them including affordability, housing, transit and climate change,” it added.
Crombie who registered as a Ontario Liberal Leadership contestant on June 13 is seen as the front runner. Her competitors include Toronto MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Kingston MPP Ted Hsu, Ottawa MP Yasir Naqvi and Toronto MPP Adil Shamji. The first of five Liberal leadership candidate debates will take place in Thunder Bay today.
Liberal party members will elect their new leader by ranked ballot on November 25 and 26. The winner will be announced on December 2.
