Bonnie Crombie has won the Ontario Liberal leadership position defeating MP and former provincial cabinet minister Yasir Naqvi, Toronto MP Nate Erskine-Smith, and MPP Ted Hsu.
“Thank you for believing in what we are going to build together,” and ecstatic Crombie said Saturday afternoon. “Thank you for taking a spark and turning it into a big, red flame. There is no question — being an Ontario Liberal is back!”
The Mississauga Mayor’s win is no surprise as she was the front runner in the campaign being perceived as the strongest candidate to defeat Premier Doug Ford in the next provincial election.
Naturally Crombie’s first remarks after her victory were to address the contest with Doug Ford in 2026. Her task is a tough one given that she has to help the Ontario Liberals regain official party status in the fight to take over Queen’s Park.
“Doug Ford and his Conservative government have shown they do not care about real people in Ontario,” Crombie stated. “It’s time to earn back the trust of our neighbours and to show that a government people can trust is an Ontario Liberal government. That’s the job ahead of us. Let’s get to work.”
The results of the third round of counting of the ranked ballots were: Bonnie Crombie 6,911 points (53.4%) followed by Nate Erskine-Smith 6,029 points (46.6%).
For the first time in Ontario Liberal history, the new leader was elected directly by party members across Ontario, with an equal voice given to all 124 ridings. In this race, 22,827 Ontario Liberals cast ballots in last weekend’s Leadership Election Votes — more than any other leadership election in the party’s history.
This is nearly double the 12,988 Ontario Liberals who cast leadership ballots in 2020 and more than the 19,438 Ontario Liberals who cast leadership ballots in 2013.
Bonnie Crombie is the third-term Mayor of Mississauga who took an unpaid leave of absence to contest the Ontario Liberal leadership election. Her win means that Mississauga will now have to elect a new mayor to see the city through its transition to an independent municipality in 2025. She plans to resign her mayoral position early in the new year.
