Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie to run for leader of the Ontario Liberal Party

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie has officially registered to run for leader of the Ontario Liberal Party.

The news comes less than a month after Crombie announced she was forming an “exploratory committee” to consider entering the race. She registered with Elections Ontario on Tuesday.

Crombie is scheduled to make a “special announcement”—likely her campaign launch—Wednesday evening.

The invitation for the announcement touched on how the mayor has spoken with people from across Ontario about “the challenges of living in our province.” In a statement, Crombie launched into an attack of the Doug Ford government’s priorities.

“The Ford government has only made things worse through cutbacks and underfunding of key public services,” the statement says. “I believe that the government can play a role in addressing the concerns people have about issues such as healthcare, education and affordability.”

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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.

Bonnie Crombie, who is considering a bid for the Ontario Liberal Leadership is photographed on the steps of the Ontario Legislature, in Toronto on Thursday May 18, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Crombie has been mayor of Mississauga since 2014 and was just re-elected for a third term in October 2022 with more than 77 per cent of the vote.

Throughout her tenure, she often found herself criticizing the Ford government over a variety of issues, from a lack of funding to the use of ministerial zoning orders in her city.

Ford has already made it clear he is ready to battle it out with Crombie should she win the leadership bid, saying near the end of May he wasn’t surprised to hear she was exploring the position.

“My first reaction is what took you so long?” Ford said on May 24. “She’s been campaigning for five years.”

Ford took issue with the fact that Crombie is considering leaving the position of Mississauga Mayor as it becomes a single-tiered municipality, independent of Peel Region. This was a policy decision Crombie fought for and campaigned on during the municipal election.

• MORE: Ontario passes bill dissolving Peel Region by 2025

“We're making the largest change in the history of Mississauga and Peel, and this is all about Bonnie Crombie’s political agenda,” he told reporters. “In my opinion, it's a real slap in the face to the residents there.”

Crombie has hinted that she would not leave her position as mayor as she prepares for the leadership bid, adding that she would campaign on weeknights and weekends.

However, if Crombie wins and becomes the next Ontario Liberal Party leader—or chooses to resign from her position during the race—she would be leaving her city to transition to a new style of governance under the helm of a new mayor.

As of June 13, there are now four people with their names officially in the race to helm the struggling political party. Crombie will, at this moment, be facing off against federal MPs Nathaniel Erskine-Smith and Yasir Naqvi, as well as Liberal MPP Ted Hsu.

The candidates who have filed their nomination papers to run for leader of the Ontario Liberal Party as of June 13, 2023.

MPP Stephanie Bowman, who had been exploring a leadership bid, said Tuesday that she will no longer be pursuing the role.

“After many wonderful and insightful conversations with supporters and Party members, I came to the conclusion that at this time, running for leadership is not the best way for me to serve my Don Valley West constituents, my colleagues, and the people of Ontario,” she said in a statement to the media.

Candidates looking to run for leader of the Ontario Liberal Party will have to register by Sept. 5 and provide an entry fee of $100,000, along with a refundable $25,000 deposit.

Ontario Liberals will cast their votes on Nov. 25 and Nov. 26. The party will announce the new leader on Dec. 2.