Ontario Liberals launch leadership race with first televised debate
The Ontario Liberal Party held its inaugural leadership debate on Monday night, featuring five contenders vying to become the party’s next permanent leader.
Monday night marked the first public forum in the Ontario Liberal Party’s search for a new permanent leader, with five candidates debating in a Brampton studio that was livestreamed on YouTube. Navdeep Bains, a former Trudeau cabinet minister and ex-executive at Rogers Communications, leads the fundraising race and is considered the party-insider favorite. Current provincial legislators Stephanie Bowman (Don Valley West) and Lee Fairclough (Etobicoke-Lakeshore) will already have seats, unlike former leaders Steven Del Duca and Bonnie Crombie, who previously headed the party while sitting outside the legislature.
The debate covered opening statements and policy sections, and follows a spring session dominated by criticism of Premier Doug Ford’s private-jet purchase. The Liberals, still without a full-time leader, plan to select their new head on Nov. 21 using a one-member-one-vote ranked-ballot system.
Why it matters
Ontario voters will soon see a new Liberal leader who could reshape the province's opposition dynamics.
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