The future of Ontario politics

The Ontario Liberal Party AGM in September is an opportunity for renewal. You should register and make your voice heard.

We need change in our provincial politics. I know it sounds trite, but you can be a part of that change.

To start, we deserve better than the incompetent and corrupt Ford government. The Premier may be able to swallow a bee with a certain folksy charm, but we need more serious leadership in Canada’s largest province. The self-dealing, short-term thinking, and abject failure on housing and healthcare are disqualifying.

To deliver positive change at Queen’s Park, it’s clear we need change in our party too.

We need our Ontario Liberal Party at its best. And this is where you come in. Because, if we want to strengthen our politics, the answer is participation.

To that end, I’m asking you to participate in an important opportunity to renew our politics at the Ontario Liberal AGM in Toronto on September 12-14.

This isn’t just another meeting. Delegates will elect a new party executive, set party policies, and decide whether the party should have a new leader for the next election.

You should step up as a delegate, and make sure to register before July 25 for the best chance of being selected. Register here.

Unfortunately, instead of an open and grassroots leadership review, the delegated convention in Toronto excludes many rural and northern members, and the price tag excludes many others. I understand not everyone will be able to make it for those reasons. But if you can join us, it will be an important first step in renewal.

I’ll be a little more blunt here than I have been to date: that renewal starts at the top.

From conversations with many members who supported every different leadership campaign, this seems to be a prevailing view. There are already distinct and grassroots-led efforts to organize for change. And given the leader and her team are trying to socialize the idea that an untenable 51% mandate is an acceptable result, I expect they also know how members feel.

51% is obviously not enough. If a leader can’t earn clear majority support of card-carrying Liberal members, how can they possibly be expected to earn the support of the millions who did not vote Liberal in the election? Two-thirds support should be the minimum expectation.

Remember that the entire premise of Bonnie Crombie’s leadership run was that she would win. Ideas and grassroots rebuilding were secondary. We’d carry Peel and go from 3rd to 1st place. Today, we’re still in 3rd and the leader lost her Mississauga race.

It turns out that ideas and grassroots rebuilding are essential to win.

Yes, we held existing seats and won a handful of new ridings thanks to strong local candidates and campaigns. I was happy to work for a winning campaign in support of local MPP Mary-Margaret McMahon, an energetic force in community engagement.

Yes, we regained official party status, with overall numbers up a modest 6% from 2022 (no doubt assisted by the change in leadership at the federal level).

But anyone looking at it honestly knows it wasn’t anywhere close to good enough.

The leader was unprepared for an early campaign that was always a threat, invisible for too much of 2024, and didn’t do the hard work of rebuilding trust on the ground in every corner of the province. Despite offers of help, other leadership contestants weren't brought into the fold in a serious way. The team just didn’t grow in the way that it could and should have.

At the same time, the eventual campaign lacked vision. We were just another not Doug Ford party, and failed to unite progressive Ontarians looking for serious leadership and change.

It’s good to see the leader now reflect on some of what went right and wrong. But early nominations aren’t going to change the problem at the top.

I’ve been a Liberal MP through four elections, brought countless new people into our federal and provincial parties, and helped other Liberal campaigns every election. This federal election, I spent as much time outside of the riding helping others as I did inside my own.

Yes, at times, I’ve disagreed with leadership when I thought we could do and be better. Being a team player also means fighting for the team to be the best version of itself. And it's no different here.

We need a leader who will inspire new people to join our politics and unite people across Ontario who are looking for change. A leader who will do the hard work of rebuilding trust in our party and engaging members in every community. A leader who stakes out values, takes ideas seriously, and embraces those who bring different ideas to the table. A leader with ambition, passion, and a plan to build housing and transit, deliver world-class healthcare and education, and ensure fiscal and environmental sustainability for our kids.

And for those with concerns that a race will cost time and money, consider that a competitive race will attract talent, public attention, and contributions. It will only make us stronger. The leadership race of 2023 was a more active year of engagement than we’ve seen at any point since. And the next race would be even more competitive.

After all, we aren’t short on talent in this party. There are many who would do better next time, both in the current provincial caucus as well as federal MPs past and present. There is lots of potential.

Whoever it is, I hope it’s someone who will bring all respective teams together afterwards.

And yes, answering the obvious, of course I have an interest. I’ve always said I want to make the biggest difference I can in politics. It’s why I ran for the provincial leadership in 2023 and why I made the difficult decision to run again for my federal seat back in December, with the threat posed by Trump and with a view to getting housing built.

As I’ve already told the media, I’ll make my ultimate decision once the members have made theirs. And any decision will depend on my family and the strength of the team around me.

As many of you know, I have a young family who I love spending time with. My wife is finishing her PhD in the next year, I have an irrational passion for coaching baseball, and I want to be a good dad and husband in life. So any final decision is one made with family.

And if I learned anything from the last leadership race, it’s that any future decision will also rest on the strength and diversity of the team we are able to build. If I run again, it will only be because of a broad team of serious and hard-working potential candidates and volunteers who are ready to win and govern together.

If you ever want to be a part of our political efforts in the future, whatever they may be, you can text/whatsapp me at 416 884 4453.

I hope to see many of you at the convention in September. We get to decide what happens next.