One high-profile potential candidate is no longer in the running for the Ontario Liberal leadership, leaving the door open for other major contenders to battle it out for the chance to take on Premier Doug Ford
Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith is leaving his post in Ottawa, and despite expectations that he’d run for the party leadership, he’s told supporters he’s out. That has opened the door even more for several other potential candidates.
“Things are not okay in this province. People are really struggling,” said former MP Navdeep Bains. Speaking on Breakfast Television on Friday, he talked about his reasons for getting back into politics after some time in the private sector working for Rogers Communications.
“I’ve visited a number of communities and talked to a lot of families, and you can tell people with jobs are barely making ends meet.”
While Bains did not publicly mention his Liberal party opponents, current Ajax MPP Rob Cerjanec did acknowledge Erskin-Smith’s departure.
“I’ll say first that Nate has brought a lot of energy and ideas to the party itself. But quite frankly, it doesn’t matter who’s in or not in the race, I’m focused on finding ways to make life more affordable for Ontarians,” he said.
Fellow MPP Lee Fairclough, who represents Etobicoke-Lakeshore, has also thrown her hat in the ring.
Despite his high profile, Bains is still on the outside looking in without a seat at Queen’s Park, something former leader Bonnie Crombie failed to gain during the last provincial election, which led to her decision to resign and setting in motion the latest leadership campaign.
“The goal again is not simply about me finding a seat. The goal is to replace the Conservative government and Doug Ford and his policies, because we’ve had eight years of him at the helm, and it really hasn’t worked out for the people in his province,” said Bains.
Erskine-Smith was seeking the Liberal nomination to run in the upcoming Scarborough Southwest provincial byelection, but lost that race by 19 votes. He is now reportedly considering a run for Toronto City Council this fall.
Liberal party members will begin casting their ballots online over the course of a couple of weeks in November with the announcement of the new leader set for November 21st.
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