The 2020 Ontario Liberal Party leadership election concluded on March 7, 2020, resulting in the election of

Steven Del Duca Steven Alfonso Del Duca (born July 7, 1973) is a Canadian politician who has been serving as the 5th mayor of Vaughan since 2022. Del Duca previously served as the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 2020 to 2022 and was an Ontario cabin ...

, a former cabinet minister in the government of

Kathleen Wynne Kathleen O'Day Wynne ( ; born May 21, 1953) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 25th premier of Ontario and leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 2013 to 2018. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2003 and sat as the ...

, as

Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; french: Parti libéral de l'Ontario, PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by interim leader John Fraser (Ontario MPP), John Fraser since August 2022. The party esp ...

’s 33rd leader. The leadership election took place following the resignation of Kathleen Wynne after over five years at the helm of the party. Her resignation took place on the evening of June 7, 2018, after the

majority government A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats. ...

led by her was defeated in the 2018 election and the party lost

official party status Official party status refers to the Westminster practice which is officially used in the Parliament of Canada and the provincial legislatures of recognizing parliamentary caucuses of political parties. In official documents, this is sometimes re ...

. The leadership election featured six candidates: former cabinet ministers Del Duca,

Michael Coteau Michael Joseph Coteau is a Canadian politician who serves as the Member of Parliament for Don Valley East in the House of Commons of Canada. From 2011 to 2021, he was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario representing the pr ...

, and

Mitzie Hunter Mitzie Jacquelin Hunter (born September 14, 1971) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She is a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who was first elected in a by-election on August 1, 2013 and later re-elected in the elections ...

, former provincial election candidates Kate Graham and Alvin Tedjo, and political newcomer Brenda Hollingsworth. The election was concluded with a delegated convention that took place March 6–7, 2020 at the

International Centre The International Centre is a multi-purpose convention centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, located near Toronto Pearson International Airport. The International Centre is privately owned and hosts over 450 shows and events each year. History ...

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

Background

Lead up to the 2018 Election

After securing an upset leadership victory in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

won a fourth consecutive mandate for the Ontario Liberal Party in June 2014 by marketing herself as a fresh face for the Liberals who would distance the party from

Dalton McGuinty Dalton James Patrick McGuinty Jr. (born July 19, 1955) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 24th premier of Ontario from 2003 to 2013. He was the first Liberal leader to win two majority governments since Mitchell Hepburn nearl ...

. However, the Liberals' standing with voters was badly hurt when Wynne’s government partially privatized Hydro One in 2015, after campaigning against it in the 2014 election, as well as rising criticism over "ballooning provincial debt, high electricity prices and costly, politically expedient decisions". The party headed into the 2018 election campaign trailing far behind the Progressive Conservatives. In the two years leading up to the 2018 campaign, the Liberals trailed the Progressive Conservatives in all but three of the more than eighty opinion polls published. With the party’s electoral fortune declining, there were public calls for Wynne’s resignation as early as spring 2017, most notably from former finance minister and campaign chair

Greg Sorbara Gregory Samuel Sorbara (born September 4, 1946) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1995, and again from 2001 to 2012 who represented ridings north of Toronto in t ...

(under whom Wynne served as campaign vice-chair in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

). Wynne consistently resisted the calls. Throughout the 2018 election campaign, the Liberals polled consistently in third place behind not only the Progressive Conservatives but also the

New Democrats New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...

.
CBC’s poll tracker
projected zero to two seats (out of 124) for the Liberals at multiple points of the election campaign. At the conclusion of the campaign, the Liberals elected only seven MPPs, losing

in the

Legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

. It was the worst electoral result in the party's 161-year history and the worst result for any incumbent governing party in Ontario. On the night of the election, Wynne announced her resignation as party leader, while continuing to sit in the legislature as MPP for

Don Valley West Don Valley West (french: Don Valley-Ouest) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1979. Its population in 2001 was 115,539. 13.6% of the population is Muslim, the ...

Interim leader

Wynne announced on election night that she had asked the party president to begin the process of choosing an interim leader. According to the party's constitution, an interim leader is to be selected by a vote of the party

caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

, the presidents of

riding association An electoral district association (french: association de circonscription enregistrée), commonly known as a riding association (french: association de comté) or constituency association, is the basic unit of a political party at the level of the ...

s without an elected Liberal MPPs and party executive members. With four of the remaining seven caucus members actively contemplating leadership bids, one being in poor health, and one being the outgoing leader, the Liberal caucus quickly endorsed the seventh member,

Ottawa South Ottawa South (french: Ottawa-Sud) is a federal electoral district in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is represented in the House of Commons of Canada by David McGuinty, brother of former Premier of Ontario and Ottawa South MPP Dalton McGuinty ...

MPP

John Fraser John Fraser may refer to: Politics *John Simon Frederick Fraser (1765–1803), commanded the Fraser Fencibles in Ireland and was (M.P.) for Inverness-shire *John James Fraser (1829–1896), 5th Premier of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, 18 ...

, to serve as interim leader on June 13, 2018. Fraser assumed the office of interim leader on June 14, following a ratification vote of party executives and presidents of riding associations for the remaining 117 ridings that do not have a Liberal MPP.

Rules and procedures

Under the procedure outlined by the party's constitution, all members of the Ontario Liberal Party are eligible to cast a two-part ballot at one of the "Leadership Election Meetings" held across the province. Members vote directly for their choice of leadership candidate (or for "independent") in the top part of the ballot, and for local delegates for the

leadership convention {{Politics of Canada In Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader. Overview In Canada, leaders of a party generally rem ...

in the bottom part of the ballot. Elected delegates were apportioned to leadership candidates based on their share of votes in the top part of the ballot, and are bounded to vote for their leadership candidates on the first ballot at the leadership convention. The small number of independent delegates elected can vote for whomever they chose at the convention. The delegates of the leadership convention made up of approximately 2000 elected delegates (16 delegates elected by members from each of the 124 electoral districts, 8 delegates from each

Ontario Young Liberals The Ontario Young Liberals (OYL) is the official youth wing of the Ontario Liberal Party. The OYL's membership includes all members of the Ontario Liberal Party aged 25 and under. The organization is divided into campus and riding clubs and led by ...

campus clubs, 1 delegate from each Ontario Women Liberals Commission clubs) and more than 500 ex-officio delegates (by virtue of party and elected offices they have held, such as sitting and former Liberal MPPs, recent provincial Liberal candidates, sitting federal Liberal MPs, and various party officials and representatives of party bodies). Balloting at convention continues until one candidate receives a majority of ballots cast. At the party's Annual General Meeting held on June 8, 2019, an organized attempt was made to amend the party constitution to change the leadership election system to eliminate the delegated convention and adopted a weighted

One Member One Vote In the parliamentary politics of the United Kingdom and Canada, one member, one vote (OMOV) is a method of selecting party leaders, and determining party policy, by a direct vote of the members of a political party. Traditionally, these objectives ...

point system similar to the ones used by the Progressive Conservatives and the federal Liberal Party. The amendment was supported by 57% of delegates, but failed to receive the

two-thirds majority 2/3 may refer to: * A fraction with decimal value 0.6666... * A way to write the expression "2 ÷ 3" ("two divided by three") * 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines of the United States Marine Corps * February 3 * March 2 Events Pre-1600 * 537 – ...

required for it to pass.

Leadership Campaign

Early campaigning

Given the weak polling numbers during the final years of the Wynne government, there was frequent chatter about the leadership aspirations of various cabinet members and MPPs. The names most frequently discussed were of finance minister

Charles Sousa Anthony Charles Sousa (born September 27, 1958) is a Canadian politician who has served as the Member of Parliament from Mississauga-Lakeshore since December 12, 2022. He previously served as the Minister of Finance for Ontario from 2013 to ...

, health minister

Eric Hoskins Eric William Hoskins (born November 29, 1960) is a Canadian physician and former politician who served as Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Liberal Party, he sat as a member of the Provincial Parli ...

(both 2013 leadership contenders),

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Yasir Naqvi Yasir Abbas Naqvi (born January 25, 1973) is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Ottawa Centre since the 2021 federal election, sitting as a Liberal. Prior to his election to the House of Commons, Naqvi wa ...

(party president at the time of the 2013 leadership election), transport minister

(co-chair of the 2013 leadership convention), and backbench MPP

Yvan Baker Yvan Baker (born December 8, 1977) is a Canadians, Canadian politician who was elected to represent the federal Electoral district (Canada), riding of Etobicoke Centre (electoral district), Etobicoke Centre in the 2019 Canadian federal election, ...

. With Sousa, Del Duca, Naqvi and Baker all losing their seats and Hoskins leaving provincial politics, the likely slate of candidates became uncertain after the 2018 election. In the latter half of 2018, four former ministers who survived the election,

Marie-France Lalonde Marie-France Lalonde (born ) is a Franco-Ontarian politician in Ontario, Canada who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Orléans as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada since 2019. She also served as the Liberal ...

, and

Nathalie Des Rosiers Nathalie Des Rosiers (born 1959) is a lawyer, academic and former politician in Ontario, Canada. She is the 6th and current Principal of Massey College at the University of Toronto. She was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario ...

, actively explored their candidacies, while the candidacies of Del Duca, Naqvi, and Baker continued to be frequently speculated. Baker and Lalonde later opted to seek federal seats (both successful). Des Rosiers left politics to become principal of

Massey College Massey College is a graduate residential college at the University of Toronto that was established, built and partially endowed in 1962 by the Massey Foundation and officially opened in 1963, though women were not admitted until 1974. It was mode ...

, while Naqvi became CEO of Institute for Canadian Citizenship. Del Duca briefly sought the chair-ship of

York Region The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. The region was established after the passing of then Bill 102, An Act to Establish The Regional M ...

until the election was cancelled by the Ford government.

Adam Vaughan Adam G. Vaughan (born July 3, 1961) is a Canadian politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 2014 until 2021. Vaughan represented the Toronto area riding of Spadina—Fort York as a member of the Liberal Party. He previously sat o ...

and

Mark Holland Mark Holland (born October 16, 1974) is a Canadian politician who serves as the current leader of the Government in the House of Commons. In the 2004 federal election he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a candidate of the Liber ...

, two relatively high-profile MPs, both publicly acknowledged that they contemplated and subsequently ruled out bids, opting to seek re-election federally.

Formal campaign

On April 3, 2019, Del Duca formally declared his candidacy, the first candidate to do so. This was prior to the party’s annual general meeting in June where amendment proposals to the leadership rules were being debated. Del Duca refrained from taking positions on any of the amendment proposals, citing perceived conflict of interests. Alvin Tedjo, a former political aide and provincial election candidate, declared his candidacy in late May. An organized “

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

Chris Hadfield Chris Austin Hadfield (born August 29, 1959) is a Canadian retired astronaut, engineer, fighter pilot, and musician. The first Canadian to perform extravehicular activity in outer space, he has flown two Space Shuttle missions and also serv ...

” movement was present at the party’s annual meeting, even though the former astronaut at no point expressed any inclination to enter politics. Following the annual meeting, the party announced that it would formally “call” the leadership contest (a legal requirement imposed by the legislation) on July 18, 2019, that candidate registration deadline would be on November 25, 2019, and that the contest would conclude at a convention on March 7, 2020. It also announced an entrance fee of $100,000 (including $25,000 refundable deposit) and a spending limit of $900,000. Coteau announced his candidacy soon after the party’s annual meeting in June, while Hunter formally joined the race in early August. Kate Graham, a university instructor and former provincial election candidate, joined the race in September.

Kyle Peterson Kyle Johnathan Peterson (born April 9, 1976) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1999 and 2001. Amateur career Peterson played college baseball at Stanford University. In 1995 and 1996, he played col ...

, outgoing MP for Newmarket-Aurora, and Arthur Potts, a former MPP, both commenced bids in the fall of 2019, but ended their bids prior to formally launching their campaigns.

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

lawyer Brenda Hollingsworth, a political newcomer, joined the race on the registration deadline, rounding out the field of six. The party organized six debates among the candidates, held in

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

(December 8),

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

(December 12),

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

(January 12), Ottawa (January 20),

Markham Markham may refer to: It may also refer to brand of of clothing which originates from South Africa which saw it's establishment in 1873. Biology * Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia * ...

(February 1) and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

(February 24). All six debates were

livestreamed Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...

on the party’s website. In addition, the

Empire Club of Canada The Empire Club of Canada is a Canadian speakers' forum. Established in 1903, the Empire Club has provided a forum for many thousands of different speakers. Through a variety of presentation formats, the Empire Club invites local, national and in ...

hosted a debate on January 15, and

TVO TVO (stylized as tvo), formerly known as TVOntario, is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It operates flagship station CICA-DT (channel 19) in Toron ...

hosted a televised debate on February 19. The party imposed membership cut-off for voting eligibility for December 2, 2019. At the cut-off, Del Duca claimed to have recruited 14,173 members while Coteau, Hunter and Tedjo claimed 8500, 2000 and 1000 respectively. The party later disclosed that 37,831 members in total were eligible to vote. Del Duca was seen as the frontrunner throughout the campaign. It was generally agreed that he had the most robust ground organization and most experienced campaign team. He also received by-far the largest share of endorsements from elected and party officials, with more public endorsements from former and current MPPs and MPs than the other five candidates combined. Coteau, with the longest tenure in the legislature and cabinet, pitched himself as the primary rival to Del Duca, and was generally viewed as seeking to reform the party. Graham, a political newcomer who campaigned to “change how we do politics”, also put forward a competitive campaign with the endorsements of former

Deputy Premier A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

Deb Matthews Deborah Drake Matthews is a former Canadian politician who served as the 10th deputy premier of Ontario from 2013 to 2018. A member of the Liberal Party, Matthews was the member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for London North Centre from 2003 ...

and a number other prominent figures seen as close to Wynne. Del Duca’s frontrunner status was cemented after the February 8–9, 2020 weekend, during which party members throughout the province voted at local leadership election meetings. Del Duca earned over 55% of the elected delegates, won the most votes in 89 of 124 ridings, and led delegate counts in all regions of the province. Coteau was in second, with Graham a distant third place, earning 18% and 13% of the delegate respectively. With strong second place showing in Southwestern Ontario (which voted on Saturday of the weekend), Graham actually led Coteau on delegate count after the first day of voting. Coteau re-gained second place by the end of the weekend, with stronger showing in Toronto and Eastern Ontario (which voted on Sunday). Despite the outcome of the leadership election being a virtual certainty leading up to the convention, about 3,000 people attended the two-day event, co-chaired by

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

Chrystia Freeland Christina Alexandra Freeland (born August 2, 1968) is a Canadian politician serving as the tenth and current deputy prime minister of Canada since 2019 and the Minister of Finance (Canada), minister of finance since 2020. A member of the Libe ...

and interim leader

. On March 7, 2020, Del Duca was formally elected leader on the first ballot with 59% of the ballot cast.

Registered candidates

Steven Del Duca Steven Alfonso Del Duca (born July 7, 1973) is a Canadian politician who has been serving as the 5th mayor of Vaughan since 2022. Del Duca previously served as the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 2020 to 2022 and was an Ontario cabin ...

:Background: Former MPP for

Vaughan Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increas ...

(2012-2018), Former Minister of Economic Development and Growth (2018) and

Minister of Transportation A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...

(2014-2018). :Date announced: April 3, 2019 :Date registered with Elections Ontario: July 19, 2019 :Campaign website:

Michael Coteau Michael Joseph Coteau is a Canadian politician who serves as the Member of Parliament for Don Valley East in the House of Commons of Canada. From 2011 to 2021, he was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario representing the pr ...

:Background: MPP for

Don Valley East Don Valley East (french: Don Valley-Est) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada that covers the northeast section of the North York part of Toronto. The federal riding was created in 1976 from parts of Willowdale, York East, Yor ...

(since 2011) and Liberal critic for Economic Development, Labour, Energy, and Infrastructure; former Minister of Community and Social Services (2018), Minister of Children and Youth Services and minister responsible for

anti-racism Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate a ...

(2016-2018), Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Sport and minister responsible for the

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

and Parapan Games (2014-2016), and

Minister of Citizenship and Immigration The minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship (french: Ministre de l'immigration, des réfugiés et de la citoyenneté) is a minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet. The minister is responsible for Immigration, Refugees and Citi ...

(2013-2014); former

Toronto District School Board The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franco ...

trustee for Ward 17 (2003-11); former small business owner and national nonprofit CEO. :Date announced: June 16, 2019 :Date registered with Elections Ontario: July 24, 2019 :Campaign website:

Kate Graham

:Background: 2018 candidate in

London North Centre London North Centre (french: London-Centre-Nord; formerly known as London—Adelaide) is a federal electoral district in the city of London in the province of Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 19 ...

, former civil servant at

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

, instructor at Western University :Date announced: September 7, 2019 :Date registered with Elections Ontario: August 23, 2019 :Campaign website:

Brenda Hollingsworth

:Background:

personal injury lawyer :Date announced: November 25, 2019 :Date registered with Elections Ontario: :Campaign website:

Mitzie Hunter Mitzie Jacquelin Hunter (born September 14, 1971) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She is a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who was first elected in a by-election on August 1, 2013 and later re-elected in the elections ...

:Background: MPP for

Scarborough—Guildwood Scarborough—Guildwood is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. It was created in 2003 from parts of Scarborough East, Scarborough Southwest and Sc ...

(since 2013), former Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development (2018), Minister of Education (2016-2018), and

Associate Minister of Finance The associate minister of finance () is a member of the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for various files within the Department of Finance Canada as assigned by the minister of finance. The incumbent is Randy Boissonnault, who also serves as ...

(2014-2016). If Hunter had been the victor she would have been the first black leader of a Major Political Party in Canada both on a federal and provincial level. :Date announced: August 14, 2019 :Date registered with Elections Ontario: August 20, 2019 :Campaign website:

Alvin Tedjo

:Background: 2018 candidate in

Oakville North—Burlington Oakville North—Burlington (french: Oakville-Nord—Burlington) is a federal electoral district in Halton Region, Ontario. History Oakville North—Burlington was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was legall ...

, former director of Government Relations for

Sheridan College Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (formerly Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology) is a public polytechnic institute of technology located in the west-Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Founded in ...

, former political staff to multiple Ministers of Training, Colleges and Universities :Date announced: May 27, 2019 :Date registered with Elections Ontario: August 23, 2019 :Campaign website:

Declined

Declared intention to party officials, with representatives attended at least one campaign representatives meetings

, former federal Liberal MP for

Newmarket—Aurora Newmarket—Aurora is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. The district contains the towns of Newmarket, Aurora, and a very small portion of East Gwillimbury. ...

(2015-2019) * Arthur Potts, former MPP for

Beaches—East York Beaches—East York (formerly Beaches—Woodbine) is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1988. This riding is situated east of Toronto's downtown. Ac ...

(2014-2018) and

Parliamentary Assistant In UK politics, a parliamentary assistant is an unelected partisan member of staff employed by a Member of Parliament (MP) to assist them with their parliamentary duties. Parliamentary assistants usually work at the House of Commons in the U ...

to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Has taken exploratory steps

, current federal Liberal MP for Etobicoke Centre (2019-), former MPP for Etobicoke Centre (2014-2018), and former Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance *

Bonnie Crombie Bonnie Crombie ( Stack, born February 5, 1960) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 6th and current Mayor of Mississauga, Ontario since December 1, 2014. From 2008 to 2011, she was a Liberal Member of Parliament for the riding of Missi ...

, former federal MP for

Mississauga—Streetsville Mississauga—Streetsville is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. This riding is centred on the villages of Streetsville and Meadowvale. Mississauga—Stre ...

(2008-2011), Mayor of

(2014–present) *

, former Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry and MPP for

Ottawa—Vanier Ottawa—Vanier (formerly known as Ottawa East) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1935. Previous to that date, it was part of the Ottawa electoral district ...

from 2016-2019, and previously general counsel for the

Canadian Civil Liberties Association The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA; french: Association Canadienne des Libertés Civiles) is a nonprofit organization in Canada devoted to the defence of civil liberties and constitutional rights.Dominique ClementCase Study: Canadian ...

(2009-2013). Announced May 2019 that she was leaving politics to become principal of

. *

, federal Liberal MP for

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

since 2015, MP for Ajax—Pickering (2004-2011), Parliamentary Secretary to the

Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness The minister of public safety (french: ministre de la sécurité publique) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet responsible for overseeing Public Safety Canada, the internal security department of the Government of Canada. The p ...

, MPP for

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Announced in May 2019 that she intends to run for the federal Liberal nomination in

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Yasir Naqvi Yasir Abbas Naqvi (born January 25, 1973) is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Ottawa Centre since the 2021 federal election, sitting as a Liberal. Prior to his election to the House of Commons, Naqvi wa ...

, CEO of Institute for Canadian Citizenship and former

Attorney General of Ontario The Attorney General of Ontario is the chief legal adviser to His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and, by extension, the Government of Ontario. The Attorney General is a senior member of the Executive Council of Ontario (the cabinet) and ...

and MPP for

Ottawa Centre Ottawa Centre (french: Ottawa-Centre) is an urban federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. While the riding's boundaries (mainly to the south and west as the north a ...

(2007–2018) *

, federal Liberal MP for

Spadina—Fort York Spadina—Fort York is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Spadina—Fort York was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was legally defined in the 2013 representation order. It came into ...

since 2014, previously a Toronto City Councillor (2006-2014)

Speculated, but no reported exploratory effort

Dwight Duncan Dwight Duncan (born 3 January 1959) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2013 who represented ridings of Windsor—Walkerville, Windsor—St. Clair and Windsor� ...

, former Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier under

, former MPP for successive Windsor, Ontario ridings (1995-2013), third place leadership candidate in 1996, currently senior strategic advisor at McMillan LLP *

, astronaut, musician and pilot in the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

*David Henderson, 2018 Liberal candidate in

Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes (french: Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands et Rideau Lakes) is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Com ...

. After Wynne's admission that the Liberals would not win the provincial election, Henderson announced he would run for Liberal leader if he was elected. He was defeated on election day. *

, leadership candidate in 2013, former Ontario Minister of Health and Long Term Care and former MPP for St. Paul's (2009–2018) *

Jennifer Keesmaat Jennifer Keesmaat (born 1970) is a Canadian urban planner who served as Chief City Planner of Toronto from 2012 to 2017. On August 28, 2017, she announced that she would resign from her position as Chief Planner, effective September 29 of the same ...

, former Chief City Planner of Toronto and

2018 Toronto mayoral election The 2018 Toronto mayoral election was held on Monday, October 22, 2018, to elect the Mayor of the city of Toronto. Incumbent Mayor John Tory was re-elected for a second term, defeating former Chief City Planner Jennifer Keesmaat with 63.49% o ...

candidate. * Jeff Lehman, Mayor of

Barrie Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...

, economist and development expert. *

John Milloy John Christopher Milloy (born June 29, 1965) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2014 who represented the riding of the Kitchener Centre. He served as a cabinet ...

, former Minister of Government Services for

, former Government House Leader, Minister of Training, Colleges & Universities, Minister of Community & Social Services, and Minister of Research & Innovation for

, former MPP for

Kitchener Centre Kitchener Centre (french: Kitchener-Centre) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1997. Geography The district includes the north-central and north-eastern parts o ...

(2003-2014), practitioner-in-residence at

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...

Tim Murphy Timothy Murphy may refer to: Politics * Tim Murphy (American politician) (born 1952), American Republican Party politician from Pennsylvania * Tim Murphy (Canadian politician) (born 1959), Canadian politician * Timothy J. Murphy (1893–1949), Iris ...

, former Liberal MPP (

St. George—St. David St. George—St. David was a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada that existed between 1987 and 1999 that returned Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario at Queen's Park. The riding was cre ...

, 1993-1995), former president of the Ontario Liberal Party, former Liberal provincial election campaign co-chair, former chief of staff to Prime Minister

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...

(2003-2006). *

Jane Philpott Jane Philpott (née Little; born November 23, 1960) is a physician, academic administrator, and former Canadian politician who represented the riding of Markham—Stouffville in the House of Commons. Philpott was first elected in the 2015 fed ...

, former federal cabinet minister (2017-2019) and former MP for

Markham—Stouffville Markham—Stouffville is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada. It encompasses a portion of Ontario previously included in the electoral districts of Markham—Unionville and Oak Ridges—Markham.; ; see also Statistics CanadaNational ...

(2015-2019). Resigned from federal Liberal cabinet to protest the

SNC-Lavalin affair The SNC-Lavalin affair () was a political scandal involving attempted political interference with the justice system by the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The Parliament of Canada's Ethics ...

. *

Sandra Pupatello Sandra Pupatello (née Pizzolitto; born October 6, 1962) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2011 as a member of the Ontario Liberal Party, serving as a Minister in the government o ...

, leadership runner-up in 2013, former Chair of

Hydro One Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario ( ...

, former MPP for

Windsor West Windsor West (french: Windsor-Ouest) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. Geography The district consists of the part of the city of Windsor lying west an ...

(1995–2011) and former Minister of Community and Social Services and Minister of Education under

. Announced that she will not be returning to provincial politics and will seek the federal Liberal nomination in

for the 2019 federal election. *

, leadership candidate in 2013, former

Ontario Minister of Finance The Ministry of Finance is a portfolio in the Executive Council of Ontario, commonly known as the cabinet. The Minister of Finance is responsible for managing the fiscal, financial and related regulatory affairs of the Canadian province of Ontario ...

and former MPP for

Mississauga South Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

(2007–2018) *

Belinda Stronach Belinda Caroline Stronach (Born May 2, 1966) is a Canadian businesswoman, philanthropist and a former Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2008. Originally elected as a Conservative, she later crossed the fl ...

, former federal MP for

(2004-2008), former Federal

Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development The minister of employment, workforce development and disability inclusion () is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for Employment and Social Development Canada, the Government of Canada department that oversees p ...

, President and Chair of

The Stronach Group Stronach Group, doing business as 1/ST, is an entertainment and real estate company in North America with Thoroughbred horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering at the core. *

John Tory John Howard Tory (born May 28, 1954) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 65th and current mayor of Toronto since 2014. After a career as a lawyer, political strategist and businessman, Tory ran as a mayoral candidate in the 2003 ...

, Mayor of Toronto (2014–present), leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (2004-2009) * John Wilkinson, Minister of Research and Innovation, Minister of Revenue, and Minister of the Environment under Dalton McGuinty, former MPP for

Perth—Middlesex Perth—Middlesex was an electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2003 and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1999 to 2007. This riding was created in 1996 from parts of ...

(2003-2007) and

Perth—Wellington Perth—Wellington is a federal electoral district in southwestern Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. The riding consists of: :* Perth County including the City of Stratford and the Town ...

(2007-2011)

Results

Local Voting

All members of the Ontario Liberal Party as of December 2, 2019 were eligible to cast a two-part ballot at one of the "Leadership Election Meetings" held across the province. Members vote directly for their choice of leadership candidate (or for "independent") in the top part of the ballot, and for local delegates in the bottom part of the ballot. Elected delegates were apportioned to leadership candidates based on their share of votes in the top part of the ballot, and are bounded to vote for their leadership candidates on the first ballot at the March 6 convention. The small number of independent delegates elected can vote for whomever they chose at the convention. The meetings were held over the weekend of February 8–9, 2020 in 119 electoral districts (with 5 additional electoral districts in Northern Ontario holding their balloting by mail/email/fax), and in twelve Ontario Young Liberal campus clubs and four Ontario Women's Liberal Clubs. There were a total of 2,084 delegates spots up for election from Ontario's 124 electoral districts (16 each for a total of 1,984), twelve campus clubs (8 each for a total of 96) and four women's clubs (1 each for a total of 4). The local results were as follow. Result by Electoral Districts/Clubs

Convention

The delegated leadership convention was held on March 6 and 7, 2020 at the

. In addition to the 2000 plus pleaded delegates elected, approximately 530 ex-officio delegates were eligible to vote at the convention by virtue of party and elected offices they have held, such as sitting and former Liberal MPPs, recent provincial Liberal candidates, sitting federal Liberal MPs, and various party officials and representatives of party bodies.

was elected leader on the first ballot with 59% of the ballot cast. There was one spoiled ballot.

Notes

References

{{reflist Ontario Liberal Party leadership elections

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

March 2020 events in Canada Ontario Liberal Party leadership election