Ontario Liberals are about to rethink how they elect their party leaders
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‘I fully expect there to be a strong call for us to move to one member one vote, like the federal party did,’ said an Ontario Liberal insider
Publishing date:
Jun 04, 2022 • 55 minutes ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation 
Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca leaves the stage after stepping down as party leader on election night in Vaughan, Ont., June 2, 2022. Photo by Chris Young/The Canadian Press Article content
OTTAWA — Ontario’s two major opposition parties suddenly need to find new leaders, but before they can do that they will need to decide whether to change the leadership selection process that put Andrea Horwath in charge of the NDP and Steven Del Duca at the head of the provincial Liberals. The leadership races themselves are probably months or a year away; decisions that decide how their leaders are picked will be made in the coming weeks.
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Horwath announced plans to resign Thursday night after her fourth election campaign left the NDP with fewer seats than in 2018, but with enough to hang onto Official Opposition status. Del Duca also announced his resignation after barely improving on the Liberals’ disastrous 2018 showing, winning eight seats to 2018’s seven, and failing to even win a seat for himself. Del Duca had said earlier this week that he would stay on as leader regardless of the outcome, but that changed when his dismal results rolled in Thursday night.
Del Duca won the Liberal leadership in 2020 through a delegated leadership process, where riding associations elect representatives who will cast their vote for leader at the party’s convention.
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Ashley Csanady, a senior consultant with McMillan Vantage Policy Group and staffer for former Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne, said she believes that after this election, the party is bound to consider changing that process.
“I fully expect there to be a strong call for us to move to one member one vote, like the federal party did,” she said.
She also hopes Liberals consider offering free memberships (as the federal party did), which would she thinks will help build volunteers and donors for the next election.
“Our (the Liberals’) total vote share was actually higher than the NDP’s (on Thursday), but it didn’t translate into more seats, so that tells us we have a problem on the ground,” Csanady said. “We really need to rebuild the grassroots of our party. It’s clear that we didn’t have enough boots on the ground.”
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Ford sets Conservative seat count record in Ontario election 
Del Duca steps down as Ontario Liberals have disappointing night The NDP operated under a mostly one-member, one-vote system for its last leadership race in 2009, which Horwath won, although there are also weighted votes given to labour unions and other affiliated groups. An NDP official said they expect the party is unlikely to want to alter that process.
No one has declared their intention to run to replace Horwath yet, but Toronto NDP MPP Marit Stiles has already said she was considering it.
“I am going to step back for a minute and talk with my family and friends and colleagues,” she said on CBC radio, Friday. “I certainly would consider it, if there is a call for it.”
Ottawa MPP Joel Harden said Thursday night that he had not ruled out a run, but said it wasn’t yet on his mind.
No Liberal MPPs have stepped forward yet to replace Del Duca. The only candidate who ran in the 2020 leadership race that currently has a seat in the Ontario legislature is Scarborough MPP Mitzie Hunter. She has not yet commented on whether she has any interest in leading the party.
• Email: rtumilty@postmedia.com | Twitter: ryantumilty
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