From November 9 to 20, 2026, members of the Ontario Liberal Party (OLP) will vote in a leadership election to choose a permanent leader to replace John Fraser, who became leader on an interim basis following the resignation of Bonnie Crombie. The results of the election will be announced on November 21.
Background Following an extended period of electoral success under the leadership of premiers Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne between 2003 and 2018, the Ontario Liberal Party experienced its worst electoral outcome since Confederation in the 2018 election. The party won less than 20% of the popular vote and fell to seven seats, losing official party status in the legislature. Accepting responsibility for the party's historic defeat, Wynne resigned as party leader on election night.
The party's two subsequent leaders, Steven Del Duca and Bonnie Crombie, were not sitting MPPs when they were elected leaders respectively in 2020 and 2023. Under their leadership, the party regained four percentage points and six percentage points of popular vote respectively in the 2022 and 2025 elections, and regained official party status following the 2025 election. However, neither were able to significantly expand the party's presence at the legislature or to secure a seat for themselves.
After the election, a group called New Leaf Liberals was formed in response to the performance of Crombie's leadership and her team. They openly advocated that Crombie should resign if she fails to receive 66% approval from party delegates during its leadership review. Crombie and her team pushed back by stating she should only resign if she failed to meet the 50% + 1 threshold as per the party constitution.
The party held a mandatory leadership review vote from September 12 to 14 during its 2025 annual meeting held in which Crombie secured only 57% approval from party delegates. Following the results announcement, Crombie stated that she would remain leader and fight the next provincial election during her closing address to the assembled delegates, but announced later on the same day her intention to resign following meetings with the party's caucus and executive council.
Crombie had initially announced that she would remain as leader until her successor was elected, but ultimately resigned from the position on January 14, 2026. Following Crombie's resignation, John Fraser, the most senior caucus member and the party's parliamentary leader since 2018, was selected as interim leader. Fraser had previously been interim leader on two occasions, from 2018 to 2020 and 2022 to 2023.
Campaign Rules and procedures The rules and procedures of this leadership contest are primarily prescribed in three sources; the party's Constitution, in particular article 9 (Leadership Contest & Review) which was substantially amended in 2023, the party's Rules of Procedure, in particular chapter 8 (Leadership contest rules) which was specifically enacted by the party's executive council for this contest on February 7, 2026, and the Election Finances Act of Ontario, on matters relating to registration, financial reporting, and donation limits. Candidates cannot officially raise money until they are registered with Elections Ontario.
The registration fee for candidates was $150,000 and the cut-off date for applications to be submitted was July 31. Once the candidates are finalized, the party will begin all-candidate debates. Following a March 2023 constitutional amendment that ended the party's use of delegated leadership conventions, the contest is conducted via an online preferential ballot open to all party members registered by the September 7, 2026 cutoff date.
Results are determined by a weighted points system allocating 100 points to each provincial electoral district, distributed proportionally to candidates based on first-preference votes, alongside 50 points per recognized student club and 5 points per recognized women's club. If no candidate achieves 50 per cent of total points on the initial count, the lowest-ranked candidate is eliminated and their supporters' second-choice preferences are redistributed until a candidate secures a majority.
On October 1, the party announced that that the total number of individuals who would be eligible to vote in the leadership election would be approximately 55,000. This figure is lower that the number of eligible voters in the 2023 race. However, this reduction is credited to the party introducing a more stringent verification process, requiring members to complete two steps before being confirmed as eligible voters to ensure that those registered had actively chosen to participate in the leadership election, rather than simply having their names added to a membership list.
Messaging and platforms Early contest messaging focused on affordability and the economy, with candidates putting forward varying approaches to address provincial living costs. Navdeep Bains framed his candidacy around an "Ontario Deal," emphasizing regional economic development, job creation, and housing access drawing on his background in federal industrial policy. Similarly, Stephanie Bowman prioritized youth employment, productivity growth, and fiscal management, while Dylan Marando proposed expanding OHIP coverage and restoring needs-based grants through OSAP.
Policy planks varied among campaigns during the opening months, with Eric Lombardi releasing the contest's first fully costed platform. Lombardi's platform focused on economic growth, housing supply, post-secondary tuition relief, and structural reforms to public service delivery, including introducing competitive incentives within the publicly funded healthcare system. Other candidates opted for broader policy frameworks and phased rollouts of specific planks leading up to official debates.
Governance and legislative readiness also formed a line of debate, with Lee Fairclough saying that it's important that the party's next leader should be a sitting Member of Provincial Parliament capable of confronting the governing Progressive Conservatives immediately in the Legislature. Drawing on her background in health administration, Fairclough also focused her policy proposals on healthcare access, mental health services, and restoring decision-making authority to municipal governments.
Debates
+ Debates among candidates for the 2026 Ontario Liberal Party leadership election No. Date Place Host Moderator Language Participants: Participant Not invited Absent invitee Out of race Bains Bowman Fairclough Lombardi Marando 1 August 10, 2026 Online Ontario Liberal Party Tina Yazdani, The Trillium English 2 September 17, 2026 Toronto The Hurle Burly podcast David Herle English 3 September 28, 2026 Online Ontario Liberal Party Siobhan Morris, CTV News English
Timeline 2025 February 27 – Ontario general election held, resulting in a third consecutive majority PC government. The Liberals won 14 seats, obtaining official party status. Bonnie Crombie failed to win her own seat, but announced her intention to continue as leader in her concession speech. September 14 – At the Ontario Liberal Party Annual General Meeting, 57% of delegates voted against holding a leadership contest. Crombie announced during a speech to delegates after the results were announced that she would remain as leader. However, several hours later, after meeting with the party executive, she announced her intention to resign as leader once a leadership election is held to choose her successor. September 28 – The party's executive council approved the creation of a Leadership Vote Committee chaired by party treasurer Gabriel Sékaly and including party president Kathryn McGarry to "consult with members, research best practices and provide recommendations" for the upcoming leadership election.
2026 January 14 – Bonnie Crombie officially resigns as Liberal leader. January 19 – MPP John Fraser, who previously served as interim leader from 2018 to 2020 and 2022 to 2023, is nominated by the Ontario Liberal caucus to serve as interim leader. January 22 – Party's executive council, riding association presidents and caucus formally confirm selection of Fraser as interim leader. February 7 – Party president Kathryn McGarry announces details for the leadership vote, including the voting dates, entrance fee and timeline. April 21 – Dylan Marando announces his candidacy. May 8 – MPP Lee Fairclough declares her candidacy. May 9 – Scarborough Southwest by-election Liberal nomination meeting is held. Prospective leadership candidate Nate Erskine-Smith was defeated for the nomination by Ahsanul Hafiz. Erskine-Smith said his leadership candidacy is "much less likely" as a result. May 25 — Former federal cabinet minister Navdeep Bains declares his candidacy. May 28 — MPP Rob Cerjanec declares his candidacy. June 9 — Eric Lombardi declares his candidacy. June 25 — Erskine-Smith announces he will not be a leadership candidate. July 5 – Rob Cerjanec announces he is suspending his campaign. July 31 – MPP Stephanie Bowman and Vikram Handa declare their candidacies, though Handa had not yet been officially been qualified by the party; candidate registration deadline. August 7 — Vikram Handa announces his withdrawal from the contest. September 7 – Deadline to join the Ontario Liberal Party and be eligible to vote in the leadership election as party member. September 30 — Eric Lombardi withdraws. November 9 – Voting period begins. November 20 – Voting period ends. November 21 – Results of voting and new leader to be announced.
Candidates
Registered Candidate Experience Candidacy Campaign Ref. Navdeep Bains Federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry (2015–2021) MP for Mississauga—Malton (2015–2021) MP for Mississauga—Brampton South (2004–2011) Business executive at CIBC and Rogers Communications Announced: May 25, 2026 Registered: May 23, 2026 Campaign slogan: Let's Lead AgainEndorsementsWebsite Stephanie BowmanMPP for Don Valley West (2022–present) Liberal Critic for Finance (2024—present) Liberal Deputy House Leader and Critic for Treasury Board, Interprovincial Trade, Tariffs, and International Trade (2025—present) Bank of Canada board member (2018—2021) Senior vice-president of Scotiabank (2014—2017) Announced: July 31, 2026 Registered: August 2, 2026 Campaign slogan: Ready for What's NextEndorsements Website Lee Fairclough MPP for Etobicoke—Lakeshore (2025–present) Liberal Critic for Hospitals, Addictions and Homelessness, and Mental Health (2025—present) President of St. Mary's General Hospital, Kitchener (2019–2022) Senior vice-president of clinical care at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto Announced: May 8, 2026 Registered: May 7, 2026 Campaign slogan: Fighting for a Better OntarioEndorsementsWebsite Dylan Marando Former policy advisor to Premiers Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne, deputy director of policy in the Prime Minister's Office of Justin Trudeau Head of strategy and government affairs for Siemens Healthineers Green Party candidate in 2008 federal election. Announced: April 21, 2026 Registered: April 21, 2026 Campaign slogan: The Future Starts HereEndorsementsWebsite
Withdrawn Candidate Experience Candidacy Campaign Ref. Rob CerjanecMPP for Ajax (2025–present) Liberal Critic for Economic Development & Innovation, and Tourism, Sport & Culture (2025–present) Communication lead at the Durham District School Board; Chief of Staff to Deputy Mayor of Toronto Ana Bailão (2015—2019) Announced: May 28, 2026 Registered: May 28, 2026 Withdrawn: July 5, 2026 Campaign slogan: Let's Build OntarioEndorsementsWebsite Vikram Handa2015 Liberal Party of Canada nomination contestant in Davenport Director at the Maya Group, an affordable housing provider Announced: July 31, 2026 Registered: N/A Withdrawn: August 7, 2026 Campaign slogan: Website Eric LombardiFinancial technology sector management consultant Chair of Build Toronto