Momentum at Ontario Liberals' meeting in London can help the party gain traction, analysts say
Party members to discuss key priorities, policies at 3-day meeting ahead of potential snap election
As the Ontario Liberal Party's annual meeting gets underway in London today, political experts say the city — a former Liberal stronghold — will be an important battleground that could help leader Bonnie Crombie and her team regain official party status.
"London is a seat-rich region of the province where historically, in the not-so-distinct past, we had a strong representation in government, and I think it can be seen as ground zero for rebuilding the Ontario Liberal Party," said Liberal strategist Andrew Perez.
The Liberals' presence in the London region has slowly dwindled in the last decade.
In the 2022 provincial election, they lost three out of four ridings to the NDP and the Elgin-Middlesex-London riding in the rural outskirts to Progressive Conservative MPP Rob Flack.
The party's three-day convention at RBC Place London runs through the weekend. Members will discuss key priorities and policies aiming to help the party build its provincial platform and attract new voters for the next election.
"We have lost considerable ground in London and the surrounding region, so there's a lot of work to be done in terms of regaining voters' trust and really demonstrating that the Ontario Liberals aren't only a big-city party, but also a party of other regions," said Perez.
A lot is at stake for the Liberals as Premier Doug Ford hasn't ruled out the possibility of Ontarians heading to the polls next year instead of June 2026, as scheduled.
Speculation of an early election will likely be the "elephant in the convention room," Sabrina Nanji, founder of the Queens Park Observer newsletter, told CBC News on Thursday.
"It's not lost on Doug Ford that [Crombie] and the Liberals would be the most disadvantaged if there was a snap vote," she said. "Her party has the longest way to go when it comes to nominating candidates."
Crombie, Mississauga's former longtime mayor, was elected as Liberal leader in December after a disastrous 2022 election that saw the party win just eight seats and then leader Steven Del Duca step down after just two years on the job.
Crombie doesn't yet have a seat at Queens Park. Currently, the Liberals have 11 candidates but need to fill 124 seats.
This weekend's meeting will allow the Liberals to prepare for the Legislature's fall session, which resumes next month, said Nanji.
Other top priorities will focus on the party's fundraising efforts to mount a competitive campaign and show voters why Crombie is a strong contender against Ford's PCs, Nanji said.
"They have to start advertising and introducing Bonnie Crombie to the rest of the province beyond Mississauga where she was former mayor and is well known and popular," she said.
"She's really got to start defining herself before the Conservatives do it for her. This will also be a topic in the room that, 'How are we going to show people that we're the alternative compared to the NDP?'"
In order to re-earn voter confidence, the party needs to embrace its underdog status and focus on "bread and butter issues" that are top of mind for voters — issues that include affordability, housing, jobs, public health care and education, said Perez, adding he believes neither the government nor opposition messages are appealing to voters.
Commenting on where the New Democratic Party stands in his estimation, Perez said "the NDP aren't putting forth policies that allow for a balanced economy."
A Liberal conference in southwestern Ontario is an opportunity for the region, which has an agricultural sector that contributes significantly to the province's economy, to stand out, said Tariq Khan from London, a former policy chair for Crombie's 2023 leadership campaign.
"The southwest [region's] 88 municipalities are totally ignored by the province, so this is the time to reset the system and I believe people are looking at the Liberals to do that," said Khan, who will be in a leadership role at the convention this weekend.
"Too much has gone wrong in the past six years and now we have a leader who is equally popular across Ontario. In my Liberal life, I've never seen this much interest and activity take place as what I saw after Bonnie won."
Khan, who is also interested in seeking a candidacy nomination, said there's lots of excitement in the community to welcome the Liberals and he believes the momentum will only grow.
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With files from CBC News, Lorenda Reddekopp