Province calls Feb. 5 byelection for Sudbury

The Ontario government has called a Feb. 5 provincial byelection for the riding of Sudbury.

Premier Kathleen Wynne is expected in Sudbury today to hold a press conference with Glenn Thibeault, who recently defected as a federal NDP to run for the Liberals provincially. 

The upcoming byelection led to a split in the Liberal ranks in Sudbury when the party's candidate in last June's general election, Andrew Olivier, said he was asked to step aside by Wynne.

Olivier announced Monday he would run as an independent in the byelection.

Morning North9:59Andrew Olivier to run as independent in Sudbury by-election

Andrew Olivier announced that he plans to run as an independent in the upcoming Sudbury by-election. He spoke to us about why he made that decision. We also heard from France Gelinas about Liberal mailouts asking people to support Glenn Thibeault.

On Tuesday morning at Queen's Park in Toronto, Wynne was asked by reporters whether she's concerned that Andrew Olivier will be running as an independent against Thibeault.

"Obviously, we would have preferred to have Andrew Olivier as part of the team, that was always our position," she said.

"We had hoped that he would work with us. But Glenn Thibeault's a terrific candidate, and it's going to be an exciting byelection."

The PCs in Sudbury have already chosen Paula Peroni as their candidate. The Greens have chosen LU professor David Robinson, and the NDP will pick a candidate on Sunday.