The Ontario Liberal Party will have a new face representing them soon.
Bonnie Crombie announced her resignation as the party’s leader at this weekend’s Liberal AGM in Toronto. This came even after Crombie won the support of 57% of delegates.
“Even though I received a majority of support from the delegates, I believe it is the best decision for the Ontario Liberal Party to facilitate an orderly transition towards a leadership vote.” Crombie said in a statement.
Crombie stated before the vote that she had no interest in giving up the position, but after a close vote and a meeting with party executives, she issued a statement regarding her resignation.
“I think it’s pretty open ended.” says Sam Routley, Doctoral Student of Political Science at Western University after he was asked about the leadership race.
Routley says the party should be open to new ideas, as they’ve failed to grab seats in recent elections.
“The key is the fact that they haven’t performed very well, in a sense that they’ve been out of office since 2018 and that they’re placing in third, so I think what that means is they’re coming at this from a position of weakness… and a lack of an answer as to what the best direction is.”
To finish, Routley clarified that 57% isn’t a strong mandate.
“Even though it’s a majority vote… it’s a weak mandate. Close to 50% of the party voted against you, which means that a good portion of your own party members aren’t particularly fond of you, or at least don’t see you as the party’s best direction going forward.”
Crombie will stay on for the time being, but she will officially resign once the party picks a new leader.
