THUNDER BAY — Veteran retired MPP Michael Gravelle says he's optimistic about prospects for the rejuvenation of the Ontario Liberals under the leadership of Bonnie Crombie.
The mayor of Mississauga was elected to head the party after three rounds of ballot-counting on the weekend.
Gravelle, who had served as the member for Thunder Bay - Superior North since 1995, bowed out of politics in 2022 for health reasons.
In the election of that year, the Liberals finished second to the Conservatives in the popular vote but failed to win enough seats to regain the official party status they lost in the 2018 election.
"There's no question we've got a lot of work to do," Gravelle said in an interview with CFNO Radio on Sunday. "The people did turn on, obviously, our government in 2018. That was a pretty rough election, as was the election of 2022."
But he believes Crombie will make "a tremendous leader," adding "there's no question she got a lot of people incredibly involved" in the leadership selection process.
Just under 23,000 party members voted, about 10,000 more than in the 2022 leadership race, won by Stephen Del Duca.
Crombie is putting a big emphasis on fundraising, telling the Globe and Mail she has asked all riding associations to work on collecting money that will be required to rebuild the party.
She has also said the Liberals must focus on rural and Northern ridings as they attempt a comeback.
Gravelle said he feels Crombie is "the one person that Doug Ford — the premier — was hoping we would not elect as our leader. And now that we have, I believe we've got a good chance of bringing our party back."
Rob Barrett, who ran for the Liberals in Thunder Bay–Atikokan in the 2022 election, was pulling for Toronto-area MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith in the leadership race, but he finished as runner-up.
"Obviously, he had a very good showing, but as soon as Bonnie put her hat in the ring, I thought 'she's the candidate to beat,' " Barrett said Monday.
"The name itself is pretty well-known politically, and she just presents as somebody who's very, very competent. And I like the fact she's a woman. I think she could do very good things for this party."
Ontario's next election is scheduled for June 2026.