THUNDER BAY — Regaining trust in the Ontario Liberal Party and replacing Premier Doug Ford in the 2026 Election.
Those were just some of the talking points between the five candidates vying to be the new leader of the Liberal Party.
Bonnie Crombie, Nate Erskine-Smith, Ted Hsu, Yasir Naqvi and Adil Shamji hit the stage at Lakehead University Thursday night for the first of five total debates but the only one based in Northern Ontario.
Challenges in the north, trust and accountability, housing affordability, healthcare and rebuilding the party were the five topics of the two-hour event.
Crombie was on the defensive for portions of the night for previous comments made about potentially swapping out lands out of the protected Greenbelt.
“Two issues that voters are going to absolutely need to trust us on the next election are housing and the green belts,” said Nate Erskine-Smith. “Are we going to win with a leader who has a track record of failing to build homes with [her] experience? And are we going to win with a leader who said they were going to open up the green belt, and then the next week said I didn't mean that the green belt sacred. How do you build trust?”
Crombie had said that if local communities and municipalities came to the province and said white belt land was trapped in the Greenbelt, they could ask for that to be exchanged for other new Greenbelt land.
The white belt is in reference to undeveloped areas just outside the boundaries of existing towns and cities that are not protected by plans like the Greenbelt.
Crombie did her best to sell herself as someone with a track record who has delivered in the past as a former Member of Parliament for Mississauga-Streetsville as well as the mayor of Mississauga since 2014.
“I have experience, I have leadership skills and I have delivered for my community before,” stressed Crombie. “I have proven that I am very practical and fiscally responsible. There are mayors in this room that understand [what this job entails]. We have to be very practical because we can't run deficits. So, we target the most pressing priorities with our investments.
Yasir Naqvi, a former Ontario Attorney General, recognized to the in-person and online viewing audience that all five candidates in the running to succeed interim leader John Fraser are from Southern Ontario.
“As I have travelled through the north over the campaign, I have had the chance to speak with mayors, indigenous leaders, and other community leaders to learn directly from them as to what [their] issues are. I'm not going to be imposing my Eastern Ontario views on yours because those solutions are not going to work,” Naqvi stated. “This is a big province and we need to make sure that the solutions that we come up with actually work for Northern Ontario and they have to be inspired by you.”
Naqvi also noted that if elected leader, he would visit Northern Ontario once every quarter.
Dr. Adil Shamji, who is one of two current Liberal MPP in the race to become leader, said that Liberals get the reputation of only showing up for elections.
“I have been showing up for years with no expectation of anything in return,” he added. “That has informed everything that that has come out in my rural platform [and] my northern platform, [which includes] a commitment for a family doctor for every single one of us. [As well] housing that works for all of us, twinning up highways, everything that can get us working and firing on all cylinders.”
Shamji won election in the riding of Don Valley East in June 2022.
The other member of the party’s caucus Ted Hsu (Kingston and the Islands) feels that there has been a lack of investment provincially for the city of Thunder Bay.
“Thunder Bay is a centre for provincial services, and has been for the last few decades. It's under strain because there is something like 30 to 40-thousand extra residents here, and the city isn't being compensated for the extra expense that it's incurring on behalf of the whole region. That's where it's a regional thing the province should step in to help out,” Hsu said.
Other debates between the candidates will happen in Stratford (Oct. 1), Toronto (Oct. 24), Ottawa (Nov. 8) and Brampton on either Nov. 18 or 19.
The leadership election was called following the June 2022 election where the party won just eight seats and saw the resignation of Steven Del Duca, now the mayor of Vaughan.
The ranked ballots will be cast on Nov. 25 and 26 with the new leader selected on Dec. 2.