John Milloy

Do you believe it? Ordinary people are once again talking about the Ontario Liberals. Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie’s announcement that she is considering a run for the leadership has put the party back in the spotlight.

Although I am not committed to any leadership candidate, I am delighted that Crombie may enter the race. About 100 years ago Bonnie and I were both young Liberals and I think that she would be a great addition to the contest.

Nevertheless, like so many involved in politics, her greatest strengths come with some downsides.

Let me outline five things to consider about her possible leadership bid.

First, she seems to attract a fair bit of media attention. For a party that has been trounced at the polls not once, but twice, that means something.

The flip side, of course, is that when journalists decide that you are one to watch, they actually start watching you — closely. Reporters like nothing better than to put a politician on a pedestal for the sheer joy of knocking them off. The inordinate negative media attention given to confusion around the launch of her website as well as a focus on her decision not to resign as mayor unless she becomes leader may be a taste that she is in for a rough ride.

Second, Crombie is a popular public figure who comes from the vote-rich Greater Toronto Area (GTA). As one unnamed Tory strategist told the Toronto Star: “We have six seats in Mississauga and five in Brampton that Bonnie Crombie could put into play.”

The downside, which many from the area hate hearing, is that the GTA is not the centre of the universe.  Being world famous in Mississauga doesn’t necessarily make you a household name in the vast swaths of the province that don’t care about what goes on in Ontario’s largest city or the region surrounding it.

If the Liberals want to win, they need to pick up a fair number of seats from rural and small-town Ontario — areas that may have never heard of Crombie and have had little use for the Liberals in the last number of years. Admittedly, she has acknowledged the need to court those voters, but it will be difficult.

Third, Crombie was not part of either the McGuinty or Wynne governments.

Although it is true that Crombie has no baggage from the McGuinty or Wynne governments, she has had a long political career in both municipal and federal politics. The Progressive Conservative research bureau is probably already amassing a very large file on every mistake and misstep that she has made.

As to the McGuinty-Wynne issue, I obviously have a conflict of interest.  I was part of those governments and believe that we did some good things — as do many other party members.  The Ontario Liberal Party is a very small pond full of some big fish with even bigger egos — most of whom have close connections to the past Liberal government. Being too critical of those 15 years is a strategy that could backfire.

As to the general public? In our noisy world of information overload most people I know can barely remember Kathleen Wynne or Dalton McGuinty and seem much more interested in complaining about Justin Trudeau.

That said, Crombie is talking about the right issues which brings us to the fourth consideration — her call for the Ontario Liberals to be much more of a centrist party that tackles key areas like healthcare and affordability. She obviously knows what resonates with voters.

The problem of course is that those same pesky voters usually demand solutions to those problems and when it comes to huge challenges like healthcare, the good people of our province are cynical about claims that the system can be fixed. Crombie is going to have to come up with some believable proposals pronto and it won’t be easy.

Finally, Crombie is a fresh face, a dynamic female politician who Ontario voters are going to want to know more about.

That said, leading the Ontario Liberals out of the wilderness will most likely be a long-term project. No matter the leader, it is a tall order to go from eight seats to government in one election. The new leader may have to spend the next seven-plus years in opposition. Crombie would be coming to the job after a long career in politics and many will ask whether she has the fire in her belly to see the party through years and years of what could be rocky times.

I end where I began by saying that I am delighted that the leadership race is attracting high profile candidates like Bonnie Crombie. She would obviously bring a great deal to the job but there are many factors for Liberals to consider in making their choice.

John Milloy is a former MPP and Ontario Liberal cabinet minister currently serving as the director of the Centre for Public Ethics and assistant professor of public ethics at Martin Luther University College, and the inaugural practitioner in residence in Wilfrid Laurier University’s Political Science department. He is also a lecturer in the University of Waterloo’s master of public service program. John can be reached at 

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The views, opinions and positions expressed by all QP Briefing columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of QP Briefing.

Like so many involved in politics, Bonnie Crombie's greatest strengths come with some downsides. Here are five things to consider about her possible leadership bid.

Five things to consider about Bonnie Crombie’s potential Liberal Leadership bid

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