The race to define Bonnie Crombie
And time-allocation commotion
Presented by Ontario’s Universities
ABOVE THE FOLD
OUT OF THE FRYING PAN…It’s a hard-and-fast rule of politics: define yourself before your opponents do — and the PCs and New Democrats are already painting Liberal Leader BONNIE CROMBIE with an elitist brush. But first: the Grits have put out riding-by-riding results for the leadership contest — here’s how the candidates fared, and where the third-place party is going strong (or not).
By the numbers: According to the first-ballot tallies, the Liberals managed to sign up the most members in the 905 and on the outskirts of Toronto — vote-rich and competitive regions. That includes Brampton West (4,359), Scarborough Southwest (3,819), Milton (3,677), Scarborough Centre (3,328) and Eglinton-Lawrence (2,726).
Where they could better engage the locals: The North rounded out the bottom of the turnout ticket, including 27 voters in Kiiwetinoong, 67 in Mushkegowuk-James Bay, 75 in Timmins and 86 in Kenora-Rainy River.
Why it matters: The stronger a riding association, the stronger a party’s ground game during election season. Of note: All of the Liberals’ most- or least-engaged ridings are currently held by the PCs or NDP.
Best and worst II: Crombie came out on top in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, typically where the Grits do well. Her best showing was in Humber River-Black Creek, where she pulled in 84.2 points. Her worst was Kingston and the Islands — MPP TED HSU’s territory — with 5.5 per cent.
For NATE ERSKINE-SMITH: His home turf of Beaches-East York came through, awarding him 81.1 points. Ditto Hsu, who took 88.5 per cent of the points in his home riding. As for YASIR NAQVI: Scarborough Centre liked him best, giving 57.6 points.
Overall: First-ballot results clocked in at 43 per cent support for Crombie, 25.7 per cent for Erskine-Smith, 21.3 per cent for Naqvi and 10 per cent for Hsu.
Fellow electoral wonk KYLE HUTTON mapped out the results with a handy graphic:
Here’s how actual turnout compares to the party’s expectations, via our earlier scoop. And the riding-by-riding results.
…AND INTO THE FIRE — The PCs and NDP are giving Crombie a rough hazing. Meanwhile, Crombie made the media rounds as part of a whirlwind 72 hours since taking the wheel of the Ontario Liberal Party.
Knives out, again: Crombie told Newstalk 1010 that while she got congratulatory calls from Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU and heavyweight Grits and Tories, she hasn’t heard from Premier DOUG FORD. There’s been no love lost between the two.
“The Liberals have just elected a leader who spends more time in the Hamptons on private jets than the Prime Minister of Canada,” Government House Leader PAUL CALANDRA contended in Question Period. Hours later, in a fundraising email blast, the PC Party dubbed her “Million Dollar Bonnie.”
“You won’t believe this. The Ontario Liberals’ new leader, Bonnie Crombie, came out this week with a fundraising goal of $1 million to pay for her new salary,” it reads. “Just how much money will Liberal donors and taxpayers be expected to pay for Bonnie to keep up with her high-flying, limousine-riding, Rolex-wearing lifestyle?”
Crombie appeared unfazed. “Clearly, Doug Ford’s rattled by me,” she said, adding that she’s focused on what matters most to people: affordable housing, health care and education. (On Saturday, she pointed out that she inherited a house in Long Island — not the Hamptons — after an aunt and uncle passed away.) She’s also on track to rake in $100,000 in donations in her first 72 hours in the gig.
NDPers are also getting in on the Bonnie-bashing. “Another politician bankrolled by well-connected insiders and developers? We’ve seen this before and we know what comes next,” the party said on social media, complete with a clip of Naqvi calling out Crombie’s developer donors during one of the leadership debates.
Still, unlike Ford, NDP Leader MARIT STILES did congratulate Crombie — moments before the party released a statement and website attacking her as Doug Ford-lite.
Mississauga or bust: Crombie also told both Newstalk 1010 and the CBC that she’s no longer considering a possible bid for the as-yet-unannounced byelection in Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, because she spoke with ex-interim leader JOHN FRASER, who told her they’ve already secured a local candidate for the PC stronghold.
The new leader is at the Leg today to meet with caucus and reporters.
HAPPENING TODAY
9:45 a.m.: The Ontario Health Coalition is holding a presser on the South Lawn to release a new report on nearly 1,000 hospital closures around the province.
11:30 a.m.: Infrastructure Minister KINGA SURMA and Infrastructure Ontario head MICHAEL LINDSAY will address the Empire Club of Canada over lunch. Invite.
1:15 p.m.: Liberal Leader BONNIE CROMBIE debuts in the Media Studio after sitting down with caucus.
2 p.m.: Citizenship and Multiculturalism Minister MICHAEL FORD will present the 2023 June Callwood award, which recognizes volunteers who go above and beyond.
ACCOUNTABILITY CHRISTMAS II — Ontario Ombudsman PAUL DUBÉ releases his annual report on Thursday morning. The hits just keep on coming: Don’t forget, on Wednesday acting Auditor General NICK STAVROPOULOS drops his own phonebook-sized report on government waste and mismanagement, featuring a look at the controversial Science Centre move.
FUNDRAISING WATCH — 6 p.m.: A bunch of front-benchers are headlining a $750-a-plate dinner in Toronto, featuring PRABMEET SARKARIA, SYLVIA JONES, VIC FEDELI and LISA THOMPSON. Invite. 7 p.m.: SolGen MICHAEL KERZNER is also shilling in town, to the tune of $1,500. RSVP.
A message from Ontario’s Universities
After a 10% tuition cut in 2019, four years of a tuition freeze, and pressure from inflation, Ontario’s universities are at a breaking point. Without ending the tuition freeze and providing additional government funding to universities, the programs and services that Ontario’s students rely on and deserve are at risk.
The time for government action is now. Find out more about how government, businesses, community partners and universities must work together to ensure that universities have the resources to continue to support students, lead innovation, and drive economic growth for Ontario here.
ON THE ORDER PAPER
First up: Another round of second-reading debate on Bill 157, Attorney General DOUG DOWNEY’s omnibus justice legislation.
After Question Period, a deferred vote: On the PCs hot-potato motion to ram a trio of land-use planning bills through due process. It would skip the committee stage for Bill 154 — which speeds up construction of Ontario Place and bypasses environmental assessments — and see it go straight for third-reading debate. Greenbelt-reverting Bill 136 and Official Plan-backtrack Bill 150 would also zip through a truncated third reading — with just 30 minutes of debate for the government and 30 minutes for Oppo.
Motion commotion: A couple of amendments have been tacked on. The PCs want the bells to ring for just five minutes should there be a need for a recorded vote (which Oppo will almost certainly trigger). The NDP tried to change that to one hour.
Full disclosure: My eardrums, and sanity, are not happy about the bell-ringing amendment — but there are few other levers for Oppo to delay or stop a motion they say is undemocratic and allows the PCs to skirt scrutiny on important public policy.
MONDAY’S RUNDOWN:
Tabled: The aptly-acronymed Bill 159, the PUPS (Preventing Unethical Puppy Sales) Act, which would ban puppy mills and require record-keeping for canine history. It’s part of a raft of fur-friendly legislation to come, the Canadian Press reports. And the regulations (more below).
Passed: Third and final reading of Bill 142, the PCs consumer protection package.
Killed: The NDP’s long-shot Bill 148, to strengthen conflict-of-interest rules.
ON THE COMMITTEE CIRCUIT — Tumbleweeds. MPPs get back at it tomorrow.
COCKTAIL CHATTER — The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre is putting on a lunch reception in Room 228. Later, MPPs and staff can mingle with the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters in the Dining Room.
CLIPPINGS
— DEAD IN THE WATER: Another monkey wrench in attempts to foil the controversial plan to bring Therme’s spa and waterpark to Ontario Place: the feds won’t be conducting an Impact Assessment.
The background: Ontario Place For All, which is staunchly opposed to the Ford government’s makeover plans for the waterfront, had enlisted a lawyer and written to federal Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT asking whether the Impact Assessment Act — which allows Ottawa to weigh in on provincial projects that could harm at-risk species and the climate — should cover Ontario Place. That could stall the project — something that DOUG FORD says is already happening with Highway 413 (and he’s not happy about it).
When it comes to the white elephant on the water, Guilbeault won’t be delving in on the spa or taxpayer-funded parking garage. While the Impact Assessment Agency said it is “of the view that the Spa Project may cause potential adverse effects within federal jurisdiction” — (the parking garage, not so much) — “the project design, application of standard mitigation measures, and existing legislative mechanisms provide a framework to address potential adverse effects.” Full reasoning.
Strange bedfellows: Meanwhile, the Star has the inside track on how Premier DOUG FORD and Toronto Mayor OLIVIA CHOW struck a new deal.
— ALL MINES: “The so-called ‘Ring of Fire’ in Ontario’s far north is expanding in size as mining claims spike in the area. More than 31,000 mining claims have been registered to date, an increase of 28 per cent in a year, according to analysis by Wildlands League, a non-profit conservation group.” Global News reports.
— SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!: “House of Commons Speaker GREG FERGUS says he is hoping to survive the political turmoil for appearing in his parliamentary uniform in a video tribute to the former interim leader of the Ontario Liberals.” The Globe follows up.
— COVID BLUES ARE BACK: “Ontario’s top doctor says there is ‘a lot’ of COVID-19 circulating in the province right now, and levels of both that virus and influenza are on the rise.” Details from CP.
— WINNER, GAGNANT: iGaming Ontario has won an international award for regulatory initiative of the year, bestowed by tech firm Vixio.
A message from Colleges Ontario, the advocacy voice for the province’s 24 public colleges
Twenty-five per cent of job openings in today’s market require college credentials and that will rise to 36 per cent over the next 10 years. We owe it to our students and businesses to get the college investment model right and make sure colleges remain key training hubs for our workforce.
We are calling on the government to act now on solutions that will support college students and the key sectors of our province’s economy.
Learn more about our recommendations here.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
FRENCH ENTRANCE — It’s official: CARL BOUCHARD is taking on the role of French Language Services Commissioner for good. Bouchard has been interim commish since March, and has led the francophone unit in Ontario Ombudsman PAUL DUBÉ’s office since 2020. Before that, he was director of policy at the Ministry of Francophone Affairs. Don’t forget: The Ford government scrapped the standalone watchdog role and folded it into the Ombudsman’s office. Bouchard’s bio.
BEYOND THE BUBBLE — TAYLOR DEASLEY, who’s been running comms for newly minted Liberal Leader BONNIE CROMBIE, has a new gig at Enterprise Canada, where she’s working as a senior consultant on strategic comms and issues management. It’s not Deasley’s first rodeo — she also handled the media file for ANA BAILAO’s mayoral bid, and before that, for then-mayor JOHN TORY.
SPOTTED:
Green MPP-elect AISLINN CLANCY (Kitchener Centre) measuring the drapes while on a victory lap at the Leg…Politico elves delivering holiday cards, featuring TED HSU’s family, GOLDIE GHAMARI’s very good boy BAXTER and KINGA SURMA’s very good girl AYANA…Oshawa’s escaped kangaroo found safe and sound…NDPers crack wise about the PCs bare “austerity” tree.
QUESTION PERIOD
THE HIGHLIGHTS: Why is the government “fast-tracking its luxury spa bill, Bill 154?” — “Don’t Ontarians deserve better than a government mired in scandal and focused solely on their insiders?” — Fire Metrolinx CEO PHIL VERSTER “like a competent government would” — “How can this government possibly think that the funding crisis they created can be magically solved by universities just finding more efficiencies?” — “Did the Premier put his nephew in charge of the Ontario Heritage Act because he was already planning the destruction of the Ontario Science Centre?” — “Finally get an opening date for the Eglinton LRT and broadcast it to the public” — For people struggling with addiction, “wait-lists for basic recovery beds are at least one year long” — “Help to save lives in northern Ontario and fund Sudbury’s supervised consumption site?”
REGULATORY ROUNDUP
On Tuesdays, we sum up the government’s latest proposals on the regulatory registry — where the nitty-gritty of policymaking is hammered out.
PSW CRITERIA — The proposal: The PCs are setting up an Oversight Authority that governs who can work as a personal support worker in long-term care. It would: “1. administer the Health and Supportive Care Providers Oversight Authority Act and the regulations, including overseeing their enforcement; 2. establish educational and skills-based qualifications for each class of registrants; 3. establish visual marks or identifiers for use by registrants that can identify registrants to members of the public; 4. promote the provision of safe, competent, ethical and high-quality health and supportive care services by registrants; 5. establish codes of ethics in relation to services they provide to members of the public.” Deadline for public feedback: January 15.
STOP, DROP, AND BANKROLL — Proposal: Accompanying regulations for the omnibus justice Bill 157, which allows firefighters to issue fines for certain violations. Deadline: January 2.
🥳 HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Journalist SHAWN JEFFORDS…BELATEDLY: PC ANTHONY LEARDI (Essex).
🍽️ ON THE MENU: Beef brisket with potatoes and vegetables is on special in the basement cafeteria.
⏳ COUNTDOWN: T-minus 9 days until the House breaks for winter…123 days until the Premier has to call a byelection for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex.