Bonnie Crombie launches her 'second act'
Plus: Missing messages
ABOVE THE FOLD
One year later, BONNIE CROMBIE is getting mixed reviews.
On the one hand, Crombie is taking heat for a so-called failure to launch as Liberal leader. On the other, she’s gearing up for a fundraiser that could make or break her party’s efforts to take down DOUG FORD and the PCs in the next (possibly early) election.
Politico chat groups and social media exploded with reactions to Crombie’s Sunday interview with the Toronto Star, in which she admits she “thought it would be easier” to steer the nine-seat, third-place party. “There’s a lot of work to do, and I’m up for it.”
Opposition critics are having a field day with that. Veteran NDP strategist TOM PARKIN suggested Crombie is only in it for Official Opposition status, while MARIT STILES is focused on taking the Premier’s seat.
“Ontario Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie: I thought this job would be easy, like being Mississauga mayor. Meanwhile, backroom Liberals say they’re shooting for 25 seats and must target NDP MPPs,” Parkin tweeted.
NICK KOUVALIS, the PCs preferred pollster, was more blunt, reminding folks of the byelection losses under Crombie’s belt and concluded: “Wait for it...It’s all JUSTIN TRUDEAU’s fault”.
The calls are also coming from inside the house: “Brutal,” texted one Liberal insider. “It IS a disaster. [The Star story] actually underplayed it. The fundraising numbers and the candidate repeats [from 2022] were never even mentioned.”
Leaders, they’re just like us: Folks close to Crombie say the interview was honest and relatable. JONATHAN SCOTT (who Crombie refers to as her “third son”) acknowledged the rookie leader faced big hurdles when she transitioned from Mississauga mayor one year ago, and she adjusted accordingly.
“She did jump into the race expecting it to be easier than it was, given how many Liberals cannot stand the Premier, and frankly the pitch she was given by establishment voices who didn’t really have their finger on the pulse of the party…She was building the plane and flying it at the same time, and not everything went as I would have liked…But, as she always does, she worked hard, listened closely and adjusted,” Scott said on X.
For better or worse, Crombie’s interview with the Star will serve as an icebreaker at Tuesday night’s big leader’s dinner fundraiser at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Ticket sales: Sources tell me the party is expecting around 1,000 people, and with the pricetag ranging from $1,600 to $3,375 for a VIP reception, that means the Liberals earned at least $1 million for their coffers (minus the cost of putting on the event), which will go a long way to mounting a competitive campaign.
The big speech: Expect Crombie to launch the “second act” of her leadership and kick the party’s campaign into high gear.
“A big part of that is actually saying what people are thinking and feeling right now. And I’m sure that will come as a bit of a shock to some people. But the most important thing is that this is about Bonnie being Bonnie. And her speech will reflect that,” said one senior member of the campaign team.
“The last year has been a lot of hard work on Bonnie’s part to push herself and all of us to challenge our approach. To do things and think about things differently than our party has done in the past,” they went on to say. “Breaking those habits doesn’t happen overnight. But it is happening.”
HAPPENING TODAY
9 a.m.: NDP MPP PEGGY SATTLER is in the Media Studio to share calls from students asking to bring back the Student Voices on Sexual Violence Survey.
9:30 a.m.: Liberal Leader BONNIE CROMBIE is in Brampton to unveil another major platform plank. Hint hint: It’s about “the health care you deserve.”
9:30 a.m.: The Ontario Society of Cardiology Technologists is in the Media Studio to call for standardization of the industry.
10 a.m.: NDPer CHANDRA PASMA is up next to tease a bill to support seniors who are subjected to unfair fees in retirement homes.
10 a.m.: Natural Resources Minister GRAYDON SMITH makes an announcement in Baysville.
10 a.m.: Long-Term Care Minister NATALIA KUSENDOVA-BASHTA is up in Whitby.
11:30 a.m.: Labour Minister DAVID PICCINI addresses the Empire Club of Canada. The theme: “Tools of the Trade: Ontario’s Blueprint for Prosperity.” The host: MICHAEL “PINBALL” CLEMONS. RSVP.
12:30 p.m.: Back in the Media Studio, the Save AIDS Service Organizations are up.
FUNDRAISING WATCH — 12 p.m.: The PCs are putting on a lunchtime fundraiser in Toronto for $1,000 a pop. There’s no ministerial lineup posted, which regular readers will know means DOUG FORD could make a cameo. Invite.
Save the date: Another year-end watchdog report drops this week — CARL BOUCHARD, French-language services commissioner, releases his annual report Thursday, December 5 at 9:30 a.m.
ON THE ORDER PAPER
First up: It being the first sitting Monday of the month, MPPs will kick off proceedings by singing the national and royal anthems — something NDPer SOL MAMAKWA tends to sit out on, in solidarity with Indigenous people.
Brace yourselves for the bells: After the morning’s Question Period, there’s a hat trick of deferred votes — on second reading of Bill 223, which among other things closes drug consumption sites near schools and daycares…Bill 227, the sweeping red-tape-reduction package…and Mamakwa’s private member’s Bill 221, to make September 30 a statutory holiday and the Day of Reflection for Indian Residential Schools.
Those government bills are on the fast track and could also be called for a truncated third-reading debate today, followed by a vote and Royal Assent by the end of the week. Mamakwa’s PMB is a no-go, the PCs say.
Later on, it’s third reading of Bill 213, the government’s energy grid-connections bill.
ON THE COMMITTEE CIRCUIT
12:30 p.m.: At Public Accounts, a closed-door report-writing session on the Auditor General’s audits on government advertising and tourism support programs.
1 p.m.: Social Policy leads clause-by-clause consideration for Bill 121, the PCs’ Improving Dementia Care Act, which would establish a framework for such care. PMBs rarely become law, but this one from LAURA SMITH and now-minister NATALIA KUSENDOVA-BASHTA seems like it’s headed for the books.
COCKTAIL CHATTER
Hospice Palliative Care Ontario is holding a lunch reception in Room 228. On the evening reception rounds: The Ontario Fruit and Vegetables Growers Association is in the Dining Room; York University is in Room 228.
Post-Question Period scrums are about to get a festive touch: School choirs are back for the holiday season.
CANDIDATE TRACKER
The PCs nabbed a heavyweight for Haldimand-Norfolk: AMY MARTIN, the local mayor. The riding is held by Independent BOBBI ANN BRADY, who made history when she poached the seat from the Tories in 2022. Find out how she did it in our chat.
In the Liberal corner: ROOZBEH FARHADI is back in Richmond Hill. Devoted readers will recall Farhadi was on that list of preferred candidates from the STEVEN DEL DUCA days. Richmond Hill is repped by PC DAISY WAI.
Here’s a running list of candidates so far.
CLIPPINGS
— AD WATCH: Global News has a preview of those “Stronger Together” ads that debut stateside this week.
Meanwhile…
— TARIFF TANGO: “If U.S. President-elect DONALD TRUMP follows through on a threat to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian imports, Ontario will likely see the brunt of the impact.” CP24 talks to the experts.
— MISSING MESSAGES: “A top aide to Ontario Premier DOUG FORD is facing questions about how he manages sensitive government records after he traded in his cellphone without fully backing it up, Global News can reveal, meaning months of text messages related to official government business are now considered ‘missing.’”