Spicy scenes from the Liberal convention

Also: New DM, byelection buzz, the House is back to a busy start and more

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ABOVE THE FOLD

SPOTTED AT THE FEDERAL GRIT CONVENTION — Would-be provincial leadership candidate YASIR NAQVI and once-rumoured contender NAVDEEP BAINS in deep conversation away from prying eyes at the Rideau Centre.

BONNIE CROMBIE — the Mississauga Mayor flirting with a leadership bid of her own — busted a move on the dance floor, held court with card-carrying Liberals and was, as one witness put it, “mobbed” by her fans.

Ex-MP KAREN McCRIMMON went around telling folks she’s no longer considering a comeback in the byelection for Kanata—Carleton (More on that below).

Over at the Westin, wannabe captain NATE ERSKINE-SMITH’s 23rd-floor hospitality suite was shut down and moved to the basement because it was so jam-packed it broke the fire code (One campaign operative texted: It was supposed to be “a bit more low key than the provincial AGM since the focus should be on LPC.” Alas!).

An intimate pub night with yet another leadership contender, ADIL SHAMJI, at Joy on Sussex.

Naqvi and the other competition, TED HSU, signed each other’s leadership nomination papers — which are up for grabs now that the party has given notice to Elections Ontario. As of Friday, no paperwork had been submitted.

That could change come Tuesday, when some Grit insiders tell us they expect Erskine-Smith to make his bid officially official. Still, his camp is keeping hush-hush.