The OLP Leadership Candidates’ Policy Positions Before the Debates

11 min readSep 9, 2023

This is the last weekend before the Ontario Liberal Party leadership race membership deadline on Monday, September 11. The goal up until now has been to attract the largest number of new and returning members back to the Ontario Liberal Party before the September 11 deadline so they may be eligible to vote for the next leader at the end of November.

Next week, the focus of each campaign shifts to convincing other members not yet in their camp to support their candidate on voting day. A major element of this period of the race will be the upcoming debates, which begin next week, and how well the candidates’ policies hold up to scrutiny.

This round-up is your primer ahead of the debates. For each candidate, I’ve listed the platform planks they’ve released (and when), highlighted the star of their platform so far, listed specific policies that stand out, gaps in what they’ve released so far, and where they still need to put forward a plan in general.

The following (in alphabetical order) is where the candidates stand so far when it comes to pitching their vision for a better Ontario.

*Bonnie is a three-term mayor of the City of Mississauga and a former federal Liberal MP. You can visit her website* *here*.

BONNIE CROMBIE

TAKEAWAYS:

The Star: Northern Ontario Plan

The star of Bonnie’s platform to date is her recently released plan for Northern Ontario. It’s more detailed than the other candidates’ plans and even more so than some platforms have been during general elections. It was also clearly was informed by experienced voices from the North. One of the most important commitments is investing in climate-resilient infrastructure to establish a weather-proof supply chain. My own personal favourite is the restoration of the Ontario Northlander train route.

Big Ideas: Free Teacher-Led Afterschool Homework Help

When it comes to individual ideas, two stand out. First, a commitment to provide students free, teacher-led afterschool homework help (though I wonder about collective agreement impacts). The second is creating a centralized referral system to limit paperwork for doctors and speed up wait-times for patients in need of specialist care. During my time at Treasury Board Secretariat and working with the Legislative Assembly’s Board of Internal Economy, one of the biggest takeaways I had was that there is a lot of duplication on the backend of government service delivery.

Policy Gaps: Student Mental Health, Primary Care, Home Care & LTC, and Public Health

One element missing from Bonnie’s education platform is a focus on mental health in schools. This an important one as even before the pandemic the mental health of school age children was deteriorating. Bonnie’s healthcare platform largely focuses on recruitment of medical workers and streamlining administrative processes. Both are important but leave out rising mental health issues, the struggle to find primary care, home care and long-term care improvements, and more resources for public health. These are huge gaps in her healthcare platform that need to be filled in ASAP. I was told earlier in the summer that these policies are coming and I hope that’s still true.

Missing Planks: Climate, Economy, Housing, Inclusion, Rural and Party Building

There are still some significant policy areas entirely missing from Bonnie’s platform. No mention of the climate crisis beyond preserving the Greenbelt; no broader economic plan beyond labour; no plan for housing as the crisis deepens (all the other candidates have weighed in); no plan for rural Ontario; no plan for inclusion; and no hints as to how she would reimagine the party as a political force. All of these need to to be fleshed out before voters cast their ballots.

*Nate is a three-term federal Liberal MP. You can visit his website* *here*.

NATE ERSKINE-SMITH

TAKEAWAYS:

The Star: Climate Plan

The star of Nate’s platform is his climate plan. It was created with input from some of the leading climate experts across Canada and would push the province forward to a greener future. My only quibble with it is the lack of detail on green public transportation. But I do love the idea of creating a Youth Climate Corps, in partnership with industry and postsecondary institutions, in order to address the climate crisis and labour shortages at the same time. Nate’s platform also includes significant plans to green the buildings we live and work in. When I worked at the Ministry of Housing, we had an opportunity to green the building code and did not take significant enough steps to do so. We can’t miss that opportunity again.

Big Ideas: Northern Ontario School of Medicine

One important idea Nate is advancing is increasing admissions at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. Your medical needs can differ depending on where you live and medical workers need to be aware of these differences. The hospital in Moose Factory (where I was born) originated as a TB hospital for patients along the James Bay coast. The maternity ward I was born in has since been converted to an amputation centre for complications from diabetes, a significant health challenge in northern, remote communities where food security is a growing problem. What might be specialized care in some communities can sometimes become day-to-day care in Northern and remote communities.

Policy Gaps: None

There are no real gaps in what Nate has released so far and he is unique among the candidates in that regard. While he hasn’t released policy on a few different fronts, what he has released has been thorough and ticked all the main boxes needed to be considered complete plans. When Nate releases policy, it’s thorough and thoughtful.

Missing Planks: Education (K-12 & PSE), Economy, Rural, Inclusion, and Party Building

The most glaring omission in Nate’s platform is education, both K-12 and postsecondary. When all levels of education are combined, they make up nearly a quarter of Ontario’s budget and are the second largest annual expenditure after healthcare. Together, those two ministries alone represent two-thirds of all government spending at the provincial level. If you want to be Premier, you have to have a solid plan for both. Beyond education, there is no mention of the broader economy beyond labour, no focus on rural Ontario, and no mention of inclusion. Nate has touched on some party building ideas in stray tweets but has not put anything concrete out to this point.

*Ted is a first-term MPP and a member of the Ontario Liberal Caucus at Queen’s Park. He was formerly a one-term federal Liberal MP. You can visit his website* *here*.

TED HSU

TAKEAWAYS:

The Star: Climate Plan

Ted’s climate plan is less about green spaces and more about clean energy and economic policy. This isn’t a bad approach given the only way we will meet our climate targets is by tackling the processes that keep our economy running. Ted’s plan would overhaul the way we power our province which will help fight the climate crisis, lower costs for our people, and put our economy at a strategic advantage as we lap other jurisdictions that refuse to adapt.

Big Ideas: Indigenous Reconciliation and Call to Act 92

Ted is the only leadership candidate so far to specifically call out the need to respond to the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. His platform specifically calls out Call to Action 92 which is about meaningful engagement with Indigenous peoples when it comes to economic interests and industrial projects. This has huge implications throughout Ontario but especially in the North where mineral extraction is seen as the key to future prosperity for the province.

Policy Gaps: Northern/Rural Education and Homelessness

Neither of Ted’s Northern or rural plans touch on education which is a real gap given these are the communities who see their schools scheduled for closures and are last in line for repairs. A gaping hole in Ted’s housing plan is the complete absence of any policy directed towards the crisis of homelessness. Without a plan to address the entire housing spectrum and those falling between the cracks, his housing plan will falter.

Missing Planks: Inclusion and Party Building

Ted has ticked off more policy topics than any candidate to date. However he still has not weighed in on inclusion and has made no mention of how he would rebuild the party machine into one that can compete in 2026. Given his experience surviving two different Liberal Party blowouts in 2011 (federally) and 2022 (provincially), I suspect he might have some ideas.

*Yasir is the former President of the Ontario Liberal Party, a former three-term Ontario Liberal MPP, and currently a first-term federal Liberal MP. You can visit his website* *here*.

YASIR NAQVI

TAKEAWAYS:

The Star: Education Plan

Yasir’s strongest policy area is education. In his plan he commits to the smallest class sizes in memory, improving the student-to-teacher ratio to a level I can’t recall seeing before. In addition to these small class sizes, he’s committed to an early-childhood educator or special educator in every classroom up until grade 8. He’s also committed to repairing the entire school repair backlog within four years of taking office, while also ensuring high-speed internet and air-conditioning is available in every school. These changes will transform the environment kids learn in for the better. At the postsecondary level, Yasir would also reintroduce debt-free tuition for kids whose family income is below $90,000 per year.

Big Ideas: The Ontario Farmbelt

Yasir’s Ontario Farmbelt idea is novel and builds on the Liberal legacy of the Greenbelt. It’s catchy, easy to remember, and also happens to be good policy that will help protect prime agricultural land for generations of families still to come. This will be especially important as the climate emergency deepens, soils become less productive, and crop failures become more frequent.

Policy Gaps: Student Mental Health, Teachers and Education Workers, Home Care & LTC, Public Health, and Homelessness

Yasir has no policy on student mental health or ideas related to teachers and educational staff beyond their role in keeping class sizes down. If Ford is defeated, he will leave a very sour relationship between the government and education workers that will need to be addressed. On healthcare, there is nothing in his plan about home care and long-term care despite the carnage we saw on both fronts during the pandemic. And he lacks any comment on public health improvements despite the once-in-a-century pandemic we’ve all been living through. In addition to these, Yasir’s housing plan lacks any mention of homelessness. Pulled together, each of these omissions start to paint a picture of the most marginalized being left out of the candidate’s vision for the province. It must be remedied.

Missing Planks: Economy & Labour, Inclusion, and Party Building

Yasir’s platform is still missing economic and labour planks, which is surprising given his former role as the Minister of Labour. Likewise it’s strange to see him say so little about party building given his former role as President of the Ontario Liberal Party and as a candidate so well-known for his work ethic while canvassing door-to-door. Yasir has also not released anything on inclusion, which is also surprising given his past activism in this area.

*Adil is a first-term MPP and a member of the Ontario Liberal Caucus at Queen’s Park. You can visit his website* *here*.

ADIL SHAMJI

TAKEAWAYS:

The Star: Party Building Plan

Since Adil is the only candidate with a plan for rebuilding the machinery of the Ontario Liberal Party itself, this is the obvious star of his platform. Adil would create a Seniors Commission, Legislative Internship Program, and Youth Advisory Board, all of which would bring in new people to the movement. Adil would also increase engagement within the party by bringing back policy conventions and delivering a ‘New deal’ for PLAs giving them access to party support, funds, data. and polling. Adil would also open nominations 60 days after leader chosen and nominate 25% of the party’s candidates within six months so they have time to engage local voters long before the campaign begins.

Big Ideas: Ontario Home Building Corporation

Adil’s housing plan would create the Ontario Home Building Corporation to incentivize and finance housing development and he would explore ideas like co-ownership of homes that allow multiple people share ownership and space in a house.

Policy Gaps: Teachers & Education Workers, Mental Healthcare, Home Care & LTC, Public Health, and Homelessness

Adil’s education platform touches on a number of issues but fails to mention teachers and education workers. The opposite is the case when it comes to Adil’s healthcare plan which is largely focused on the experiences of doctors. This leaves out other healthcare workers but especially patients. The result is that there is no policy on mental health, no policy on home care and long-term care, and no policy on public health. That last omission is particularly surprising given Adil’s past life as the Medical Director of 11 homeless shelters during a pandemic. But it’s made even worse when you realize his housing plan also lacks any direct solutions to homelessness. Adil rightfully states that housing is a fundamental human right but his housing policies need to back that up.

Missing Planks: Climate, Economy & Labour, Northern Ontario, and Rural

Adil has yet to put out a plan on climate, for the economy or labour, and has made no specific commitments to Northern or rural Ontario so far.

With the membership deadline just hours away and debates beginning next week, the candidates will now turn their attention to winning over those Liberals who will be eligible to vote in late November. The question remains whether the proposals they’ve made so far are enough to win.

Other Content: To follow along with policy updates, visit my leadership policy commitment tracker here. To follow along with media engagement, check out my leadership communications tracker here. To see how much the candidates fundraised over the summer, check out my leadership fundraising tracker here.

Theresa has served as the Communications Coordinator for the Ontario Liberal Party, the VP Communications for the Ontario Women’s Liberal Commission, the Director of Communications to Ontario Deputy Premier Deb Matthews, and an election-speechwriter for former Premier Kathleen Wynne. As a member of ‘Team Neutral’, she helped manage the 2013 and 2020 OLP Leadership races.

The OLP Leadership Candidates’ Policy Positions Before the Debates

Written by Theresa Lubowitz

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