Bonnie Crombie in September, 2025, after winning 57 per cent of the votes in a leadership review. Ms. Crombie says her resignation is effective immediately.Laura Proctor/The Canadian Press
Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie has resigned, just months after she said she intended to stay on until a new leader of the provincial party was chosen.
Ms. Crombie said in a statement on Wednesday that after “careful reflection” she has decided to step aside as leader, effective immediately.
“As we begin a new year, I believe this is the right moment for me and for the party, to move forward. I am incredibly proud of the work we have done together to rebuild and renew our party. I am thankful to our members, volunteers, caucus, and supporters across Ontario,” Ms. Crombie said.
“I am looking forward to spending more time with my family, including welcoming my first grandchild, while giving the party the space it needs to move forward with new leadership.”
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The party will now appoint an interim leader until a successor is chosen. Liberal MPP John Fraser, the party’s parliamentary leader in the legislature, previously served as interim leader twice when former leaders Kathleen Wynne and Steven Del Duca resigned.
Mr. Fraser told The Globe and Mail on Wednesday he would be willing to be interim leader once again and will speak with his colleagues. He said the Ontario Liberal caucus will gather in person on Monday to choose an interim leader, and that person’s name will be put to the party’s provincial council for a vote.
Ms. Crombie, the former three-term mayor of Mississauga, announced in September she would be stepping down from her post after a disappointing review by party members of her time at the helm.
Only 57 per cent of Liberal delegates voted against holding a leadership contest, which was seen as untenable for Ms. Crombie’s leadership. However, she vowed at the time to stay on until her successor was chosen.
Since then, Ms. Crombie has not been seen at the Ontario legislature. Ms. Crombie was unavailable to comment on Wednesday, a party spokesperson said.
Under Ms. Crombie’s leadership, the Ontario Liberal Party regained official party status, winning 14 seats in the 2025 provincial election. But Ms. Crombie herself failed in her bid to win a seat in Mississauga and the party remains in third place in the legislature.
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Kathryn McGarry, president of the Ontario Liberal Party, thanked Ms. Crombie for her leadership and service.
“Bonnie stepped forward at a critical moment and played an important role in rebuilding our party, growing our movement, and positioning us for the future,” Ms. McGarry said in a statement.
She added that the party’s executive council has been working on the details of the upcoming leadership election and will be announcing the date soon.
Ms. McGarry told The Globe in an interview last month that the party does not want to rush its leadership contest, because the successor could be the next premier. “We want to ensure that we have a clean, fair process and that the members have the time that they would like to engage with getting to know the candidates and choosing the right leader for our party. It’s a big responsibility,” she said.
Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith, who came second to Ms. Crombie in the 2023 leadership race, was highly critical of Ms. Crombie leading up to the leadership review. He recently said in an online post that he’s building a team and will make a decision about joining the race when it’s called. Mr. Erskine-Smith did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Other potential candidates include Toronto-area Liberal MPPs Lee Fairclough, who posted on X that she is “seriously considering” a bid, and Rob Cerjanec, who said Wednesday he has been encouraged to run and said there is a strong appetite to choose a leader who can rebuild the grassroots. Former federal party president Mike Crawley has also launched an exploratory website.
Liberal MP Karina Gould, a former cabinet minister who ran for the federal party leadership last year, was also considering a run, but recently said she will continue her work as a federal MP instead. Liberal MPP Ted Hsu, who ran for the provincial leadership in 2023, also said last week he won’t be launching another bid.