Bonnie Crombie defends near $1M in campaign donations in bid for Ontario Liberal leader
CTV
Bonnie Crombie has raised nearly one million dollars in her bid for leadership of the Ontario Liberals, tens of thousands of which appear to have come from one developer based in the Toronto area.
Bonnie Crombie has raised nearly one million dollars in her bid for leadership of the Ontario Liberals, tens of thousands of which appear to have come from one developer based in the Toronto area.
According to the latest data from Elections Ontario, Crombie, who took a leave from her role as Mississauga mayor in September, has raised just under $937,00 as of Monday. Of the near-million sum, more than $30,000 came from 10 individuals who share names with executives at Vaughan development company, HBNG Holborn Group.
In an email sent to supporters on Monday, Crombie responded to criticism from key opponents Nate Erskine-Smith, Yasir Naqvi, and Ted Hsu, all of whom brought up the developer donations In a debate held on Sept. 14 in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Crombie's opponents claim that she has failed to build sufficient housing in Mississauga, pointing to the recent Ontario Greenbelt scandal.
“Are we going to win with a leader who has a track record of failing to build homes with that experience?,” Erskine-Smith asked during the debate.
“And are we going to win with a leader who said they're going to open up the Greenbelt and then the next week said, I didn't mean it, the Greenbelt is sacred? How do you build trust?”
In the email, Crombie continued to defend herself while sharing the million-dollar fundraising figure with her supporters.
