Ontario Liberals choose new voting process for leadership race
CBC
Ontario Liberals voted Saturday to forge ahead with a new system for selecting their next leader, shedding the delegated conventions of old as the party seeks renewal and recovery from two consecutive electoral disasters.
Members attending the party's annual general meeting (AGM) in Hamilton this weekend overwhelmingly voted for a one-member-one-vote system. Proponents say the process is more democratic, and that delegated conventions put too much power in back rooms.
Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser said the vote represents change.
"It's part of renewal," he said.
The race to replace former leader Steven Del Duca has not yet officially started, though three contenders are openly exploring bids: MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, MP and former Ontario cabinet minister Yasir Naqvi, and current provincial caucus member and former MP Ted Hsu.
Erskine-Smith said the new voting system will allow for a more modern and open process.
"When I look at travelling the province and engaging people in a leadership process, that ability to directly engage new members and longtime members to say, 'You have a direct voice in who your next leader is going to be,' will be an incredibly powerful way to engage people in the political process," he said.
Naqvi said the new voting system, in combination with a previous step to make party membership free, opens it up to way more people.
"By giving party members a direct say in electing the leader, we are saying to Ontarians, 'Take interest in our party. Be part of our party. If you want a party like the Ontario Liberal Party, to speak to your values and your vision and your dreams, this is an opportunity to be engaged,"' he said.
"This party is no longer an exclusive club of very few people. This is a modern, inclusive party."
Members were also set to pick a new party executive at the AGM, and one of their first orders of business will be to set the rules and timelines for the upcoming race.
Naqvi and Erskine-Smith said they hope the voting date is set sooner rather than later, preferably before the end of the year.
Fraser said in a speech earlier Saturday that the leadership race is important, but not only for the end result.
"It's about the journey," he said.
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