Ontario opposition parties start to rebuild after rocky 2025

Ontario’s two main opposition parties will try to turn the page on what was a difficult year, with one rebuilding after an underwhelming leadership vote result and another searching for a new person to take the party helm.

Both Ontario’s New Democrats and Liberals suffered serious setbacks in 2025 after losing a snap election to Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives. The consequences of that defeat have reverberated in both parties as grassroots members made their dissatisfaction apparent in leadership review votes.

In September, NDP delegates gave Official Opposition Leader Marit Stiles a tepid endorsement of 68 per cent in a vote, a disappointing result that saw her shake up her circle of close advisors. And the weekend before that, former Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie said she would resign after achieving only 57 per cent support in a review. 

Stiles told CBC News recently that in the months after the vote she has spent more time travelling the province. She’s not just reaching out to her own party faithful, but also trying to connect with people who feel disengaged from politics, she said.

“I've been out there on the road, all across the province, and not just meeting with members,” she said. “Because my real concern is, how do we connect with the 55 per cent of Ontarians that didn't vote in the last election.” 

Ford won his third-straight majority government in February, while both the NDP and Liberals achieved disappointing results. 

The Liberals finished second in the popular vote and picked up four new seats, but they remain in third place in seat count and Crombie failed to win her riding. The NDP captured enough seats to continue as the Official Opposition, but their share of the popular vote dropped from the previous election.

Stiles said she will continue to press the Tories for a better plan to address rising levels of unemployment across the province.

“I really do feel like my job in the next few years as the opposition leader is to deliver more for the people of Ontario and to hold the government to account,” Stiles said recently.

Liberal parliamentary leader John Fraser said that party is in the early stages of planning its leadership contest to find a replacement for Crombie. A five-member committee is currently examining potential rules, race timing and voting method.

“It's an important process, because you want to get it right,” he said. “You want to make sure the race is fair, that the rules are up to date. And then, you know, there are big considerations as to how we vote.”

In December, one of the most talked about potential candidates for the job, former federal cabinet minister Karina Gould, announced she won’t run for the leadership. It leaves a sizable question mark around who will join the field, says Liberal strategist Charles Bird.

But he expects the Liberals will have a new party leader in place by the end of 2026.

“We've seen a lot of smoke in that regard, but no signs of fire as of yet,” he said of the potential field of candidates.