Etobicoke-Lakeshore MPP Lee Fairclough running for Ontario Liberal leader
· Toronto Sun
OTTAWA — A second name has entered the race to become the next leader of the Ontario Liberals.
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On Friday, Etobicoke-Lakeshore MPP Lee Fairclough threw her hat into the race — intending to put the beleaguered party back on track.
“I hear it everywhere I go, people working hard and still falling behind,” she said in a video posted to her social media accounts.
“I’ve seen when leadership is focused on what matters, and I’ve seen what happens when it isn’t. Doug Ford has stopped listening.”
After narrow 2022 loss, Fairclough won in 2025
A rookie MP but no stranger to election campaigns, she won her seat in last year’s provincial election — unseating Progressive Conservative Christine Hogarth by a little over 4,000 votes.
She came within about 800 votes of unseating Hogarth in the 2022 provincial election, finishing a narrow second place.
The 52-year-old Fairclough worked as a radiation therapist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre before moving up the ranks, eventually being named president of Kitchener’s St. Mary’s Hospital in 2019, later holding an executive position at CAMH.
She was also a member of Canada’s women’s rugby team from 1995 to 1998.
Lots of interest, but only two declared
Former federal Liberal staffer Dylan Marando formally announced his candidacy late last month.
Other names considering a run include Beaches-East York MP Nate Erskine-Smith — who is seeking a nomination to run for the vacant provincial seat in Scarborough Southwest, which is widely seen as a jumping-off point for him to launch a provincial Liberal leadership bid.
The Liberals are set to announce their candidate in that riding on Saturday.
Ajax MPP Rob Cerjanec, Don Valley East MPP Adil Shamji, former federal cabinet minister and Rogers executive Navdeep Bains , and housing advocate Eric Lombardi have either expressed interest in the leadership race or are considered likely contenders.
Liberals suffering years-long implosion
After 2018’s humiliating election loss that saw the Kathleen Wynne Liberals collapse at the feet of the Doug Ford Progressive Conservatives, the Ontario Liberals have struggled to find their place at Queen’s Park.
Going from a majority government to not winning enough seats to keep official party status, the Liberals haven’t found their foothold.
Under current Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca, the Liberals only gained one extra seat in the 2022 election — a ballot that saw Del Duca resign after losing his seat.
While their fortunes fared better in last year’s provincial election, winning 14 seats and reclaiming official party status in the Ontario legislature, party leader Bonnie Crombie also lost her seat after resigning as mayor of Mississauga to take her place as leader.
John Fraser currently serves as interim leader until the party chooses a new head this November.
Prospective candidates have until July 31 to enter the race.