Our Ontario Liberal Team — The Work Ahead of Us

There's an urgent need for change in Ontario. People want a serious government focused on tackling their priorities head-on. They are looking to the Ontario Liberal Party to deliver that positive change.

The Ontario Liberal Party's best days are ahead. Getting there starts with an optimistic vision for a better Ontario. But success will only come through hard work in every riding, in every region.

It's time to build our local muscle again. To get back out on the field.

Every member plays a role in this moment – the people of Ontario need us to be ready.

What this will take

1. Living our Liberal values

Opportunity, fairness, transparency, and community. These values must be reflected in our policies, actions and in how we operate as a party. That is how we rebuild trust in government and confidence in Ontario's future.

2. Rebuilding from the ground up

Strong local organizations are the foundation of a winning party. Liberals need to be visible in their communities, so people know who we are, what we stand for, and how we approach any problem. This requires empowered local teams and a leader who champions their efforts.

My Plan:

• Strengthen and enable Provincial Liberal Associations (PLAs), develop flourishing young liberal clubs, and support northern, rural, seniors and women's clubs to thrive.
• Show up consistently. My goal is to visit all 124 ridings every year and work alongside local teams to build a winning strategy in every riding and every election.
• Unify Ontario Liberals. The day after the leadership vote, I will invite every leadership candidate and their campaign team to play a meaningful role in rebuilding our party. We must focus on one goal: defeating Ford's Conservatives.
• Restore a culture of openness and participation. I will lead with transparency, honesty, evidence, and results. Every region — from our biggest cities to rural, northern, and remote communities — will have a seat at the table and I will advance local priorities.

3. My 90-day Plan to get Election Ready

Immediately following the leadership race, I will work with the Party President, Executive Council, PLAs, and commissions to launch a 90-day modernization plan that prepares us for victory.

Key priorities:

• Give candidates runway to prepare for the election. In year one, I will target a minimum of 20 nominations giving candidates the time to get ready.
• Empower PLAs to find local talent. Ontario Liberals should be present in their ridings — and drawing in new talent and volunteers — whether there is a candidate or not.
• Develop candidates to do the hard work to win. New candidates will be paired with a mentor who has run before. Anyone considering a nomination will receive standard campaign training.
• PLAs' number one goal is getting a candidate elected — through year-round fundraising, community engagement, and deep local knowledge.
• Nomination contests should be the norm. They allow us to put campaign plans into practice and ensure fairness measures are in place.
• Serious fundraising. Set clear fundraising expectations, rebuild a provincial fundraising cabinet, and support PLAs and candidates to achieve local goals. Mechanisms like the northern and rural fund create momentum where it's needed most.
• Policy reflecting local perspectives. Our platform will have regional policy developed by Liberals from rural, north, remote and urban Ontario. An annual policy conference and advisory bodies will ensure broad participation and diverse perspectives.

4. Modernizing how we Organize, Communicate and Engage

To earn people's trust and win, we must modernize how we organize, communicate, and engage.

• Make it easy for members to confirm their membership status and understand their annual fundraising limits.
• Build clear, relatable communications that connect with Ontarians from all backgrounds, engage young people, and strengthen relationships with diverse communities.
• Invest in cutting-edge, data-driven campaign organizing, communications, and engagement tools.
• Embrace new ideas. I will champion exposure to new campaign ideas from Canada and around the world.

5. Constitutional Reform

Our party's governance will strengthen confidence in democratic processes.

• I will work with the federal Liberal Party to align eligibility rules for nomination voting. Consistent with the Kirby Report, voting eligibility should be limited to Canadian citizens and permanent residents to reduce the risk of interference. I will maintain eligibility for age 14+ to encourage more young people to be involved.

Northern Ontario — Listening, showing up and delivering

Over the past year, I've travelled to more than 15 communities across northeastern and Northwestern Ontario. Everywhere I went, one message came through loud and clear: people living in the North feel forgotten by the Ford Conservatives. That has to change.

As Liberal Leader, I'll show up. I'll visit all 12 northern ridings every year because leadership starts with listening.

The challenges facing northern regions are unique and misunderstood

Highway safety

Highway safety is a major issue reflected in soaring fatalities and road closures. Thousands of tonnes of essential goods and materials — critical minerals, lumber, energy — are transported across these roads every day.

The Ford Conservatives are more interested in spending taxpayers' money on a tunnel under the 401. As Premier, I'll invest in the highways that connect the North.

Economic development

In some areas, unemployment is at 0 per cent. Policies focused on job creation don't help. Northern communities need help recruiting skilled labour to fill jobs and deliver services to people. They also need economic stability to weather the boom and bust of commodity prices.

These regions generate 60% of the resources that fuel Ontario's prosperity, yet they are forgotten and misunderstood.

Newcomers are also crucial to northern economic development, but better incentives and supports are needed to allow them to live and work in the North.

We'll take a regional approach to economic development, creating opportunities for people to build their careers and their lives in the North.

A healthcare system that works for Northern Ontario

After 27 years in healthcare, it's my priority to build a healthcare system that is focused on meeting patients and communities' needs, everywhere in Ontario.

Delivering healthcare is a massive challenge. No one should have to drive hours just to see a doctor.

Right now, a woman who is pregnant in Hearst cannot access obstetrics care in her own community. She must travel to Timmins at 37 weeks pregnant and pay out of pocket to wait in a hotel until she gives birth. This is just one example of the unacceptable situation facing people in the North.

Given critical shortages of health professionals, hospitals and other organizations are forced to rely on private agencies for nurses or other professionals. They are being gouged with no restrictions on the prices these agencies charge.

Research and innovation

The relationship between post-secondary institutions and mining and other industries in Northern Ontario is impressive. These institutions are a pipeline of skilled workers for regional industries.

Northern Ontario deserves a government that listens, shows up, and acts.

I will take these actions today to address these urgent challenges

This is just the beginning. I will continue to develop a comprehensive policy platform with the people, communities and leaders in Northeastern and Northwestern Ontario.

• Be a present Liberal Party leader and future Premier for the Northwest and Northeast, including visiting all 13 provincial ridings at least once per year.
• Invest in infrastructure to improve safety on Highway 11, 17, and the Trans-Canada, through highway twinning or the two-plus-one model, and complete twinning on Highway 69.
• Have a regional policy approach for the North. This means supporting colleges and universities to feed the regional job pipeline and encouraging innovation and research development with local industry. Distributing government jobs in the North to spread opportunity, ensure northern perspectives guide government decisions, and create economic stability.
• Deliver a regional coordinated healthcare plan that invests in recruitment and retention and homegrown workers, in collaboration with providers and NOSM, reduces reliance on agency nursing, and expands services that actually help northern communities, such as HART hubs, and home care.
• Lead by example when creating jobs in Northern Ontario. This includes strategies to encourage Ontario public sector workers to live and work in the North and exploring shifting government offices and operations to Northern Ontario.
• Hold telecom companies accountable for delivering fast, reliable cell service, so every community is connected.
• Create true and enduring partnerships with Indigenous communities to ensure everyone benefits from jobs, investments and revenues today and tomorrow.
• Ensure Franco-Ontarians receive services and support in their first language by investing in French Language Services for public sector services like government, schools and hospitals.
• Capitalize on partnerships through the federal National Food Security Strategy to create new regional food hubs in Northeastern and Northwestern Ontario.
• Consider adjusting the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) point system to incent newcomers to settle and fill jobs in the North. Ensure newcomer settlement programs are comparable to those in Southern Ontario.

Ontario’s economy is in bad shape. It should be the engine of the country. Right now, it’s idling. GDP growth, job creation, housing starts are down when they should be up.

More than a quarter of young Ontarians believe they will never own a home. Unemployment in Ontario is the highest in decades – worse than any other province.

Ford’s government is freely spending your tax dollars, but we’re getting less.

My priorities are different. I would invest in core services that drive economic success – strong public education and healthcare and real relief for hardworking Ontarians.

If I were Premier, I would immediately repeal the Conservatives’ OSAP cuts, removing debt from our students and future workforce.

I’m focused on outcomes, not spending. My priority is investing, measuring and openly reporting to Ontarians the results achieved for tax dollars. Public funds belong to the people, not the government.

I will advocate for a fair, transparent skills development program that doesn’t reward insiders but creates meaningful opportunities, and contributes directly to economic growth and resilience.When I was a hospital president, I managed multi-million-dollar budgets. Every day, I asked how each dollar met patients’ needs. I’d do the same for Ontario.

Protecting farms, strengthening food security, and building rural prosperity

Agriculture and the agri-food sector must have the attention of the Ontario Liberal Party every day. Any serious economic policy for Ontario must treat food and farming as central to the province's future. Agriculture is an economic engine, a foundation for food-security, a rural development strategy, an environmental stewardship partner, and a source of jobs and innovation across Ontario.

1. Keep farmers farming

The Risk Management Program (RMP) should be strengthened immediately and reviewed every year. Ontario committed to increasing RMP funding from $150 million to $250 million over three years. The province should deliver the full increase now to counter the current international market turmoil and continually review the program to meet shifting realities.

Business risk management should be simple, bankable and responsive. That means better alignment between RMP, AgriStability, Production Insurance, forage rainfall programs, wildlife damage compensation, and other sector-specific tools.

The Ontario government must invest in agricultural research and innovation to tackle risks such as climate and weather, pest and disease, biosecurity and food safety, trade and input/output prices and environmental regulation.

Federal and provincial governments and stakeholders should work together to support intergenerational transfers, and create pathways for new entrants.

2. Protect farmland

Ontario should require meaningful agricultural impact analysis before major land conversions, settlement boundary expansions or infrastructure projects affecting prime farmland.

Relying on local politics isn't sufficient because, as more farmers are pushed out of the industry, farmers' voices continue to diminish at municipal councils.

Agricultural impact assessments should be completed early enough to shape decisions, include meaningful consultation and use consistent provincial standards.

The province should also explore land preservation tools in collaboration with farmers, such as farmland trusts, to keep Class 1, 2 and 3 land in potential food production or to preserve wetlands or grasslands and other natural features.

3. Grow it here, process it here, buy it here

Ontario should invest in regional and medium-scale abattoirs, help provincially licensed plants reach new markets, reduce unnecessary duplication between provincial and federal rules, and support worker training.

Ontario should capitalize on partnerships through the federal National Food Security Strategy to expand the Ontario Food Terminal, and create new regional food hubs in eastern, northern and southwestern Ontario.

Ontario should support independent grocers, schools, hospitals, long-term care homes and food banks to buy more Ontario food.

4. Respect supply management and strengthen each sector on its own terms

Ontario should defend supply management in trade negotiations and oppose further concessions that weaken domestic production.

Non-supply managed sectors need competitive business risk management, research funding, and business supports.

The government must be vigilant about the balance between supply managed and non-supply managed sectors competing for land and make adjustments accordingly.

5. Solve the veterinary access problems

Large-animal vets are essential for livestock health, animal welfare, biosecurity, and emergency response. Ontario should continue to expand veterinary recruitment and training to support rural and large-animal placements.

Support team-based veterinary services and improvements to the Veterinary Assistance Program to help with retention.

6. Invest in soil, water, climate resilience and practical stewardship

Farmers should be treated as partners in environmental stewardship because their livelihoods depend on it.

Ontario's agriculture policy should support practical environmental outcomes by maintaining or expanding soil health and conservation funding.

Investments in research, extension services, insurance tools and infrastructure will help combat the effects of climate change.

Ontario should develop practical incentives for preserving soil carbon, nutrients, wetlands, buffers, pollinator habitat and source water, while protecting productive farmland and respecting farm economics.

7. Modernize regulation without weakening health, safety or public trust

Ontario should continue to review agricultural red tape with farmers and processors at the table to achieve faster approvals, clearer rules, consistent inspections, and better service standards.

Regulatory modernization must not weaken safety and environmental protection. It should mean timely, predictable, science-based rules.

8. Build public trust, food literacy and respect for farmers

The Ontario government should champion a strong connection between rural and urban Ontario.

This includes agricultural education in the school curriculum, 4-H expansion into cities, fairs, agricultural societies, food literacy campaigns, and opportunities for urban leaders and residents to visit farms and meet farmers.

I’m fighting for democracy.

If I were Premier, I would reverse the Ford Conservative’s anti-democratic policies. I would restore local voices in local decision-making, respect the expertise of nurses, physicians, teachers, and other skilled professionals. I would end the concentration of power in the Premier’s Office and cabinet.

I would repeal Bill 97 – ensuring freedom of information laws serve citizens, not shield government decisions from the public.

My approach is completely different. It starts with getting into communities, really listening to people across Ontario, and creating solutions together. Ontario is a large and diverse province – one-size-fits-all policies don’t work. They should reflect the unique needs of the people they serve.

Healthcare is one of the provincial government’s most important jobs. But it’s become an afterthought under the Conservatives.

If I were Premier, I’d get serious about the wait time crisis.

After 8 years, hallway healthcare is worse than ever. And I would start reporting to the public on how long people are waiting in hallways and Emergency Departments, and what is being done about it.

I would invest in public healthcare instead of paying more for for-profit services. I would end the Conservatives’ practice of paying triple for private surgeries that are already provided in public hospitals. I would invest properly in rural healthcare, home care and mental health so that people receive the care they need, close to home.

I introduced a Private Members Bill - the Stop Harmful Gambling Act - to tackle a growing public health crisis – addiction to online gambling.

Ontarians have had enough of the onslaught of predatory ads since the Conservatives privatized online gambling.

The rate of teenage boys and men contacting ConnexOntario mental health helpline for gambling problems skyrocketed by 144% since privatization. The harms are far-reaching – from lost jobs to debt to depression and suicide risk.

Ontario bans advertising for tobacco and cannabis. Online gambling should be treated like these other highly addictive products.

The government’s job is to put public health first, not the profits of foreign-owned companies.

Investing in public education and supporting students to thrive is the provincial government’s other most important job.

What we have now is a government that disrespects educators and has created a toxic environment for kids and post-secondary students.

As Premier, I would restore trust with teachers, and work with schools to make real improvements in student achievement.

Class sizes need to come down. Students who need support should have it. Young people should have mental health support so that they can learn and succeed. Curriculum should prepare young people for the future, including AI.

When full-day kindergarten was introduced by the former Liberal Government, math and reading scores went up. We can do the same again.

The Conservatives’ OSAP cuts need to be reversed. Downloading the costs of post-secondary education on young people is just wrong.