OTTAWA — A second candidate has entered the race to become the next leader of the Ontario Liberal Party. On Friday, Etobicoke-Lakeshore MPP Lee Fairclough officially declared her candidacy, aiming to revitalize the struggling party.
Fairclough's announcement and background
“I hear it everywhere I go, people working hard and still falling behind,” Fairclough 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.”
Fairclough, 52, is a rookie MPP but no stranger to election campaigns. She won her seat in the 2025 provincial election by unseating Progressive Conservative Christine Hogarth by over 4,000 votes. In the 2022 election, she came within about 800 votes of defeating Hogarth, finishing a narrow second.
Before entering politics, Fairclough worked as a radiation therapist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. She later rose through the ranks to become president of Kitchener’s St. Mary’s Hospital in 2019 and held an executive position at CAMH. She also played on Canada’s women’s rugby team from 1995 to 1998.
Other contenders and party challenges
Former federal Liberal staffer Dylan Marando was the first to formally announce his candidacy in late March. Other potential candidates include Beaches-East York MP Nate Erskine-Smith, who is seeking a nomination for the vacant provincial seat in Scarborough Southwest, a move widely seen as a springboard for a provincial Liberal leadership bid. 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 also expressed interest or are considered likely contenders.
The Ontario Liberals have been struggling since their devastating loss in the 2018 election, which saw the Kathleen Wynne government collapse and the party lose official party status. Under former leader Steven Del Duca, the Liberals gained only one seat in the 2022 election, and Del Duca resigned after losing his own seat. In the 2025 election, the party won 14 seats, regaining official party status, but leader Bonnie Crombie lost her seat after resigning as Mississauga mayor to take the helm. John Fraser is serving as interim leader until the party elects a new leader in November.
Prospective candidates have until July 31 to enter the race.
