User:MiltonC/sandbox

Endorsement

 * Andrea Hazell (Scarborough—Guildwood since 2023)
 * Jean-Jacques Blais (Nipissing 1972–84 & cabinet minister 1978-79, 80-83)
 * Sheila Gervais (First women and first visible minority to serve as Liberal Party of Canada National Director 1989-93)
 * Helena Jaczek (Markham—Stouffville since 2019; former federal cabinet minister 2021-23; former MPP for Markham-Stouffville 2007-18 & cabinet minister (2014-18))
 * Khalil Ramal (London—Fanshawe 2003-2011)
 * Michelle Simson (Scarborough Southwest 2008-11)
 * Helga Campbell (Trustee for Niagara Falls, District School Board of Niagara since 2022)
 * Wayne Campbell (Councillor, City of Niagara Falls 1985-2006 & since 2014; former Trustee, District School Board of Niagara 1980-85)
 * Alicia Higgison (Councillor, Town of Tecumseh since 2022; former Trustee 2018-22 & Board Chair 2020-22, Greater Essex County District School Board)
 * Sean Conway (Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke 1999-2003/Renfrew North 1975-99; cabinet minister (1985-90); deputy leader, Ontario Liberal Party 1982-85, 91-96; Dean of the Legislative Assembly 1999-2003)

=OLP Leader=

=Energy=

=1996 OLP= The 1996 Ontario Liberal Party leadership convention, held between November 29 and December 1, 1996 at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, elected Dalton McGuinty as the new leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, replacing Lyn McLeod, who announced her resignation following her defeated in the 1995 Ontario provincial election. The contest featured seven official candidates: caucus members Anna-Marie Castrilli, Joseph Cordiano, Dwight Duncan, John Gerretsen, Gerrard Kennedy, and Dalton McGuinty, and businessman Greg Kells. McGuinty lost the subsequent 1999 election but won in 2003 and served as Premier for almost ten years until 2013.

Background
Lyn McLeod, a cabinet minister in the government of Premier David Peterson, was elected leader of the party in 1992 following the defeat of the Peterson government in 1990. She defeated frontrunner Murray Elston by nine votes on the fifth ballot, becoming the first woman to lead a major party in Ontario.

The party under McLeod had been leading in the polls for most of the period from 1992 to 1995, and were generally favoured to benefit from the swing in support away from the NDP. However, the party hurt its credibility through a series of high-profile policy reversals in the period leading up to the election, the most notable being her stance on rights for same-sex couples. Following her disappointing showing in the 1995 provincial election, McLeod announced in September 1995 she would step down as soon as a replacement is selected.

Early Campaign
Former cabinet ministers Sean Conway, Murray Elston and Gerry Phillips were initially expected to be the leading contenders for the leadership. At a preliminary planning meeting hosted by the party in January 1996, prospective candidates sent representatives, including the four of the six MPPs eventually entered the race (excluding Duncan who was supporting Conway at the time, and Kennedy who was not an MPP at the time); MPPs Conway, Phillips, Dominic Agostino, Richard Patten; federal environment minister Sergio Marchi, Toronto lawyer John Campion; and Robert McMurtry, brother of former Progressive Conservative Attorney General Roy McMurtry.

Conway publicly declared his intention to run in the summer of 1995, and was widely perceived to have accumulated enough support within the caucus and the wider party to secure victory, but announced in late January 1996 that he would not be a candidate. Phillips announced his bid in late March after Conway's exit, quickly emerging as the frontrunner and garnering support of half of the caucus, but withdraw in April due to a heart ailment.

Duncan became the first caucus member to formally announce a bid in June, followed shortly by Kennedy in mid July. McGuinty, Cordiano, Castrilli and Gerretsen all officially entered the race in late August. Each candidate were required to pay a $50,000 non-refundable deposit.

Anna-Marie Castrilli
Castrilli, 47 a lawyer, was elected MPP for Downsview in 1995. A former chair of the Governing Council of the University of Toronto, she served as the party's colleges and universities critic.
 * Other prominent supporters: Federal Ministers Jane Stewart (MP for Brant) and Art Eggleton (MP for York Centre)

Joseph Cordiano
Cordiano, 39, was first elected MPP in 1985 for Downsview, and served as MPP for Lawrence since 1987. He served as a Parliamentary Assistant to several ministers during the Peterson government, and was the only candidate that has served in government. In opposition he was a prominent voice for the party within Toronto. At the start of the campaign, he was seen as the leading right-of-centre challenger to frontrunner Kennedy.
 * Supporters in Caucus (4): Elinor Caplan (Oriole), John Cleary (Cornwall), Alvin Curling (Scarborough North), Mario Sergio (Yorkview)

Dwight Duncan
Duncan, 37, was MPP Windsor—Walkerville since 1995. Duncan was an aide to prominent Windsor figures like federal minister Herb Gray and provincial minister Bill Wrye, and served on Windsor City Council from 1988 until 1994. He campaigned on a cautious fiscal strategy but with plans for increased investment in health and education. Confidence with his chances, his campaign allowed a CPAC camera crew to shadow him throughout the convention, capturing a number of less-than-faltering moments for Duncan.
 * Supporters in Caucus (9): Rick Bartolucci (Sudbury), Michael Brown (Algoma-Manitoulin), Mike Colle (Oakwood (provincial electoral district)|Oakwood]], Sean Conway (Renfrew North, Bruce Crozier (Essex South), Pat Hoy (Essex-Kent), Frank Miclash (Kenora (electoral district)|Kenora]], Sandra Pupatello (Windsor-Sandwich), David Ramsay (Timiskaming)
 * Other prominent supporters: Federal Minister Herb Gray (MP for Windsor West); former MPP Tim Murphy

John Gerretsen
Gerretsen, 54, was a lawyer who was elected MPP for Kingston and the Islands in 1995. He was a Kingston Alderman or Councillor between 1972 and 1980, and served as Mayor between 1980 and 1988. He was also President of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario from 1986 to 1987.

Greg Kells
Kells was an Ottawa area businessman, and the only candidate who was not in caucus.

Gerrard Kennedy
Kennedy, 36, only entered the Legislature at the end of May, when he won the by-election to replace former Premier Bob Rae in York South. He has however made a name of himself as the head of the Daily Bread Food Bank. He was seen as the leading left-of-centre candidate, and was identified by the press as the early frontrunner.
 * Supporters in Caucus: Dominic Agostino (Hamilton East), Monte Kwinter (Wilson Heights), Gerry Phillips (Scarborough—Agincourt)
 * Other prominent supporters: Former Peterson era ministers Robert Nixon, Bob Wong, Chris Ward and Charles Beer; former MPP Dianne Poole; former Senator Keith Davey.

Dalton McGuinty
McGuinty, 41, a lawyer, succeed his father Dalton McGuinty Sr. as the MPP for Ottawa South in 1990. He was seen as being from the more conservative wing of the party. Critics argued McGuinty was little more than 'Harris-lite'. Supporters countered that election of the Mike Harris government marked a transformation of thinking in Ontario politics and that the Liberals needed a right-leaning leader to compete against Harris rather than someone who would compete against NDP for a diminishing number of left-leaning voters.
 * Supporters in Caucus (4): Bob Chiarelli (Ottawa West), Bernard Grandmaître (Ottawa East), Gilles Morin (Carleton East), Tony Ruprecht (Parkdale)
 * Other prominent supporters: Federal Industry Minister John Manley (MP for Ottawa South), Former Waterloo North MPP Herb Epp

Delegate selection
Under the procedure outlined by the party's constitution, all members of the party are eligible to cast a two-part ballot at one of the constituency association delegate selection meetings held across the province. Members vote directly for their choice of leadership candidate (or for "independent") in the top part of the ballot, and for up to 16 local delegates for the leadership convention in the bottom part of the ballot. There are also a number of women's and youth clubs that are entitled to elect delegates. Elected delegates were apportioned to leadership candidates based on their share of votes in the top part of the ballot, and are bounded to vote for their leadership candidates on the first ballot at the leadership convention. The small number of independent delegates elected can vote for whomever they chose at the convention. There were 2,386 elected delegates. There were also 514 ex-officio delegates made up of party insiders who were not committed to voting for any candidate.

Kennedy quickly attained front runner status in the race. Although he was recently elected in a by-election he gained notoriety as head of the Daily Bread Food Bank. He was known for criticising the NDP's food policy yet coming up with practical methods to combat hunger. While four years earlier many Liberals marginalized Greg Sorbara, an Italian Canadian, as "the ethnic candidate" during the 1992 leadership contest, Cordiano, who served as Sorbara's parliamentary secretary and also an Italian Canadian, did not face the same barrier and was considered the primary challenger to Kennedy.

Kennedy emerged with a clear lead from the October delegate selection meetings. With almost 30% elected delegates, he had a lead of 200 voters over his closest competitor. Duncan, Cordiano and McGuinty all elicited strong initial delegate support. Gerretsen, Castrilli and Kells were clearly long-shot candidates.

Convention
The leadership convention was scheduled to be held at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens on November 29 and 30, 1996. It was remembered as a hard-fought 15½-hour battle and an organizational disaster. Although voting was supposed to start at 1 p.m. on Saturday, it didn't begin until more than two hours later, and the results of the first ballot were not available until 7:30 p.m. Candidates in last place, or with less than 5 per cent of the vote, were eliminated after each ballot.

Kennedy lead after the first ballot with 30%. Cordiano, Duncan and McGuinty battled for running up, with 22%, 18% and 18% respectively. After first ballot, Castilli first announced she was dropping out but then change her mind, contributing to a three-hour delay before the next ballot results were announced.

It was rumoured that McGuinty and Duncan had a deal that whoever was behind would drop out and endorse the other. McGuinty, who received less vote in the second ballot than the first ballot, was about to honour the pack, but changed his mind as he unexpected received the endorsement of both Castrilli (who was eliminated) and Gerretsen (withdrawn). Gerretsen said he and McGuinty made no deal, but that his own supporters and constituents favored an eastern Ontario candidate. Castrilli supporters suggested the only female candidate felt a bond with the low-profile McGuinty as a party outsider. Castrilli and Gerretsen hoisted McGuinty into the pivotal third spot and pushed Duncan from the race after the third ballot.

The third ballot result was announced after midnight. Kennedy experienced very little growth, while McGuinty leapfrogged Duncan and tied Cordiano for second place. Duncan was eliminated and endorsed Kennedy. Duncan's decision infuriated many of his supporters, and less than half of his delegates went with him to Kennedy.

The results of the fourth ballot was announced at about 2:30 a.m. Cordiano was eliminated and threw his support to McGuinty. There was high drama as Cordiano crossed the crowded convention floor, where McGuinty came to meet him in the centre of convention hall in full view of all the delegates. Unlike Duncan, Cordiano delivered 80% of his delegate, and was thereby largely responsible for McGuinty's victory over Kennedy for the party's leadership.

The fifth ballot, past 4 AM, came to a final direct match between Kennedy, who had led all four ballots, and McGuinty, who had steadily risen from an initial fourth place and surged to victory by a convincing 1,205 to 1,065 margin.

Aftermath
After the contest, McGuinty named Cordiano, who was widely seen as the kingmaker, as Deputy Leader. Cordiano was however replaced by Gerry Phillips in 1998.

The subsequent 1999 election saw the legislature reduced from 130 to 103 seats, resulting in many MPPs having to compete with each other for re-election. Cordiano and Kennedy initially competed for the nomination in the redistributed riding of York South—Weston, but Kennedy was convinced by the party leadership to run in the new riding of Parkdale—High Park. In a highly divisive and race-driven contest, Castrilli was defeated for the party's nomination in York Centre by Monte Kwinter. McGuinty unsuccessful tried to convince Castrilli to run in a different riding. Castrilli defected on the day the writ was dropped, became the Progressive Conservative candidate against Kennedy in Parkdale High Park, and was defeated by Kennedy.

McGuinty lost the 1999 election, but successful fought back a leadership review in later 1999 with 80% support and remained leader. He won in 2003 and served as Premier for almost ten years until 2013. Cordiano, Duncan, Kennedy and Gerretsen all served as senior cabinet ministers in the government of McGuinty.

Kennedy left the government and unsuccessfully sought the federal party leadership in 2006, but was instrumental sealing the victory for Stephane Dion, another victor who started from fourth place. Kennedy again contested the province party leadership in 2013, coming in third and throwing his support to the eventual winner Kathleen Wynne. In that contest, Gerretsen was the most senior caucus supporter of Wynne, and served as Wynne's Attorney General during the first 16 months of her government.

=CPC Party and State Leaders= National leaders is the generic version of "Party and State Leaders" (党和国家领导人), a political jargon used by official documents and by official media in China referring to specific senior officials of the People's Republic of China. The range of Party and State Leaders are prescribed by the national civil servant system. Only officials holding the rank of "chief positions at the state level" (正国級) or "deputy positions at the state level" (副国級) (colloquially in some western media, "National leaders" and "Sub-national leaders") are considered Party and State Leaders.

As of March 2018 (when the first session of the current 13th National People's Congress was convened), the 71 holders of the following 102 offices are considered Party and State Leaders.
 * Chief positions at the state level (8)
 * 1) General Secretary of the Communist Party (1)
 * 2) President (same holder as General Secretary of CPC)
 * 3) Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (1)
 * 4) Premier (1)
 * 5) Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (1)
 * 6) Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party (same holder as General Secretary of CPC)
 * 7) Chairman of the Central Military Commission (same membership of the Central Military Commission of CPC, same holder as General Secretary of CPC)
 * 8) Members of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (3, plus 4 holding other positions listed above)
 * 9) Vice President of the People's Republic of China (1)
 * Deputy positions at the state level (63)
 * 1) Members of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China not members of the Standing Committee (18)
 * 2) Secretaries of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China (1, plus 6 who are also members of the Politburo)
 * 3) Vice Chairpersons of the National People's Congress (13, plus 1 who is also a member of the Politburo)
 * 4) Vice Premiers (all 4 Vice Premiers are members of the Politburo) and State Councillors (5)
 * 5) Vice Chairpersons of the Central Military Commission (both members of the Politburo)
 * 6) Director of the National Supervisory Commission (also a member of the Politburo)
 * 7) President and Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court (1)
 * 8) Prosecutor-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (1)
 * 9) Vice Chairpersons of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (24)

=cabinet=

By Ministry
=1984=

Result

 * = Eliminated from next round
 * = Withdrew
 * = Elected

Source: CPAC – 1984 Liberal Convention

Jean Chrétien
Chrétien, 50, MP for Saint-Maurice since 1963, was Minister of Energy and had been Minister Responsible for constitutional negotiations, playing a significant role in the patriation of the Constitution of Canada,. First appointed to Cabinet by Lester Pearson in 1967, he had served in several senior portfolios under Trudeau, including Minister of Finance and Justice Minister. (Plus others - The Globe and Mail reported that Chrétien launched his campaign with support from 29 MPs from Quebec, nine from Ontario, two each from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and one each from Newfoundland and the Northwest Territories, as well as five senators from Quebec, two from Ontario and one from Alberta )
 * Supporters in caucus:
 * Pierre Bussières (Charlesbourg, PQ; Minister of National Revenue)
 * Charles Caccia (Davenport, ON; Minister of the Environment)
 * David Collenette (York East, ON; Minister of State (Multiculturalism))
 * Paul Cosgrove (York—Scarborough, ON; former cabinet minister)
 * Bud Cullen (Sarnia—Lambton, ON; former cabinet minister)
 * Pierre de Bané (Matapédia—Matane, PQ; Minister of Fisheries and Oceans)
 * David Dingwall (Cape Breton—East Richmond, NS)
 * Roland de Corneille (Eglinton—Lawrence, ON)
 * Jean-Robert Gauthier (Ottawa—Vanier, ON)
 * Charles Lapointe (Charlevoix, PQ; Minister of Supply and Services)
 * Roméo LeBlanc (Westmorland—Kent, NB; Minister of Public Works)
 * Russell MacLellan (Cape Breton—The Sydneys, NS)
 * Dave Rooney (Bonavista—Trinity—Conception, NF)
 * Antonio Yanakis (Berthier—Maskinongé, PQ)
 * Sen. David Croll (Ontario)
 * Sen. Joseph Guay (St. Boniface, Manitoba)
 * Sen. Renaude Lapointe (Mille Isles, Quebec)
 * Sen. Bud Olson (Alberta South, Alberta; Minister of Economic and Regional Development & Leader of the Government in the Senate)
 * Sen. Yvette Rousseau (De Salaberry, Quebec)
 * Sen. Dalia Wood (Montarville, Quebec)

Don Johnston
Johnston, 47, MP for Saint-Henri—Westmount in Montreal since 1978, was President of the Treasury Board, and had served in several other economic portfolios.
 * Supporters in caucus:
 * David Berger (Laurier, PQ)
 * Jack Burghardt (London West, ON)
 * James Fleming (York West, ON)
 * Bryce Mackasey (Lincoln, ON; former cabinet minister)
 * Raymond Savard (Verdun, PQ)
 * Sen. Gildas Molgat (Manitoba)

Mark MacGuigan
MacGuigan, 53, MP from Windsor-Walkerville since 1968 and a former dean of law, was the Minister of Justice and a former Minister of External Affairs. His campaign was supported by Paul Martin, thrice leadership contender who MacGuigan succeeded as MP.

John Munro
Munro, 53, a MP for Hamilton East since 1962, was Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.
 * Peter Ittinuar (Nunatsiaq, NWT) (initially endorsed Chrétien)
 * Sen. Willie Adams (Northwest Territories) (initially endorsed Chrétien)

John Roberts
Roberts, 48, MP for St. Paul's, was Minister of Employment and Immigration.

John Turner
Turner, 55, former MP for Ottawa-Orleans (1968-1976) and previously for St. Lawrence—St. George, Quebec (1962-1968), had served in Cabinet under Lester Pearson and Trudeau and had been Minister of Justice and Minister of Finance until resigning from cabinet in 1975 over a policy dispute over wage and price freezes. Since then, he had been a corporate lawyer on Bay Street until his return to politics in 1984. Turner had run for the leadership previously in 1968, placing third on the final ballot. (Plus others, it was reported that Turner was supported by 24 of 64 Liberal senators at the time)
 * Supporters in caucus:
 * Lloyd Axworthy (Winnipeg—Fort Garry, MB; Minister of Transport)
 * Dennis Dawson (Louis-Hébert, PQ)
 * Pierre Deniger (Laprairie, PQ)
 * Louis Duclos (Montmorency, PQ)
 * Judy Erola (Nickel Belt, ON; Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs)
 * Francis Fox (Blainville—Deux-Montagnes, PQ; Minister of Communications)
 * Doug Frith (Sudbury, ON)
 * Herb Gray (Windsor West, ON; President of the Treasury Board)
 * Bob Kaplan (York Centre, ON; Solicitor General)
 * Norm Kelly (Scarborough Centre, ON)
 * Marc Lalonde (Outremont, PQ; Minister of Finance)
 * [Peter Lang (politician)|Peter Lang]] (Kitchener, ON)
 * Jean Lapierre (Shefford, PQ)
 * Ed Lumley (Stormont—Dundas, ON; Minister of Regional Economic Expansion)
 * Allan MacEachen (Cape Breton Highlands—Canso, NS; Deputy Prime Minister of Canada & Secretary of State for External Affairs)
 * Jean-Claude Malépart (Sainte-Marie,PQ)
 * Paul-André Massé (Saint-Jean (electoral district)|Saint-Jean]], PQ)
 * André Ouellet (Papineau, PQ; Minister of Labour)
 * Jean-Luc Pépin (Ottawa—Carleton, ON; Minister of State (External Relations))
 * Jim Peterson (Willowdale, ON; wife Heather Peterson served as Turner's campaign director)
 * Gerald Regan (Halifax, NS; Minister of International Trade)
 * William Rompkey (Grand Falls—White Bay—Labrador, NF; Minister of State for Mines)
 * David Smith (Don Valley East, ON; Minister of State (Small Businesses and Tourism))
 * Brian Tobin (Humber—Port au Port—St. Barbe, NF)
 * Sen. Hazen Argue (Regina, Saskatchewan; Minister of State (Canada Wheat Board))
 * Sen. Keith Davey (York, Ontario)
 * Sen. Royce Frith (Glen Tay, Ontario)
 * Sen. Jerry Grafstein (Ontario)
 * Sen. Alasdair Graham (The Highlands, Nova Scotia)
 * Sen. Leo Kolber (Victoria, Quebec)
 * Sen. Frederick McGrand (Sunbury, New Brunswick)
 * Sen. Joan Neiman (Peel, Ontario)
 * Sen. Ray Perrault (British Columbia)
 * Sen. Louis Robichaud, (Saint-Louis-de-Kent, New Brunswick; former New Brunswick premier)

Eugene Whelan
Whelan, 59, MP for Essex-Windsor since 1962, has been Minister of Agriculture from 1972 to 1979, when the Liberals lost power, and again since 1980.

=1982 OLP=

Background
Stuart Smith had been leader since 1976. He led the party through two elections. Although he was leader of the opposition in a minority government after the 1977 election, the Liberals failed to make gains in the 1981 election when the Tories regained their majority status. Smith announced his decision to resign on September 5, 1981. Speculation about possible successors included MPPs Jim Breithaupt, David Peterson and Patrick Reid. The race quickly heated up when five days later, John Sweeney a Kitchener MPP announced his intention to seek the party leadership. Fellow MPP Jim Breithaupt announced his candidacy a day later.

On September 19, the Liberal party announced that they would hold a convention on the weekend of February 19–21, 1982 to choose a new leader.

Jim Breithaupt
Breithaupt, 47, MPP for Kitchener since 1967 and former Liberal House Leader, was a lawyer and the party's justice critic. He was portrayed by the media as a rational politician who favoured reason over passion. He said, "I've not seen that as a fault... it is just the way I am. I think I can do the job when it has to be done." He said that he would focus on a reorganization of the party's riding associations and a campaign to pay off the party's election debt. He was initially seen as one of the front-runners, but was kept off the campaign trail by a car accident. His wife, Jane, and Wentworth North MPP Eric Cunningham represented him at campaign meetings and rallies.
 * Supporters in Caucus (3): Eric Cunningham (Wentworth North), Patrick Reid (Rainy River) and Harry Worton (Wellington South)

Sheila Copps
Copps, 29, a rookie MPP for Hamilton Centre since 1981 and daughter of former Hamilton Mayor Victor Copps, was riding assistant to outgoing leader Smith for four years before being elected herself. She ran a left-of-centre reformist campaign for leader. Her campaign received surprising amount of media attention, positioning her as the leading challenging to the front runner Peterson.
 * Copps had no declared supporters in caucus, but was endorsed by federal cabinet ministers Judy Erola, John Munro, James Fleming, Bob Kaplan and Charles Caccia.

David Peterson
Peterson, 38, MPP for London Centre since 1975, was the running up in the 1976 leadership contest, caming within 45 votes of defeating Stuart Smith. Peterson was generally acknowledged as the front-runner throughout the campaign, having spent the years since the last leadership race "organizing, getting his people in place, getting commitments of support from caucus members, raising money and biding his time." His campaign focus on economics issues and pitched himself as a Liberal a Conservative would vote for.
 * Supporters in Caucus (18): Jim Bradley (St. Catharines), Sean Conway (Renfrew North), John Eakins (Victoria-Haliburton), Murray Elston (Huron-Bruce), Herbert Epp (Waterloo North), Remo Mancini (Essex South), J. Earl McEwen (Frontenac-Addington), Bob McKessock (Grey), Gordon Miller (Haldimand-Norfolk), Robert Nixon (Brant-Oxford-Norfolk), Hugh O'Neil (Quinte), Julian Reed (Halton-Burlington), Jack Riddell (Huron-Middlesex), Richard Ruston (Essex North), Edward Sargent (Grey-Bruce), Michael Spensieri (Yorkview), Ronald Van Horne (London North) and Bill Wrye (Windsor-Sandwich)

John Sweeney
Sweeney, 50, MPP for Kitchener—Wilmot since 1975, was a former teacher who served as the party's education critic. Sweeney held strong views on abortion and had sponsored a private member's bill in 1978 to reduce the number of abortions performed in the province. He was also a member of the Council of Mind Abuse, a group formed to fight mind-indoctrination techniques by cults. Fellow member Sean Conway said that Sweeney would appeal to the "Catholic conservative constituency within the Liberal party." Sweeney disagreed saying that he was actually a middle of the road politician. He said, "Because I have some firm moral positions doesn't mean I am to the right." He said that if elected leader he would seek to tighten the restrictions on abortion performed in the province.

Richard Thomas
Thomas, 49, was a former Perry Township councillor and environmental activist who was a voice-over artist professionally, known for his work in commercials and narrating documentaries. As a Liberal candidate in the 1981 provincial election he came within six votes of defeating future Premier Ernie Eves in Parry Sound. He would later run several times for the Green Party of Ontario from 1990 to 2001 and was elected head of Armour Township council in 2003.

Endorse

 * Kevin Flynn (Oakville 2003-18, cabinet minister 2014-18, Oakville Regional & Town Councillor 1985-2003)
 * Eric Hoskins (St. Paul's 2009-18, cabinet minister 2010-18, 2013 leadership candidate)
 * Harinder Takhar (Mississauga—Erindale 2003-18, cabinet minister 2003-13, 2013 leadership candidate)


 * Francesco Sorbara (Vaughan—Woodbridge since 2015)
 * Chandra Arya (Nepean since 2015)
 * Lloyd Longfield (Guelph since 2015)


 * (Oakville 2003-18, cabinet minister 2014-18)


 * Daiene Vernile (Kitchener Centre 2014-18, cabinet minister 2018)
 * Hon. Don Boudria (Prescott and Russell 1981-84, MP for Glengarry–Prescott–Russell 1984-2006, federal cabinet minister 1996-2003)
 * Murray Elston (Huron—Bruce 1981-94, cabinet minister 1985-90, interim party leader 1991, runner-up of 1992 leadership contest)
 * Hon. Maria Minna (MP for Beaches—East York 1993-2011, cabinet minister 1999-2002)
 * Hon. David Smith (MP for Don Valley East 1980-84, cabinet minister 1983-84, senator for Cobourg 2002-16, National Liberal Campaign Co-Chair in 1993/1997/2000/2008/2011)
 * Iqra Khalid (MP for Mississauga—Erin Mills since 2015)
 * Bob Bratina (MP for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek since 2015, Mayor of Hamilton 2010-14, Hamilton City Councillor 2004-10)
 * Neil Ellis (MP for Bay of Quinte since 2015, Mayor of Belleville 2006-14)

P List
! rowspan=2; style="background:;"|Liberal Conservative (MacDonald) || ! style="background:;"| Liberal (Blake) ! rowspan=4; style="background:;"| Liberal (Mowat) ! style="background:;"| Liberal (Hardy) ! rowspan=2; style="background:;"| Liberal (Ross) ! rowspan=3; style="background:;"|Conservative (Whitney) ! style="background:;"|Conservative (Hearst) ! style="background:;"|United Farmers (Drury) ! rowspan=2; style="background:;"|Conservative (Ferguson) ! rowspan=2; style="background:;"|Conservative (Henry) ! rowspan=3; style="background:;"| Liberal (Hepburn) ! style="background:;"| Liberal (Conant) ! style="background:;"| Liberal (Nixon) ! style="background:;"|PC (Drew) ! style="background:;"|PC (Kennedy) ! rowspan=5; style="background:;"|PC (Frost) ! rowspan=2; style="background:;"| PC (Robarts) ! rowspan=10; style="background:;"| PC (Davis) ! rowspan=2; style="background:;"| PC (Miller) ! rowspan=4; style="background:;"|Liberal (Peterson) ! rowspan=4 ; style="background:;"|NDP (Rae) ! rowspan=3 ; style="background:;"|PC (Harris) ! style="background:;"|PC (Eves) ! rowspan=8; style="background:;"| Liberal (McGuinty) ! rowspan=5; style="background:;"| Liberal (Wynne) ! style="background:;"|PC (Ford)
 * }
 * }