Yasir Naqvi enters Ontario Liberal leadership race
Yasir Naqvi has entered the race for the Ontario Liberal leadership.
The Ottawa Centre Liberal MP formally launched his leadership campaign at St. Anthony's Banquet Hall in Ottawa Saturday morning. He also says he will make a stop in Belleville before an event in Mississauga Saturday evening.
Naqvi, who previously served as Ottawa Centre Liberal MPP, submitted his paperwork to enter the leadership race on Friday.
"Over the past few months, I’ve been asked again and again: why am I doing this? It's the same reason I started knocking on doors in Ontario 15 years ago and haven’t stopped since. Because the status quo isn’t good enough," Naqvi said in a statement on Saturday.
"I see the promise of Ontario slipping away. And Doug Ford has broken that promise."
Naqvi says his vision for the Ontario Liberal Party is to create a "strong" party, with a "big tent and a focus on its members not insiders."
"My mission is to transform our party, in every single riding, all 124. So we can stop Ford in 2026 — and get back to the promise of Ontario," he said.
The Ontario Liberal Party will announce a new leader on Dec. 2 to replace Steven Del Duca, who resigned after last June's provincial election.
Naqvi said in January he was considering running for the Ontario Liberal leadership.
"As you know, we have had two very devastating election results and there is a strong desire to have a strong, experienced leader who can help rebuild the party," Naqvi said in January.
In March, he stepped down as Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the King's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness.
Naqvi represented the riding of Ottawa Centre as an MPP from 2007 to 2018, before losing to NDP MPP Joel Harden in the 2018 provincial election. He served as attorney general, government house leader, minister of community safety and correctional services and minister of labour when the Liberal Party formed government.
He was elected Ottawa Centre MP in 2021, succeeding former cabinet minister Catherine McKenna.
Two other candidates are registered to run for the Ontario Liberal leadership – Kingston and the Islands MPP Ted Hsu and Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith.
Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie has set up a leadership exploratory committee ahead of a possible run for the Liberal leadership.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
WHO likely to issue wider alert on contaminated cough syrup
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
WATCH Video shows dramatic police takedown of carjacking suspects chased through parking lot north of Toronto
Police have released video footage of a dramatic takedown of a group of teens wanted in connection with an attempted carjacking in Markham earlier this month.
Canada, G7 urge 'all parties' to de-escalate in growing Mideast conflict
Canada called for 'all parties' to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.