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
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.