Doug Ford says he’s ready for Bonnie Crombie to run for Liberal leader: ‘Bring it on’

“Bring it on.”

That’s Premier Doug Ford’s message to Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie as she gears up to run for the Ontario Liberal leadership.

“My question is, what took so long? She’s been campaigning for five years,” Ford told the Star on Tuesday.

“My other message to Bonnie is, bring it on. Bring it on,” said the Progressive Conservative premier.

Despite his bravado, Ford, who was re-elected last June 2 with an increased majority, emphasized that he has lots of work to do before the 2026 campaign.

“I take nothing for granted. We’re going to work hard and people will have that choice moving forward,” he said.

“I’m going to focus on what we’re doing. I’m not worried about what Bonnie’s doing to self-promote herself — and that’s it.”

Ford’s comments came after Crombie launched a leadership exploratory committee of more than 40 prominent Liberals.

Among the notable Grits urging her to run are former cabinet ministers Dwight Duncan, Dipika Damerla, Brad Duguid, Steve Peters and Reza Moridi, and veteran insiders Tim Murphy, Jack Siegel and Qasir Dar, co-author of a scathing post-mortem on the party’s 2022 election defeat.

A popular three-term mayor who won 78.5 per cent of the popular vote in the Oct. 24 municipal election, Crombie spent Tuesday on a media blitz — by mid-afternoon she had already conducted 23 media interviews.

She was puckish when told of Ford’s throwing down of the gauntlet.

“If the Ontario Liberals place their confidence in me, then I would look forward to challenging the premier — if he’s still the Ontario PC leader,” the mayor said.

The Star reported Monday that the Tories privately consider a Crombie candidacy as an existential threat to a party that has won the past two elections and ended almost 15 years of Liberal rule in 2018.

Crombie, a former Liberal MP who was never a part of the governments of former premiers Kathleen Wynne or Dalton McGuinty, said the Grits “moved too far to the left” in recent years.

She believes her centrist approach and experience governing a big city can woo voters away from Ford’s Tories — especially in and around the Greater Toronto Area.

The Liberals, who lack the dozen seats required for official party status in the 124-member legislature, are looking for a saviour after successive drubbings by Ford’s Tories.

New Democrat Marit Stiles is the Official Opposition leader with 30 MPPs to seven for the Liberals and 81 for the Tories. There are also three Independents, one Green and two vacancies.

So far, Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith (Beaches-East York) and Liberal MPP Ted Hsu (Kingston and the Islands) are the only registered candidates in the Grits’ leadership contest, according to Elections Ontario.

Erskine-Smith officially entered on May 16 and Hsu filed his paperwork last Saturday.

Others considering bids are Liberal MP Yasir Naqvi (Ottawa Centre), a former provincial cabinet minister and one-time Ontario Liberal Party president, and MPPs Stephanie Bowman (Don Valley West) and Adil Shamji (Don Valley East).

The race will be decided Dec. 2 using a new one-member, one-vote ranked-ballot system similar to how the Conservatives elect their leaders.

To enter the race, candidates must pay a $100,000 fee plus a $25,000 refundable deposit.

Crombie will remain as mayor before making a final decision to formally enter the race later this year.

Robert Benzie is the Star’s Queen’s Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie