Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner has ended three weeks of speculation with his announcement that he will stay put as the leader of the Green Party. The uncertainty arose after 40 mostly former MPPs and senior Liberals penned a letter January 29 inviting the Green Party leader to consider running for the Liberal leadership. A few days later Green members put out an invitation inviting Liberals to join them instead. Today however Schreiner put all of that speculation to rest.
“I’ve taken the time to listen, consult my constituents in Guelph and people across Ontario to talk about a better way forward. I’ve asked myself and others how I can best make a positive difference in building the Ontario we truly want. The answer for me is as the leader of the Ontario Green Party,” Schreiner said in a video statement released Tuesday.
The invitation to Schreiner caused consternation among many long time supporters of the Liberal Party who say the party has not learned its lesson from the 2018 and 2022 elections. They say the party has been rejected by Ontario voters because it has strayed too far to the left. The party will hold its annual meeting on March 3 in Hamilton where it is expected there could be a showdown between more traditional members of the Ontario Liberals, who want to see the party present itself as a centrist alternative to the Ford Tories and the wing of the party who have been responsible for its more radical shift to the left. Among other items to be discussed is a motion that would have declared “that any candidate for leader, in addition to existing requirements, also have been a member of OLP as of January 1 of the year a leadership contest is called”— a motion that if in place would have disqualified Schreiner.
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