Canadian province party leader election
The 2023 Ontario New Democratic Party leadership election was held in Toronto, on February 4, 2023. The leadership election was called after ONDP leader Andrea Horwath announced her resignation on June 2, 2022, in her concession speech on the night of the 2022 Ontario general election, in which the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario won a second consecutive majority government under Doug Ford.
Horwath led the party through four provincial elections since winning the March 2009 Ontario New Democratic Party leadership election. Under her leadership, the party increased its seat count in the legislature in 2011, 2014, forming Official Opposition in 2018, before losing seats, while remaining Official Opposition, in 2022. Former education critic Marit Stiles was the sole candidate in the contest when nominations closed on December 5. Accordingly, she was acclaimed leader on February 4. The vote was initially expected to be held on March 4, but the NDP provincial council moved the date up to February 4.
Background.
In the 2022 general election, the Ontario New Democrats saw a decline support over their 2018 result, remaining as official opposition with 31 seats, a loss of nine seats as well as almost 10 percentage points in its share of the popular vote. The NDP finished third in the popular vote, about 5,000 votes behind the Ontario Liberal Party who finished second in the popular vote, but third place in seat count.
On the night of the election, Horwath announced her resignation as party leader, stating that she would step down as soon as the NDP picks an interim leader. After receiving the unanimous endorsement of the party's newly elected caucus, Peter Tabuns was subsequently selected as interim leader by the party's provincial council on June 28, 2022.
Rules and procedures.
In the past, the Ontario NDP has used a traditional delegated leadership convention to select its leaders in which delegates elected by local riding associations, campus clubs, labour union locals affiliated with the party choose the leader. However, at its January 2007 provincial convention, the Ontario NDP amended its constitution bringing in a one member one vote procedure modelled on that used by the federal New Democratic Party in its 2003 federal leadership election in which the votes of all party members is weighted to 75% of the total with the remaining 25% being allocated to the party's affiliates (mostly labour unions).
The ONDP constitution (Article 8, Section 1.4) stipulates that:
In July 2022, the party announced that the leadership vote will conclude by the first week of March 2023. They outlined the requirements for entry, which include a $55,000 entry fee ($5,000 of which is due "up front"), and 100 signatures from party members, including 50 from women, 25 from members of equity-seeking groups, and 20 from members in specific geographic regions.
Background: MPP for Davenport (2018–present), former President of the federal NDP (2016–2018), national director of research, public policy and communications for ACTRA, and a trustee on the Toronto District School Board (2014–2018).
Date announced: September 22, 2022
Date registered with Elections Ontario: September 21, 2022
Campaign website: Marit Stiles
Acclaimed candidate.
Marit Stiles.
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References.
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