2023 Ontario Liberal Leadership Race

[ShonTron]

Never say "nothing". McGuinty was elected Lib leader as the most conservative candidate on the leadership ballot IIRC.

It was Gerard Kennedy who was the front runner in that race, a left-leaning Liberal much like Nate Erskine-Smith. There was a strong "anyone but Kennedy" sentiment, which resulted in McGuinty, who wasn't really offensive to anyone in the party. Remember, he did win two back-to-back majorities (though in the 1999 election, Harris still won, but the OLP added seats despite a cut in the number of MPPs).

 

[adma]

It was Gerard Kennedy who was the front runner in that race, a left-leaning Liberal much like Nate Erskine-Smith. There was a strong "anyone but Kennedy" sentiment, which resulted in McGuinty, who wasn't really offensive to anyone in the party. Remember, he did win two back-to-back majorities (though in the 1999 election, Harris still won, but the OLP added seats despite a cut in the number of MPPs).

Thanks for the reminder that even if the "right wing" won, the "stop X" dynamic in '96 was the inverse of '23.