
‘Tired of this crap': Liberal MPPs rally around Bonnie Crombie after criticism from Nate Erskine-Smith
in the wake of the broadside against her fired by former rival Nate Erskine-Smith
.
With Crombie facing a leadership review at the Ontario Liberals' annual general meeting Sept. 12-14 in Toronto, Erskine-Smith wrote an 1,177-word email blast urging 'change in our party.'
'Of course I have an interest,' acknowledged the Beaches-East York MP,
who was runner-up in the provincial leadership in 2023
and then
briefly served as federal housing minister
before being demoted by Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Erskine-Smith criticized Crombie and her team for 'trying to socialize the idea that an untenable 51 per cent mandate is an acceptable result' at the September review, insisting 'two-thirds support should be the minimum expectation.'
Sources told the Star that some Liberals have privately complained to Carney's office about the MP's intervention Friday.
But given
Erskine-Smith's public grumbling
that he felt '
disrespected
' when the prime minister removed him from cabinet, it's unlikely any such appeal would have much effect.
Liberal MPPs, meanwhile, took to social media to defend Crombie with some choice words for the backbencher.
'The Ontario Liberal leadership isn't a backup plan or safety net. Building for the future takes hard work and someone who is going to stick it out,' said MPP Stephen Blais (Orleans).
That's a reference to Erskine-Smith doing little to help the Grits after losing the leadership contest, including in the Feb. 27 snap election won by Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives with 43 per cent of the popular vote.
The MP insisted he 'was happy to work for a winning campaign in support of local MPP Mary-Margaret McMahon, an energetic force in community engagement' in February.
MPP Stephanie Smyth (St. Paul's), one of the five newly elected Liberals, praised Crombie for returning the party to official status in the legislature, taking 30 per cent of the vote and improving fundraising.
'Let's not go backwards,' said Smyth.
Still, the Liberals' inefficient vote led to just 14 seats in the 124-member legislature compared to 80 for the PCs. The NDP held 27 seats with just 18.5 per cent of the vote. Mike Schreiner's Greens won two ridings and Independent Bobbi Ann Brady was re-elected.
Crombie failed to win a seat, losing Mississauga East-Cooksville to Tory Silvia Gualtieri, a setback for a three-term Mississauga mayor. She has said she will contest a byelection when a viable riding opens up.
Rookie MPP Rob Cerjanec (Ajax) said he was 'tired of this crap' from Erskine-Smith and other insurgents.
'The last campaign had its issues and the seat result wasn't what we wanted but there were also some successes. I've had good conversations with Bonnie Crombie about what went wrong and what we need to do to win,' said Cerjanec.
'She agrees we need to do things differently. Another leadership race isn't going to help us build the party.'
Liberal House Leader John Fraser emphasized he 'will be supporting Bonnie at the AGM' and implored other Grits to do so.
'Our cause is a collective one, not one of personal ambition,' said Fraser in a veiled shot at Erskine-Smith.
MPP Andrea Hazell (Scarborough-Guildwood) noted she has 'always been passionate about women in leadership and I support Bonnie Crombie in bringing Ontario back on track.'
Newly elected MPP Jonathan Tsao (Don Valley North) praised the leader for putting 'our party first.'
'While others chase headlines, she's laser-focused on one thing: standing up for the people of Ontario and defeating Doug Ford and the PCs next election,' said Tsao.
MPP Lucille Collard (Ottawa-Vanier) said although she supported third-place finisher Yasir Naqvi in 2023, Crombie 'has shown skill in growing our party's appeal and presenting serious policy.'
'You may not agree with her on everything, and that's fine. The OLP has momentum and the last thing we need is another leadership race,' said Collard.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Inuit leader sees opportunities in the new faces of Mark Carney's government
OTTAWA — Trust is not something Natan Obed, president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, often associates with Ottawa. 'The federal government writ large, whether or not we're talking about a political party or the institution itself, has never shown itself to be trustworthy to Inuit,' Obed said in an interview with the Star on Friday. Following a closed-door meeting on Thursday with Prime Minister Mark Carney, nearly a third of Carney's cabinet and other Inuit leaders about the Liberals' major projects law and other priorities, Obed said new faces can sometimes lead to new opportunities. 'I would say that we have a lot of really trustworthy people at the table, and that came through quite clearly,' he said, naming cabinet newcomers like Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty, Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand and Crown-Indigenous Affairs Minister Rebecca Alty as the members of Carney's front bench responsible for the relationship between Inuit and the Crown. Obed also said he was satisfied by Carney's assurances that modern treaties, and the processes tied to those agreements, will be respected following the rushed passage of the Building Canada Act, which allows Ottawa to temporarily bypass certain environmental laws and regulations to fast-track 'nation-building' projects like ports and pipelines. 'That is a statement that's powerful and one that we have chosen to trust the prime minister on, and we really hope that he lives up to his word on it,' Obed said. The ITK president co-chaired a meeting Thursday of the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee — a group that convenes Inuit leaders and the federal cabinet three times a year — with the prime minister, as part of a series of summits Carney is holding with Indigenous leaders after the controversial law prompted backlash for its potential to steamroll Indigenous rights and environmental protections. At the gathering in Inuvik, N.W.T., Carney announced the appointment of Nunavut's Virginia Mearns as the country's official Arctic ambassador. She now has a mandate to liaise with Arctic and non-Arctic partners and protect Arctic sovereignty. Other challenges raised in the meeting included the health and social disparities experienced across Inuit Nunangat, the Inuit homeland that spans four regions in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, northern Quebec and northern Labrador. 'The prime minister himself said that these issues would not be left behind,' said Obed, who also spoke with Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne about his expectations for this fall's federal budget. 'We talked about … our budget submission, and our hopes for this budget, especially in regards to health, education, infrastructure, housing,' he said. 'And I hope that we can find a common path where we can make the proper investments and still build our communities at the same time, and be incredibly supportive and work on these nation-building projects as well.' Last month, Obed warned the Senate that it is 'Canada's weakness that it pats itself on the back for being a great champion of Indigenous Peoples, an upholder of the rule of law and respect for Indigenous Peoples' rights, while at the same time acting very differently through its legislation and practices.' He was speaking to senators about the 'unintended consequences' of the proposed law, then known as Bill C-5, including potential infringements on Inuit-Crown treaties. 'Not only does this not live up to Canada's obligation to respect rights, but it creates the possibility of national interest projects ending up before the courts, with litigation causing significant delays in the national interest projects moving forward,' Obed said at the time. He told the Star that Inuit groups looked at 10-year infrastructure needs and identified 79 projects, which they discussed with ministers on Thursday with the goal of drawing up a shorter list of feasible goals. 'Our communities are saying we still need essential infrastructure. We need roads. We need ports. We need the ability to land on runways that have lights, or that are paved. We still have essential concerns around health and education, around food security,' he said. 'And so these national projects are a part of a larger whole.' He named several projects, like the Grays Bay Road and Port project, a transportation corridor to Arctic shipping routes, and the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link project, which would connect part of Nunavut to Manitoba's power grid, as Inuit-led initiatives that would benefit Canada's economy. ' So that's part of the next step, is to really co-ordinate as best we can, not only with our communities, but also with public governments to ensure that the listed projects under C-5, meet the needs of Inuit, meet the needs of public governments, and are in the national interest.'


Hamilton Spectator
3 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
What does no politics in the classroom mean? Ford government's directive has created fear and confusion, say parents and teachers
A temporary ban on students sharing their family's culture in class. A parent-organized Pride event moved outside school hours. Teachers afraid to answer students' questions around the Israel-Hamas war . Over the past academic year, Toronto parents and teachers say activities and discussions that would typically be normal to have in the classroom have suddenly become a source of fear and confusion — and they pin the blame on an edict dropped by the Ontario government last September. Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks, then-education minister Jill Dunlop issued a memo to Ontario school boards to keep 'political biases' out of the classroom to ensure these spaces remain 'safe, inclusive and welcoming for all students and staff.' It came as the Toronto District School Board and other boards asked for guidance on addressing hate and geopolitical tensions in schools amid a rise in antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian discrimination since October 2023. But the ministry's memo doesn't define what it considers 'political biases' — nor would the ministry provide a definition when asked directly by the Star — and many worry the lack of specificity will affect how Toronto's public schools handle certain topics, as administrators and educators try to figure out what is and isn't allowed. Can civic lessons on who is prime minister continue as normal? What about sex-ed lessons on different genders and sexualities? Class discussions around race? 'Nothing is neutral,' said Carl James, a professor and the Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community & Diaspora at York University. 'The curriculum cannot be seen as outside of providing and producing a way of seeing things.' The Star has previously reported on incidents when the TDSB has used the ministry's directive to block certain field trips and movie screenings , and censor parts of high school yearbooks . These cases involved matters related to Palestine — along with activities and discussions around Israel and Tibet — reflecting broader concerns the province's directive has largely been used to shut down conversations on the topic. For its part, the TDSB said in an emailed statement to the Star that 'The Ministry directive applies broadly to any school or classroom activity, outside the established curriculum.' But, the board said it does not have a 'specific definition' for what constitutes a political bias. The Star spoke with several TDSB parents and teachers, many of whom did not want their names published due to fears of reprisal from the board and other parents. They recounted stories over the past year of their children feeling afraid or being reprimanded for bringing up certain topics, and educators feeling unable to fully support their students in the classroom. Not everyone is opposed to the directive, however, with some saying the classroom is not a place for discussions around international politics, with one parent in support of the edict adding that educators could still teach students about civics, queer issues and Indigenous history without bringing up politics. When a public speaking competition was coming up at the elementary school of Zoë Wool's child this past year, the west-end parent said students were invited to write a short speech on an important issue. But when Wool's child wanted to talk about Palestine, she said they were told it was 'not a good idea.' Wool said the incident came around the same time the school's principal allegedly put a blanket ban on students sharing their culture in class — but that the ban was later lifted after the principal met with parents. Neither Wool nor her child is Palestinian (they are Jewish), but she worries about the impact the ministry's memo will have on those who are. 'Palestinian families are being given the message by the Ministry of Education that there is something wrong or dangerous or problematic about their very identity and history and that acknowledging their existence puts other kids at risk,' Wool said. If students don't feel safe in the classroom, they become disengaged and less interested in learning, according to Todd Cunningham, a psychology professor at the U of T's Ontario Institute for Studies of Education. This is particularly true if a student feels their identity is being ignored or brushed aside. 'If you are fearful that what you talk about or if you bring up your lived experience in class is going to evoke a negative reaction, then you go quiet or you go defensive,' he said, adding students might experience more anxiety in these situations. Palestinian teachers who spoke to the Star said they, too, felt constrained by the province's edict, even when students ask them questions about their heritage. The watermelon and Palestinian flag pins on the Palestinian teacher's fanny pack. The elementary school educator said she's afraid to answer student questions around the pins. 'I'm too scared,' said a Palestinian TDSB elementary teacher, who explained how she doesn't answer her young students' questions on what the Palestinian flag and watermelon pins attached to her fanny pack represent. The Star agreed to not name the teacher due to her fears of being reprimanded by the TDSB. 'It's truly awful that in a learning environment, I can't freely talk about a country,' she continued. In its emailed statement to the Star, the TDSB said it respects the identities of all its students and staff, and also adheres to the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 'Creating inclusive and supportive learning environments for all students of all identities continues to be our priority,' the board wrote, adding that any concerned parents or caregivers should contact their school's principal. The Ministry of Education did not answer a list of specific questions sent by the Star, instead sending a previous statement defending its edict. 'Schools should be focused on educating students and helping them graduate with strong reading, writing and math skills that lead to good-paying jobs,' Emma Testani, press secretary for Education Minister Paul Calandra, wrote in the emailed statement. Meanwhile Josh Landau, Ontario's director for government relations at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, voiced support for the directive, pointing to a recent report from the federal government on growing concerns of antisemitism in Ontario's K-12 schools. 'When bias goes unchecked, it directly impacts the safety and security of all students,' Landau wrote in an emailed statement. However, those critical of the directive believe the vague language around what constitutes a bias could end up harming students, particularly those from marginalized communities. One such critic, elementary school parent Alice Romo, pointed to the fact that a parent-organized Pride event at her child's school last month felt derailed by the ministry's directive. The event, held every June, typically involves parents bringing in chalk for students to draw art and write LGBTQ-friendly messages on the pavement during class. Rainbow freezie pops are also involved — a treat that the kids always look forward to and that add to the end-of-year excitement, according to Romo. But this year the event was held outside of school hours. 'It did feel like we had to strategically manoeuvre around policies,' Romo said. (She noted that the school's principal said the day after the event that the chalk art could stay, even though it was unclear to her if the event violated the directive at all.) Although students are off on summer break, Romo still worries the ministry's directive will continue to affect her child's learning, pointing to lessons around Canada's colonial history for National Day of Truth and Reconciliation in September. 'Are we going to have to be watering things down and maybe not talk about things as explicitly as we would previously?' she said. 'It feels like we're taking a step backwards.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trudeau radically overhauled the Senate — will Carney keep his reforms?
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau upended 150 years of Canadian parliamentary tradition when he dumped Liberal senators, named Independents to the upper house and generally stripped the place of partisan elements. The experiment produced mixed reviews, with some old-guard senators — those who were there well before Trudeau — arguing the Senate is now irrelevant, slower, less organized and more expensive. Some of Trudeau's appointees say the reforms have helped the Red Chamber turn the page on the near-death experience of the expenses scandal, which they maintain was fuelled by the worst partisan impulses. Defenders of the new regime say partisans are pining for a model that's best left in the dustbin of history. The Senate has been more active in amending government bills and those changes are not motivated by party politics or electoral fortunes — they're about the country's best interest, reformers say. As the debate rages internally over whether the last 10 years of change have been worth it, Prime Minister Mark Carney has said almost nothing about his vision for the upper the current model, would-be senators are recommended by an outside panel but the decision is still up to the prime minister. Most of Trudeau's early picks were strictly non-partisan but, as polls showed his party was headed for an almost certain defeat, he increasingly named Liberals to the chamber. Carney has already scrapped Trudeau's carbon tax, introduced legislation to bypass Trudeau-era regulations, repaired once-frosty relations with the provinces and taken a different approach to the trade war. All that has some senators wondering whether the non-partisan push in the Red Chamber will be the next domino to fall. In an interview with CBC Radio's The House, House leader Steve MacKinnon signalled there may indeed be more changes coming. "I think the Senate is very much a work in progress," he said. "We continue to work constructively with the Senate in its current configuration and as it may evolve. I know many senators, the various groups in the Senate and others continue to offer some constructive thoughts on that." Asked if Carney will appoint Liberals, MacKinnon said the prime minister will name senators who are "attuned to the vagaries of public opinion, attuned to the wishes of Canadians and attuned to the agenda of the government as is reflected in the election results." Carney is interested in senators who "are broadly understanding of what the government's trying to achieve," MacKinnon said. As to whether he's heard about efforts to revive a Senate Liberal caucus, MacKinnon said: "I haven't been part of any of those discussions." Alberta Sen. Paula Simons is a member of the Independent Senators Group, the largest in the chamber and one mostly composed of Trudeau appointees (she is one of them, appointed in 2018). Simons said she knows the Conservatives would scrap Trudeau's reforms at the first opportunity. What concerns her more are those Liberals who are also against the changes. "There's a fair bit of rumbling about standing up a Liberal caucus again. And I am unalterably opposed to that," she said. When the last Liberal caucus was disbanded, some of its members regrouped as the Progressive Senate Group, which now includes senators who were never Liberals. "To unscramble that omelette, whether you're a Liberal or a Conservative, I think would be a betrayal of everything that we've accomplished over the last decade," Simons said. "I think the Senate's reputation has improved greatly as a result of these changes. I think the way we are able to improve legislation has also increased tenfold. It would be foolish and wasteful to reverse that." Still, she said there's been pushback from some Trudeau appointees. Senate debates are now longer, committee hearings feature more witnesses and there's more amendments to legislation than ever before, she said. Not to mention Independent senators can't be whipped to vote a certain way. All of that makes the legislative process more difficult to navigate. "Partisan Liberals don't like the new independent Senate because they can't control it as easily," she said. Marc Gold, Trudeau's last government representative in the Senate who briefly served under Carney before retiring, said his advice to the new prime minister is to keep the Senate the way it is. "The evolution of the Senate to a less partisan, complementary institution is a good thing. I think it's a success, and I certainly hope that it continues," Gold said. On the other side of the divide, Quebec Sen. Leo Housakos, the leader of the Conservative Senate caucus, welcomes the idea of injecting some partisanship. He said, under the current model, the chamber is less influential. "The place has become, unfortunately, an echo chamber," he said. Housakos said the old Senate was more honest, when members were more transparent about their political leanings. Many of Trudeau's Independent appointees are Liberal-minded and their voting record suggests they often align with the government, Housakos said. "Look at how often they've held the government to account," he said. "Look how often they've asked the difficult questions in the moments when the government needed … their feet held to the fire." Simons sees things differently. "It's really difficult for people who've been brought up in a partisan milieu, whether they're Conservative or Liberal or New Democrat, to understand that it is actually possible to be a political actor without a team flag," she said. "It's not my job to stand for a political party." Saskatchewan Sen. Pamela Wallin is a member of the Canadian Senators Group, which is made up of non-partisan senators including some who, like her, formerly sat as Conservatives. She said the current process has produced some senators who are political neophytes, unfamiliar with the Senate's traditional role. "I don't care if somebody belongs to a political party.… I think people need to be better educated about what they're signing up for," she said. "Our job is to be an arbiter of legislation and laws put forward by the House of Commons. It's not a place where we can all ride our individual hobby horses." That's a reference to the proliferation of Senate public bills — legislation introduced by senators themselves. These bills often have no hope of passing through both chambers, while still taking time and resources to sort through. There is data to support Wallin's contention that there are more of these bills than there were before the Trudeau reforms. During Stephen Harper's last term, there were 56 Senate public bills introduced and nine of them were passed into law, according to a CBC News review of parliamentary data. By comparison, Trudeau's final session saw 92 bills introduced over a shorter time period. Only 12 of them passed — a worse success rate. In the first few weeks of this new Parliament, more than 32 such bills have already been introduced, some of them a revival of those that died on the order paper. Wallin said those bills often reflect senators' "personal interests or the interests that they've shared over a lifetime." She wants the Senate to take a "back to basics" approach. "Our job is sober second thought," she said. Wallin is also calling for better regional representation in the Senate, which may be a tricky proposition given the constitutional realities. A change in seat allocation would require cracking open that foundational document, a politically unpalatable idea. Still, Alberta separatists are agitating for change, calling the current breakdown grossly unfair. Housakos said depriving some parts of the country of meaningful representation needs to be addressed. In B.C., for example, the province's nearly six million people are represented by just six senators. P.E.I., by comparison, has four senators for about 180,000 people — an allocation formula that dates back to Confederation. "Western Canada has a legitimate beef. They are not fairly represented in the upper chamber," Housakos said. "It's probably the biggest problem that needs to be addressed." But the government isn't interested in that sort of change, MacKinnon said. "I see no space on the public agenda for constitutional discussions," he said.