On Monday night, Dalton McGuinty announced that he is resigning his position of the Premier of Ontario and Liberal Party Leader. The Premier has governed the province since defeating Progressive Conservative premier Ernie Eves in 2003. He will keep his seat as an MPP in the riding of Ottawa South until the next election is called. According to party rule, a new leader must be chosen within six months of the resignation.
Source: davidsuzuki.org via OREA on Pinterest
In addition to vacating the Premier’s seat, Dalton McGuinty prorogued the Ontario Legislature until his successor is chosen. This means that all the legislative and committee business will stop until the new leader is chosen and sitting resumes. Follow the link to see the list of bills that received second reading or later, but will not become law unless reintroduced.
Dalton McGuinty expressed his desire to have the new leader elected as soon as possible, potentially by early next year. As of Monday, top Liberal leadership contenders are Energy Minister Chris Bentley, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, Children and Youth Services Minister Eric Hoskins, Health Minister Deb Matthews, Training Colleges and Universities Minister Glen Murray, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Charles Sousa, Municipal Affairs Minister Kathleen Wynne, and party president Yasir Naqvi, the Ottawa Centre MPP.
Some 2,500 Ontario Liberal Party members will select the next premier at the convention likely to happen early next year.
Leave a Reply