Former Liberal Party Candidate Greg Dempsey Gives Endorsement For Upcoming Leadership Race

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Former 2022 Ontario Liberal Party Peterborough–Kawartha candidate Greg Dempsey has officially endorsed Bonnie Crombie to lead the Ontario Liberals for the province.

Photo courtesy of Zachary Hatton.

Crombie vies to become the Liberal leader for the upcoming provincial election in June of 2026, challenging current Premier Doug Ford (Conservatives).

Crombie currently serves as the Mayor of Mississauga and has been an MP for Mississauga-Streetsville from 2008-11.

“We came close to winning Peterborough–Kawartha last year but just didn't have the leadership we needed,” said Dempsey. “Bonnie’s been elected as an MP, she’s led a city, she’s competent, strong, inclusive. But most importantly, she scares the heck out of Doug Ford. With Bonnie as leader, I believe that we’ll beat Dave Smith, evict Doug Ford from the Premier's office and make our province the caring place it can and should be.”

“I am so grateful to have the support of Greg Dempsey,” said Crombie. “Everywhere I go, I am seeing a spark across the Liberal Party. People are proud to be Liberal again. We are re-energized and ready to win in 2026!”

Former Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca (left) endorsed Greg Dempsey (right) during the last provincial election last year. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Liberal leadership election votes are this Saturday. Citizens in the Peterborough—Kawartha riding can vote at the Peterborough Lions Community Centre (347 Burnham St.) from 2 - 7 p.m.

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From Harper Garage to a Peterborough Petes Hockey Jersey: Michael Ignatieff Works (and Charms) Local Crowd

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It was his joke about getting the Liberal bus repaired at Harper garage that got the crowd at the Holiday Inn in Peterborough laughing.

It was his earnest and hard-hitting speech about the need for the Liberal Party to lose its sense of entitlement and to earn back the right to hold power that won the respect of the mostly Liberal crowd.

Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, here on Wednesday as part of a summer bus tour across Canada he's on, delivered a rousing speech (see the best part in the video above) which painted a powerful picture of where Harper has been leading the country (to the right of centre and into increasingly secretive, undemocratic turf) and where the Liberal Party intends to take it once again (back to the centre political turf defined by Lester B. Pearson, Pierre Elliott Trudeau and other Liberal Party icons).

Ignatieff—who was accompanied by key members of the Liberal team, as well as his wife Zsuzsanna Zsohar— touched upon the G20 summit, the proposed changes to the census, prorogation, and other hot-button issues.

Peterborough Federal Liberal Candidate Betsy McGregor thanked Ignatieff for his comments and presented him with the Peterborough equivalent of the keys to the town: a Peterborough Petes hockey jersey.

—video and text by Ann Douglas, PtboCanada contributor

[Michael Ignatieff - Holiday Inn, Peterborough: Liberal Express Tour - Part I; Michael Ignatieff - Holiday Inn, Peterborough: Liberal Express Tour - Part II; Betsy McGregor Thanks Michael Ignatieff; Presents Him With a Peterborough Petes Hockey Jersey]   

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