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Bonnie Crombie has resigned as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, months after saying she would leave following a tepid leadership vote in the fall.
The resignation takes effect immediately, the party said.
“As we begin a new year, I believe this is the right moment for me and for the party to move forward,” Crombie said in a statement.
“I am incredibly proud of the work we have done together to rebuild and renew our party.”
The former mayor of Mississauga, Ont., decided in September to step down after receiving just 57 per cent support in a leadership vote at the party’s annual general meeting.
“Bonnie stepped forward at a critical moment and played an important role in rebuilding our party, growing our movement and positioning us for the future,” said Kathryn McGarry, president of the Ontario Liberal Party, in a statement.
McGarry said the party will select an interim leader shortly as it works on its leadership process.
The party has not said when that leadership contest will take place. McGarry said a date will be announced soon.
Crombie held the job for two years, but lost decisively to Premier Doug Ford in the February 2025 snap election he called more than a year early.
Crombie led the provincial Liberals back to official party status after they won 14 seats last year, increasing the seat count from nine.
But she failed to win her own seat in Mississauga, and the party did not form the Official Opposition despite receiving nearly 600,000 more votes than Marit Stiles’s New Democrats.
