By Canadian Press

Ontario Liberal caucus will soon drop to five as Lalonde wins federal nomination

Sep 20, 2019 | 12:41 PM

OTTAWA — Ontario’s provincial Liberals have lost another legislator after one of their members won the nomination to run for an Ottawa seat in next month’s federal election.

Marie-France Lalonde was named late Thursday night as the Liberal Party of Canada candidate for Orleans, the same riding she currently holds provincially.

A spokeswoman said Friday that Lalonde is expected to resign from the provincial legislature, meaning the Ontario Liberals will soon number just five members.

“My campaign begins right now,” Lalonde said in a statement. “In the last four months, my team has knocked on thousands of doors.”

Lalonde first won the riding for the party in 2014 succeeding Liberal legislator Phil McNeely.

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During her time in government, she served in a number of cabinet roles including francophone affairs minister and correctional services minister.

Lalonde’s expected departure comes after Nathalie Des Rosiers left her Ottawa-Vanier seat this summer to take a position at Toronto’s Massey College.

Premier Doug Ford will now have to call provincial byelections for the Ottawa ridings, both of which have largely been held by the Liberals over the past two decades.

The Ontario Liberal party went from a majority of seats to just seven — not enough for official party status — in last year’s election that saw the Progressive Conservatives under Ford win a majority.

The defeat was the worst in party history and prompted former premier Kathleen Wynne’s resignation, triggering a leadership race. 

Former cabinet ministers Steven Del Duca, Mitzie Hunter, and Michael Coteau and former party candidates Kate Graham and Alvin Tedjo are running for the party’s top job.

The new leader will be selected at a party convention on March 7, 2020.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2019.

The Canadian Press