Queen’s Park, Toronto — DXR (2017)
Our vision for the Ontario Liberal Party
La voie à suivre
Notre vision pour le Parti libéral de l’Ontario — une feuille de route pour autonomiser les membres, renforcer les ALP et bâtir une organisation capable de gagner.
Traduction française à venir. Le manifeste ci-dessous est pour l’instant disponible en anglais.
We are Ontario Liberals building a strong fighting force that can win the next election and defeat Doug Ford. United by our Liberal values and shared commitment, we are building an organization that can win.
Introduction
The Ontario Liberal Party needs a fresh start, built from the ground up. After more than ten years outside of government, we must honestly look at our strengths and weaknesses. We need a political organization that shows Ontarians what we can do when we are elected.
Right now, across this big and diverse province, passionate people are meeting in community centres and living rooms. They are sharing ideas in group chats, knocking on doors, and talking with neighbours about why Ontario Liberal values matter for building a better Ontario. Some do not have business cards or formal roles — but they are the Ontario Liberal Party. They are the grassroots heart of our movement.
New Leaf Liberals is a dedicated group working to turn the OLP into a winning organization. We push for a Party that engages members, builds grassroots energy across Ontario, and runs an effective modern organization.
Ontarians want a real choice — a credible, progressive alternative. The next Liberal government will be built by a Party that grows itself: visible in every region, ambitious about winnable seats, open to new people, focused on developing talent, professional in its work, and disciplined about the hard tasks that win elections.
We cannot treat the Leadership Race as our only answer — it has not been. We must build from the bottom up, ask tough questions, and do the work. A professional and well-run organization connects everything. Each part makes the next stronger. That version of our Party is possible — but it needs a new approach.
Sarnia, Ontario — Perry Quan (2010)
Empower the Members
A party that listens to its members knows how to fight.
We believe members shape policy and communications. Our members talk with neighbours on the sidewalk, at the grocery store, school, and hospital. They know the local issues that matter. They know how eight years of Doug Ford has affected their communities. Our members have valuable local insight. Members who are heard are members who stay. A party that listens knows how to fight.
We believe members should always know what the Party is doing in their name. In our vision, openness is the default. Members are kept informed, regularly asked for their views on policy, and have real channels to share priorities with our elected representatives. Annual meetings should focus on member engagement and create real chances to contribute to the party’s future.
We believe in a clear path from first-time volunteer to PLA president or candidate. Every Liberal should see how they can grow. A farm-team system with strong volunteer tracking and learning opportunities finds people early, develops them through real responsibility, and produces the next generation of candidates and leaders. The Party that builds depth in opposition is the one that governs well later.
We believe in routine regional policy engagement. We build on local knowledge from members and engaged PLAs through regular, predictable policy forums. These forums share ideas, sharpen proposals, and connect members with policy expertise across the region.
Prochaines étapes
- Comprehensive emailers to broaden the stories, features, and linked opportunities available to party members
- Policy/Engagement Sessions with Regional MPPs, where members can meaningfully engage in the political process with our MPPs
- Comprehensive Update to Volunteer Tracking, where members’ contributions to our party can be tracked, leveraged, acknowledged, and rewarded
- Create a cadence for Policy Conventions, so members are better able to organize and put forward policy proposals, and so that the platform better reflects the will of the membership
- Barrier-free AGMs by adding remote participation, lower-cost entry, and a renewed focus on engaging members and soliciting their feedback
Stratford, Ontario — Chris Woodrich (2025)
Empower the PLAs and Regions
Ontario is won riding by riding.
Individual members can do more when they work together and coordinate effectively. That means stronger and better supported PLAs and regions.
We believe in a Liberal organization in every riding, growing year-round. Every PLA — in strongholds and in ridings we have never held — needs tools, training, and central support to lead its community, recruit locally, and pursue a clear path to victory. PLAs should share what works, swap templates and email strategies, and develop best practices together. To win Ontario, we must win it riding by riding. That means giving each riding the tools and support it needs.
We believe PLAs should have real insight and a routine say in Party Organization direction. PLAs are the teams on the ground in their communities. They focus the energy of our members and are entrusted with developing and electing their Liberal MPP. They should have constant insight into the provincial organization and the ability to shape plans.
We believe in earlier, more open nominations that develop our bench. Nominations should open 12–18 months before elections. Open contests should be welcomed and encouraged. They build the candidate strength we will need over the next decade. Open nominations keep a Party vital, developing local teams and drawing in new members. We must remove barriers to running for office, not strengthen them.
Prochaines étapes
- Overhaul to Nominations, removing financial barriers to contend, digitizing the nomination voting process, removing legacy policies (ex: the tythe), formalizing next steps for both successful and unsuccessful candidates, encouraging contested races
- It’s critical we run nominations cleanly, professionally, and leveraging modern technology.
- Updated Email Platform, the financial barrier and the lack of accessible templates for PLA emailers is a key reason we’re not successful in local email outreach
- Update & Implement a Field Program, making party resources available to PLA’s for community events, including branded tents, table cloths, banners, etc.
Muskoka, Ontario — Mark (2010)
Grow Operational Excellence in an Accountable Party Organization
A professional party organization in service to the movement.
The energy and local knowledge of PLAs shapes, and is supported by, an effective provincial organization.
We believe in a transparent organization that serves the broader Party. The Party is its members and ridings. The organization exists to serve members, empower PLAs, and turn the movement’s energy into a provincial force that can win. It should act transparently and support local activities without putting thumbs on the scale.
We believe in operational excellence and professionalism. The organization should routinely review what is working, share those lessons, and improve. The best available tools should serve our needs. Standard operating procedures should be developed, shared, and improved. Time to make changes or respond to issues should be tracked and steadily reduced.
We believe in effective fundraising with transparent costs. The same operational excellence should apply to fundraising: frank assessments of what works, benchmarking against other provincial Liberal parties, and shared knowledge. Fundraising results, lessons learned, and detailed breakdowns of costs and contracts should be shared openly.
We believe in structures and processes that can adapt and evolve. The Party should hold more open constitutional amendment processes. This ensures our Party can evolve at the direction of members, PLAs, and regions to meet changing needs.
We believe in a Party that excels in the digital and organizing space. Our tools have not kept pace with modern political organizing. We need to re-evaluate all vendor relationships.
Prochaines étapes
- Publish executive and provincial council meeting minutes for membership, better define roles and responsibilities of elected, appointed, and hired positions.
- Prioritize our people — filling the long-vacant roles in our party, and prioritize financial resources to hire and retain talented employees. Create continuity plans, and build a bench for our party. We can’t expect great results unless we pay and plan for them. We need to train, retain, and enable the next generation of OLP staff and volunteers.
- Create a comprehensive fundraising plan, with annual KPIs, with quarterly reporting to EC/PC.
- Better delineation between the OLP and LCSB, where responsibilities start and finish, and increased accountability for results based on previously determined responsibilities.
- Re-evaluate our tech stack, from our relationship with Data Sciences to our website/social media accounts. We need a fresh start, with a cost-effective platform that works for our staff and our membership.
London, Ontario — Scott Webb (2020)
Develop Modern and Localized Outreach and prioritize our People
A consistent Liberal voice, year-round.
An effective organization provides the tools to amplify the Party’s voice and help new members find our movement.
We believe in a consistent Ontario Liberal voice in every season. The Party should speak clearly to Ontarians year-round. It needs rapid-response capacity to lead conversations on the issues that matter — not just react to them. A Party that goes quiet on important issues cannot claim to lead.
We believe in a community-aware Ontario Liberal voice. The Party needs modern, agile communications to connect members and newcomers to the issues they care about. Supporters should have chances to engage in local advocacy through events, petitions, and town halls. We should email our community with more than just requests for money.
We believe in a movement that grows itself. Issue campaigns and connected digital tools bring engaged Ontarians into our coalition. Nearly-members become members, members become activists. Every supporter who arrives through central outreach should find their way into local engagement. The Party that wins is the one that is growing and investing in its people.
Prochaines étapes
- Prioritize hiring field roles to better support PLAs in off-cycle outreach and organizing and develop our people.
- Add more volunteer roles to the OLP, giving members wishing to get more involved the opportunity to do so (ex: volunteer field coordinator, communications assistant, social media coordinator, etc)
- New comms materials for segments, including an emailer for RTC, FF, Volunteers, and other member tiers (give people a reason to contribute financially!)
Brockville, Ontario — Wladyslaw (2009)
Conclusion & Next Steps
Thank you for reading our vision for the Ontario Liberal Party. This plan is not exhaustive, and the work of rebuilding is never complete. We have highlighted key areas across the organization — all pointing to one main theme: excellence.
We owe it to Ontarians to be excellent. Excellent in how we run our organization, how we manage internal elections and nominations, and how we develop our people. Without our members, volunteers, and staff, we cannot deliver the change Ontario needs.
Thank you to the OLP staff, volunteers, members, and leadership for your work moving our Party forward. We look forward to working alongside you to build a machine that delivers results for Ontarians.
Acknowledgements
This document comes from the work of hundreds of New Leaf Liberals across Ontario. We have learned about the challenges facing our party from staff, volunteers, members, and many others. A small group was key in creating this roadmap. Thanks to Jonathan Dursi, Brad Rubinoff, Tyler Smale, Connor Peters, and others for their work.
Thank you to our New Leaf Leadership including Evan Sambasivam, Noah Parker, Nathaniel Arfin, Jennifer Alexander, Pat Robinson, and Evan Scrimshaw. And thank you to the 100+ regular New Leaf members who have contributed to this growing group, and the 600+ OLP members who have engaged with New Leaf since we launched in mid-2025.