--- language: fr source: https://newleafliberals.com/fr/path-forward generated: 2026-07-24T13:00:16.091Z format: text/markdown purpose: llm-path-forward --- # La voie à suivre Our vision for the Ontario Liberal Party 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 a group of Ontario Liberals dedicated to making the OLP a strong fighting force that can win the next election. United by our Liberal values and a shared sense of community and commitment, we’re committed to building an organization that can win. - PDF: https://newleafliberals.com/path-forward.pdf ## Introduction The Ontario Liberal Party needs to reset, and re-build from the bottom up. After a decade outside of government, we need to honestly evaluate our strengths and weaknesses, and build a political organization that shows Ontarians what value we can bring if elected to form Government. There are passionate people right now, all across this wildly diverse province, meeting in community centres or in living rooms, exchanging ideas in group chats, knocking on doors, and talking to their neighbours about the importance of Ontario Liberal policies for building a better Ontario. They don’t have business cards, they may not have any formal affiliation beyond membership — but they are the Ontario Liberal Party. They are the grassroots foundation of our shared Ontario Liberal movement. The New Leaf Liberals are a committed, passionate group of Ontario Liberals dedicated to turning the OLP into an operation that can win the next election. We do that by advocating for the Party we believe in — one that engages, empowers, and grows our grassroots movement of members across Ontario, supported by and directing an effective, modern, distributed organization. Ontarians are looking for an alternative — a credible, competent, progressive choice — and the political moment is opening for the Party that has done the work of becoming worth choosing. The next Liberal government will be built by a Party that grows itself: present in every region, ambitious about the seats it can win, generous in opening doors, deliberate about developing talent, professional in its operations, and disciplined about doing the unglamorous work that wins elections. We can’t let the Leadership Race be our silver bullet — it hasn’t been. We need to start building this organization from the bottom up, asking the hard questions and rolling up our sleeves. A professional, operationally excellent distributed organization connects it all. Each part strengthens the next, and the Party gets stronger as it goes. That version of the Party is possible — but it requires a new approach. **Get Involved!** Sign up for the New Leaf Liberals newsletter to stay connected with our work to renew the Ontario Liberal Party. - M'abonner: https://newleafliberals.com/fr/newsletters#subscribe ## Empower the Members We believe in a membership that is listened to and shapes policy and communications. Our members are the ones that talk to their neighbours on the sidewalk, in the grocery store, at the local school and hospital. They know the local issues that matter; they know the challenges their communities face under eight years of Doug Ford’s government. Our members, the heart of the party, have valuable local insights that must be heard, and members that are heard are members that stay. And a party that genuinely listens to its members knows how to fight. We believe in a membership that always knows what the Party is doing in their name, and shapes its direction. In our vision of the party, the default is openness directly to each member. In our vision of the party, members are always kept informed, routinely consulted on policy, and given real, frequent, channels to bring their priorities to the Party’s elected representatives. Our annual meetings should prioritize membership engagement and create opportunities for members to contribute meaningfully to our party’s future. We believe in a clear path from a first time door-knocker to PLA president or candidate. In our vision of the party, every Liberal can see how they can grow within the Party. A farm-team approach built on strong volunteer tracking infrastructure and learning and development opportunities identifies people early, develops them through real responsibility, and produces the next generation of candidates and Party leaders. Because the Party that builds a deep bench in opposition is the one that governs well later. We believe in routine regional policy engagement. In our vision of the party, we build on the knowledge-gathering from local membership, through the convening power of engaged PLAs, into routine, predictable, regularly scheduled, policy forums for sharing ideas, honing policy proposals, and connecting members engaged and knowledgeable in particular policy specialties across the region. **Mesures concrètes** - 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 ## Empower the PLAs and Regions Individual members can do even more when they work together and can coordinate effectively. That means stronger and better supported PLAs and regions. We believe in a Liberal organization in every riding, growing year-round. In our vision of the Party, every PLA — in strongholds and in ridings the Party has never held — has the tools, training, and central support to lead its community, recruit locally, and pursue a clear roadmap to victory. They are tied into effective communications tools, can share what works such as templates or email drip strategies with each other, and develop shared best practices. For our Party to win Ontario — and it will be won — we must win it riding by riding, and that means giving each riding the tools and support they need. We believe in PLAs that have real insight and routine say into Party Organization direction. In our vision of the party, the PLAs — the teams that are on the ground in their communities, connected to and focussing the energy of our members, entrusted with developing and electing their Liberal MPP — have constant insight into all aspects of the provincial organization, and can exercise oversight and direction into plans. We believe in earlier, more open nominations that develop the bench. In our vision of the party, nominations open 12–18 months ahead of elections, with open contests welcomed and encouraged, building the candidate strength the Party will need over the next decade. Open nominations are how a Party stays vital, developing its local bench and drawing in new members, not a problem to be managed. It’s imperative we apply equally the requirements to run in a nomination, noting in the 2025 cycle many candidates paid to contend, and many did not. We should remove barriers to political involvement and running for office under our party banner, not strengthen them. **Mesures concrètes** - 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. ## Grow Operational Excellence in an Accountable Party Organization The energy and local knowledge of the PLAs shapes, and is supported by, an effective provincial party organization. We believe in a transparent party organization that is in service to the broader Party. The Party is its members and ridings. The party organization exists to serve the members, to empower the PLAs, and to harness the movement’s energy into a provincial force that can win elections. In our vision, the party organization acts to serve the Party broadly, is transparent in its actions, and supports local activities transparently without intervening or putting thumbs on scales. We believe in a party organization that values operational excellence and professionalism. In our vision, the Party organization routinely performs retrospectives of what is working and what is not, shares those lessons learned, and improves their practices. At any time, the most effective tools available at serving our current needs are used. SOPs are developed, shared, and improved. The time it takes to make a change, or to react to an emerging issue, is tracked, and steadily improves. We believe in a party organization that is effective at fundraising, and transparent in costs. In our vision of the Party, the party organization’s operational excellence extends to fundraising, with routine frank assessments of what is and what is not working, benchmarking against and sharing knowledge with other provincial Liberal parties and like-minded organizations elsewhere. Fundraising results and lessons learned are routinely shared, as are detailed breakdowns of costs and contracts. We believe in party structures and processes that can adapt and evolve. In our vision, the party holds more open, less mediated constitutional amendment processes, ensuring that our party can evolve, at the direction of members, PLAs, and regions, to adapt to changing times and needs. We believe in a party that excels in the digital and organizing space. Our tools have not kept up pace with modern political organizing, and we need to re-evaluate all of our vendor relationships. **Mesures concrètes** - 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. ## Develop Always-On, Modern, Localized Outreach and Communications An effective party organization provides the tools and the capacity to amplify the Party’s voices and help new members find their way to our movement. We believe in a consistent Ontario Liberal voice in every season. In our vision, The Party speaks consistently and clearly to Ontarians year-round, with the rapid-response capacity to lead public conversations on the issues that matter — not just react to them. Because a Party that routinely goes quiet on important issues cannot claim to lead Ontarians. We believe in an Ontario Liberal voice that is community- and issue-aware. In our vision, the Party has the modern (not necessarily expensive), agile, connected communications infrastructure to connect members and nearly-members to the issues and causes that speak to them. In our vision, we give our supporters the opportunity to engage in local issue advocacy, working together at events or petitions or town halls to fan their engagement into something that can make change. In our vision, we email other members of our movement with more than just an ask for money. We believe in a movement that grows itself. In our vision of the Party, Issue campaigns and a connected digital infrastructure bring engaged Ontarians into the Liberal coalition continuously, nudging the nearly-members into members and the members into activists, with every supporter who arrives through central finding their way into local engagement. Because the Party that wins is the one that is growing. **Mesures concrètes** - Prioritize hiring field roles to better support PLAs in off-cycle outreach and organizing - 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!) ## Conclusion Thank you for taking the time to review our vision for our Ontario Liberal Party. This plan isn’t exhaustive, nor is it complete. The work of rebuilding our party is never complete. We’ve highlighted properties in multiple areas of the party — that all come down to a single theme, excellence. We owe it to Ontarians to be excellent. Excellent in the way we run our organization, in how we manage internal elections and nominations, and how we develop and nurture our talent. Without our members, and by extension our volunteers and staff — we can’t deliver the change in government we need so desperately in Ontario. Thank you to the Ontario Liberal Party staff, volunteers, members, and leadership for the work you do in pushing our party forward. We’re eager to work alongside you to continue your work in building a big red machine that can deliver results for our members, our neighbours, and for people across Ontario. ## Acknowledgements This document is the product of the organizing of hundreds of New Leaf Liberals across Ontario. While we’ve learned a lot about the problems plaguing our party from an array of perspectives, from staff, volunteers, members, and every stakeholder in between, a small group was instrumental in putting this roadmap together. Thanks to Jonathan Dursi, Brad Rubinoff, Tyler Smale, Connor Peters, and others — for their extensive efforts on this roadmap. Thank you to our New Leaf Leadership, including Evan Sambasivam, Noah Parker, Nathaniel Arfin, Jennifer Alexander, Pat Robinson, and Evan Scrimshaw. Finally, thank you to the 100+ regular New Leaf Members who contributed in some way towards this ever-evolving group, and the over 600+ OLP members who have engaged with the New Leaf organization since we launched in mid-2025.