Q&A: Ontario Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie discusses platform for Ottawa

Strategic campaigning: Ontario Liberal Party Leader Bonnie Crombie campaigned in Ottawa on Sunday to try and keep support in an area of the province that is crucial to her party's success. 

Four of the nine Ontario Liberal seats are in Ottawa: John Fraser in Ottawa South, Stephen Blais in Orleans, Lucille Collard in Ottawa-Vanier, and Karen McCrimmon in Kanata-Carleton. 

For the most part they are all Liberal strongholds with the east end of the city almost always voting red. But Kanata-Carleton could flip: McCrimmon won the area in a 2023 by-election after PC MPP Dr. Merilee Fullerton resigned by 800 votes.

Some could flip: The Liberals also hope to pick up some new seats in the Capital. They are eyeing Ottawa Centre, where incumbent NDP MPP Joel Harden is leaving Queen’s Park to try for the same job on Parliament Hill. That riding commonly flips between the two centre-left parties and was previously represented by Liberal MPP Yasir Naqvi. 

There is also some hope for Nepean. While it’s been a PC stronghold for decades, incumbent MPP Lisa MacLeod is retiring from politics after almost two decades. The Liberals are again running Tyler Watt who might be a familiar name. The nurse by trade also ran there in 2022 and came in second place with only about a 2,000 vote difference — MacLeod’s smallest margin to victory ever. 

The Lookout had the chance to sit down with Crombie during a campaign stop in Kanata to hear about her platform specifically for Ottawa. Answers have been edited for length and clarity. 

Crombie says more supports for Ottawa transit and healthcare are needed 

Lookout: You're running to be the next Premier of Ontario. One of the most common complaints that comes from Ottawa residents is Doug Ford is too Toronto-centric. You’re the former Mayor of Mississauga. So how would you be different? 

Crombie: Ottawa has never been a priority for the Premier. I’m not sure he can find it on a map. He never comes here. He’s never come here in times of crisis whether it was the convoy or the tornado or anytime. I love Ottawa. I had a federal career here. My son lives here. I love coming to Ottawa and so I make it a priority to return often. 

I think a focus on (Ottawa) priorities has been lacking. I have experience as a businessperson, as a leader and as a politician. I’ve run a government in the third-largest city in this province for a decade, so I have strong governing experience. I come from very humble beginnings.

I think I understand what the people need. People are afraid for their jobs. This is a time of crisis. But they are also worried about the basics. This is a premier who’s focused on his rich friends and insiders, not the people of Ontario. There are people getting ahead, but it’s not regular people, it’s not Ontario families. 

Lookout: So what would some of your priorities specifically for Ottawa be?

Crombie: I want to talk to the Mayor about his infrastructure and transit needs. Obviously the LRT and prioritizing Infrastructure for transit. 

But you know my most critical priority for Ottawa, but also everywhere, is healthcare and continued access to family doctors. There are 275,000 individuals in the Ottawa area who don't have access to a family doctor and specifically, here partially in Ottawa, we need healthcare in French-language services. 

Bringing back affordability for people. Removing tax off of home heating and healthcare, bringing down prices. But I’m also concerned about the mental health and addictions crisis which Ottawa feels acutely. There are parts of the city that we are concerned about. We need a provincial strategy with the attached funding that goes with it. You can’t leave mayors and councils to fund these priorities on their own on the back of the municipal taxpayer. 

• Background: According to statistics released at the beginning of January,  the average cost of an apartment in Ottawa was $2,165 a month in December 2024. Average rents in Ottawa in December ranged from $1,646 for a bachelor to $2,498 for a two-bedroom apartment, wrote CTV. And if you’re looking to purchase a home, the average price in December was $663,781 — up 4.4 per cent from the year before.

Lookout: You mentioned transit as being a priority. As I’m sure you’re aware, Mayor Sutcliffe launched his ‘Fairness for Ottawa’ campaign last year and has been pleading with the province for transit operating costs. What would you be putting on the table?

Crombie: We are talking about a 50/50 split. I think Toronto got a better deal than Ottawa and we need to fix that. 

Lookout: Your candidate in Ottawa Centre, Thomas Simpson, has suggested offloading the LRT system onto the province. He says that would not only save the money loads on transit, but also open up possibilities for a future Go Transit-like system in Eastern Ontario. Is that on the table?

Crombie: This is something to look at. I know that there have been discussions in the past with Ottawa and Toronto about their transit services. The subway, the LRT. That’s something I want to look at a little bit more closely. As a former mayor I have that kind of experience and I know the burden the operating costs can be on a city. 

• Background: OC Transpo is currently facing a $120 million shortfall due to low ridership and the cost of LRT. Mayor Sutcliffe has also previously stated many times that Ottawa isn’t getting the same amount of transit funding than Toronto, and the numbers are there to prove it: The Toronto economic region received per-resident Transit subsidies of $191 in 2022-23, while Ottawa's region — which also includes five other transit agencies in eastern Ontario — got $59.61. In 2024-2025 Toronto's per-resident subsidy rose to $196.49, whereas Ottawa's fell to $31.91, reported CBC.