Ontario Green Party Leader Won’t Cross to the Liberals After Brief Recruitment Attempts

Green Party of Ontario Leader Mike Schreiner in a file photo. (Geoff Robins/The Canadian Press)

Mike Schreiner will be continuing as the leader of the Ontario Green Party and has declined an offer to run as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party.

The MPP for Guelph was the target of the Draftmike.ca campaign, in which a group of Ontario Liberals wrote an open letter to Schreiner on Jan. 29, urging him to run for leader of the Liberals.

On Jan. 20, Schreiner said he would “think about” the offer, but said at the time he had “no ambition to lead any other party.”

On Feb. 21, Schreiner announced in a statement that he will be staying put. “We need strong Green voices at Queen’s Park to remain focused on the need for climate action,” he posted on Twitter.

Stating he was inspired by thousands of people who reached out over the last three weeks to share their thoughts on the future of Ontario, Schreiner said he had “unfinished work” he would continue with his current party.

“I’ve taken the time to listen, consult my constituents in Guelph and people across Ontario to talk about a better way forward. I’ve asked myself and others how I can best make a positive difference in building the Ontario we truly want. The answer for me is as the leader of the Ontario Green Party,” he said.

Campaign

Schreiner has been leader of the party since 2009 and was elected as an MPP in 2018, holding the only Green Party seat in the province’s legislature. The letter asking him to quit the Greens and move to the Liberals was signed by a long list of 40 Liberals including former Deputy Premier Deb Matthews, and Greg Sorbara, Liz Sandals, and John Milloy, all former Liberal cabinet ministers. It was also signed by former candidates and supporters.

“All of us have followed your career and the clarity of purpose that you have shown in your political life is an inspiring contrast to the cynicism that dominates our politics today,” the open letter said.

The letter suggested that Schreiner’s ability to connect and motivate young people and activists, as well as his ability to “speak with both passion and authority,” would make him an ideal leader.

The letter and campaign to recruit Schreiner was not endorsed by the party.

“We want to stress that this is not a vote of non-confidence in our party or the many talented individuals who have expressed an interest in potentially leading it. This is an effort to open up our party and move beyond the narrow scope of traditional partisan politics,” said the letter.

Schreiner, who did not respond to an interview request by press time, said the people of Ontario “want a strong progressive movement to push back against the Ford government’s attack on our public health care system.”

He also said he heard from thousands of people who were unhappy with Ford’s “Scheme to pave over our Greenbelt, farmland and wetlands” and said he had heard criticism over Ford’s policies on climate action, affordable housing, and those living in poverty.

The Liberals have had no permanent leader since June 2022. At an annual general meeting scheduled for March 3–5 in Hamilton, Ontario, a number of rules for a leadership race are expected to be voted on, which may restrict candidate selection.