This is a list of results of leadership elections for the Ontario Liberal Party, a political party in Ontario, Canada.
Note: Before 1919, the leaders of the Ontario Liberal Party were chosen by its elected Members of the Legislative Assembly. There were calls for a more open process as early as 1907.
(Held on June 26, 1919 at the Foresters' Hall, 22 College Street, Toronto.)
First ballot:
Second ballot:
Charles Martin Bowman, MPP for Bruce North; W.T.R. Preston, editor of the Port Hope Evening Guide, Rev. W. G. Charlton of Aylmer, and A. J. Young of Toronto were nominated but declined. Frederick Forsyth Pardee, Member of Parliament for Lambton West was to be nominated but sent a message to the convention declining.
(Held on March 3, 1922 at the Foresters' Hall, 22 College Street, Toronto.)
(Note: The vote totals do not appear to have been announced.)
(Held on December 16âÂÂ17, 1930 at the King Edward Hotel in Toronto.)
W.E.N. Sinclair and Sydney Tweed both withdrew from the race before balloting.
(Held on April 30, 1943 at the King Edward Hotel in Toronto.)
There were 8 spoiled ballots. Premier Gordon Conant had also been a candidate but collapsed the morning of the leadership vote and withdrew.
(Held on April 2, 1945 at the King Edward Hotel in Toronto.)
Harry Nixon resigned as Liberal leader on December 10, 1944 and nominated Hepburn to succeed him as parliamentary leader until a leadership convention could be held. Following the defeat of George Drew's Conservative government in a non-confidence motion, Hepburn was elected Acting Leader on April 2, 1945, at a joint meeting held at the King Edward Hotel of Ontario Liberal MPPs, federal Ontario Liberal MPs the party executive and other party officials in order to lead the party into the election. The move was to be affirmed by a party convention to be held on May 1, but this was cancelled due to the 1945 provincial election being underway. Hepburn was defeated in the 1945 provincial election, and Farquhar Oliver was chosen as the Ontario Liberal Party's parliamentary leader on July 4, 1945.
(Held on May 16, 1947 at the King Edward Hotel in Toronto)
(Note: Complete vote totals were not reported. Oliver received 492 of 661 votes cast)
(Held on November 10, 1950 at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto.)
First ballot:
Second ballot (Sullivan eliminated; Hicks, Cox and Hipel withdrew):
Third ballot (Calder eliminated):
(Held on April 9, 1954 at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto.)
(Held on April 20, 1958 at the King Edward Hotel in Toronto.)
First ballot:
Wren eliminated and endorsed Wintermeyer; Whicher and Reaume withdrew and endorsed Wintermeyer.
Second ballot:
Singer eliminated.
Third ballot:
(Held on September 19âÂÂ20, 1964 at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto.)
(Held on January 6, 1967 at the Royal York Hotel, Toronto)
(Nixon was elected interim leader by the caucus on November 16, 1966 following the resignation of Andrew Thompson. Nixon had suggested that Charles Templeton may become permanent leader but members of his caucus spoke in opposition and Templeton decline to run. Nixon was acclaimed as permanent leader at the party's 1967 convention. He announced his resignation as party leader in 1972, but subsequently entered the race to succeed himself in 1973.)
(Held on October 28, 1973 at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto.)
(Held on January 24âÂÂ25, 1976 at the Four Seasons Sheraton Hotel, Toronto)
(Held on February 21, 1982 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, Toronto).
(Held February 8âÂÂ9, 1992 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton.)
(Held November 30 â December 1, 1996 at the Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto)
(Held January 26, 2013 at the Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto)
A leadership contest was trigger when Premier Dalton McGuinty stepped down after nine years in office. Five current and two former members of his cabinet entered the contest. The contest featured two women on the final ballot, and resulted in the first female Premier in Ontario, and the first openly LGBT premier in Canada.
(Held March 6âÂÂ7, 2020 at the International Centre, Mississauga)
(Results announced December 2, 2023 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre)
A leadership election was held December 2, 2023 due to the June 2, 2022 resignation of Steven Del Duca as party leader following his party's poor result in the 2022 Ontario general election.
According to the party, 22,827 party members cast ballots out of a total membership of over 100,000.
(Results announced November 21, 2026 at TBA)
A leadership election will be held on November 21, 2026, due to the resignation of Bonnie Crombie as party leader, following her poor result in a leadership review vote.