“This endorsement from Lyn means a lot to me,” Fairclough said. “I feel quite honoured that I’ve got now four previous leaders of the party and, of course, a previous premier that has the confidence that I will be able to lead our party and lead us into a better future in Ontario.”
Ontario Liberal leadership candidate Lee Fairclough has secured the endorsement of former party leader Lyn McLeod.
McLeod, who led the Ontario Liberals from 1992 to 1996, becomes the fourth former party leader to endorse Fairclough, joining Kathleen Wynne, Bob Nixon and Murray Elston.
Speaking to QP Briefing, Fairclough said the endorsement gives her confidence in her ability to rebuild the party.
“This endorsement from Lyn means a lot to me,” Fairclough said. “I feel quite honoured that I’ve got now four previous leaders of the party and, of course, a previous premier that has the confidence that I will be able to lead our party and lead us into a better future in Ontario.”
“These are all people that have done the job themselves.”
Fairclough’s campaign says she has secured 96 publicly announced endorsements, including 15 former cabinet ministers, 16 youth leaders, 21 party figures from Northern and rural Ontario and 11 provincial Liberal association presidents.
Her supporters also include former finance ministers John Manley, Charles Sousa and Greg Sorbara.
The contest now has four candidates remaining, Lee Fairclough, Navdeep Bains, Dylan Marando and Stephanie Bowman, following Eric Lombardi’s withdrawal earlier this month.
Lombardi endorsed Fairclough after dropping out because of fundraising challenges and a lack of a viable path to victory.
Figures provided by her campaign, she had raised $577,474 from 1,229 donors as of October 8, including $462,004 in contributions exceeding $200.
“It feels like there’s a momentum to this campaign that I feel really proud of, that we’ve been able to do as a team,” she said.
Fairclough has also made extensive travel across Ontario a central part of her campaign, visiting 110 of the province’s 124 ridings so far, with plans to reach all of them before the leadership vote on November 21.
Although endorsements from prominent Liberals may help strengthen her credibility within the party, the challenge now is translating that support into votes.
For Fairclough, the most encouraging sign has been the turnout at campaign events across the province.
“I think what’s been really encouraging is the number of people that are showing up in person to these events,” she said. “What’s been really important is people showing up locally.”