New Liberal leader Crombie returns to mayor’s seat in Mississauga … but not for long

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Published December 4, 2023 at 5:12 pm

Mayor Bonnie Crombie returns to Mississauga for short time after leadership win.
A jubilant Mayor Bonnie Crombie basks in the glow of her successful Liberal leadership bid on Saturday in Toronto, where the results of the vote were announced. (Photo: Bonnie Crombie X)

The leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party now securely in hand, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie will return to council chambers this week to once again oversee the business of Canada’s seventh-largest city — but she won’t be around for long.

Crombie, 63, just emerged victorious from the Liberal leadership campaign of the past several months, her political win announced this past weekend in Toronto.

She immediately told reporters that she’d be returning to the mayor’s seat in Mississauga for the next month or so, until early January, giving her ample time to participate in upcoming Mississauga and Region of Peel budgets.

In all likelihood, she’ll be in attendance at this Wednesday morning’s Mississauga meeting of general committee.

When municipal budgets are sent on their way in January, and Crombie resigns her mayoral post to set out on her new political journey, the City of Mississauga will return to its plan of rotating councillors as acting mayor until it can get things in order for a mayoral byelection.

Ward 3 Coun. Chris Fonseca served in Crombie’s place throughout October and November after the latter took a leave of absence on Oct. 6 to focus on her provincial run.

Next up, in turn, would be Ward 4 Coun. John Kovac. Other councillors will then be called upon beyond that, if needed.

Duties of the acting mayor include chairing council and committee meetings and attending official events on behalf of the mayor.

It’s unclear at this point how quickly city officials would have to set up a mayoral byelection to replace Crombie for the duration of the current term.

The next municipal election in Ontario takes place on Oct. 26, 2026.

In the meantime, Crombie, as leader of the Liberals, would have her sights set squarely on taking down Premier Doug Ford in the June 2026 provincial election.

The Mississauga mayor, who served as a Liberal MP from 2008 to 2011, won a third-straight term last fall, earning 77 per cent of the vote in the 2022 municipal election.

A recent insauga.com interview with Mayor Bonnie Crombie.

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