Discussions are underway within the Ontario NDP about what to do if no one challenges Marit Stiles in its leadership contest, QP Briefing has learned.

The deadline for candidates to enter the party's leadership race is Dec. 5.

Stiles, who has long been seen as the contest's front-runner, announced her bid on Sept. 22 and remains the only candidate.

New Democrat MPPs Sol Mamakwa, Wayne Gates and Laura Mae Lindo are others who've considered running over the last few months and have yet to rule it out — at least publicly. MPP Chris Glover is another possibility, having more recently been kicking the tires of a possible bid of his own, which he confirmed on Tuesday.

Neither the party's constitution nor its current contest's guidelines account for the possibility of only one leadership candidate registering. So, with less than two weeks to go before the deadline, the party has begun planning what to do in the event that Stiles remains unopposed, according to two senior party sources.

Any changes to the party's leadership election would be decided by the party's chief electoral officer, Éric Hébert-Daly, or its provincial council, the larger of the party's two decision-making bodies.

If Stiles is the only candidate who registers by Dec. 5, she won't just be acclaimed, the two senior NDP sources said. Members will still have the opportunity to vote on the leadership. It could effectively be a confidence vote to confirm or reject Stiles as leader.

READ MORE: Marit Stiles casts herself as the Ontario NDP leader for everyone

Weeks after Andrea Horwath announced she was stepping down as leader of the Ontario NDP after 13 years atop the party, it seemed as though the race to succeed her could be a crowded one.

From the beginning, Stiles was seen as a favourite.

She had been "patiently waiting" for her time to come, one senior party source said. She even laid the groundwork to succeed Horwath before the former leader stepped down by positioning herself as a leader-in-waiting by cozying up with top party brass and attending nomination meetings for candidates in the 2022 provincial election, according to multiple NDP sources.

Since Horwath stepped down, Stiles has spent significant time amassing support. She's criss-crossed the province, lent on-the-ground support to municipal electoral candidates and arranged discussions with prominent members from different sects of the party.

Over this same time, the prospect of her being challenged has dimmed.

A few contestants — suggested by themselves or others — backed out not long after they or others talked up possibly running. Newly elected MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam and Hamilton Centre MP Matthew Green shot down rumours they were interested in the party's top job within about a week of the June 2 election, which was when Horwath announced she was stepping down.

After expressing interest early, MPPs Joel Harden and Catherine Fife backed out in mid-July and late October.

A couple more — namely MPP Jill Andrew, and former MPP Gurratan Singh — who at certain points teased that they were entertaining running have also since faded from the fold, sources in and close to the party have said.

As of Tuesday, almost one-quarter of the NDP's caucus had come out in support of Stiles. Andrew, who hasn't publicly stated she's not running for leader, attended Stiles' campaign launch in September.

Another MPP who hasn't endorsed Stiles recently predicted she'd be the only candidate.

In recent weeks, Stiles has also inched closer to the party's leadership, in a visible sense. She's led off question period, which is typically the responsibility of the leader of the Official Opposition. She's also been a semi-regular staple at post-question period scrums at Queen's Park, alongside interim leader Peter Tabuns, and did a mini-tour of her own at different protests against Bill 28, the Ford government's short-lived notwithstanding clause-equipped legislation that imposed a contract on CUPE-represented education workers.

While some inner-party drama could be avoided by Stiles remaining uncontested, the party stands to suffer in different ways if no other candidates step forward.

The leadership election serves as an opportunity for the party to drum up buzz for the party, grow its membership, and raise money.

"In terms of raising money, in terms of bringing new people into the party, and all of that, it's much more challenging to do when it's just one person," one senior party source said.

For example, each candidate’s campaign expense limit is $900,000, which they’re expected to pay for with cash they fundraise. Any surpluses at the end of the contest must the transferred to the party, as its election guidelines stipulate. Fewer candidates would mean fewer lump sums transferred to the party at the end of the campaign.

Stiles and others from her camp seem to recognize the drawbacks to her running unopposed, as she has encouraged others to challenge her.

To enter the leadership election, candidates must have their nomination signed off on by 100 party members, including certain amounts belonging to certain equity-seeking communities and from specific regions, by Dec. 5. They must also pay $50,000 in registration fees by this date, and have their nomination approved by provincial director Lucy Watson.

The leadership election's guidelines say the campaign will also include two official candidate debates, two candidate meet-and-greets, a candidate "showcase," and its result announcement event on or around its March 2 voting day. If Stiles is still the lone candidate come next Friday, some of these plans could change.

READ MORE: The QP Briefing Podcast: With Marit Stiles, who wants to lead the Ontario NDP

Correction: The Ontario NDP leadership campaign expense limit is $900,000, not $2.3 million, which this story previously stated due to a misreading of the party’s leadership election guidelines. This story was updated at 2:27 p.m.

Ontario NDP planning for possibility that no one challenges Marit Stiles for leader

Read this for free.