Former federal cabinet minister Navdeep Bains has officially entered the race to lead the Ontario Liberals, becoming the first high-profile candidate to formally register.
Bains registered Monday with Elections Ontario to run in the Ontario Liberal leadership race, formally launching a bid that had been the subject of speculation for weeks after QP Briefing and iPolitics first reported in April that senior Liberals were encouraging him to enter the contest.
At the time, party and Bains-linked sources said he had been quietly reaching out to influential Liberals and generating enthusiasm among party insiders, with one source describing “excitement” around a potential candidacy after Bains attended the federal Liberal convention in Montreal.