How to revive the Ontario Liberal party

Hurt; angry; chastened. That’s the space many Ontario Liberals are in as Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservatives prepare to govern and the NDP assumes the role of official opposition.

Meanwhile, many Liberal voters and partisans, current and former, are still unpacking the question: How and why did the party and Premier Kathleen Wynne, despite their achievements, become so unpopular?

There are many possible explanations — duration in office; scandal; disconnectedness from the public; major policy decisions; misogyny and the doublestandards imposed on women leaders. The path forward for Liberals could be informed by the leadership candidate who has the most persuasive answer to that question.

But there are other ways to begin talking about the rebuilding of liberalism. We could ask what aspects of its values or political organization need to be preserved or changed, and to see the question not through the needs of a party, but the needs of the public. These questions are being asked by centrist and liberal political parties under stress in democracies around the world.

On values, expect a debate around the size of government — an important but classic left/right fight. A different way to think about these kinds of debates is to prefer bold ideas over old ones.

Liberalism (the philosophy, not the party) is at its best when it brings forward ambitious policies for more empowered people and more prosperous, clean and healthy communities. McGuinty- and Wynne-era reforms as wide-ranging as the Greenbelt, an improved Canada Pension Plan spurred by provincial advocacy and a more generous, revamped OSAP regime all show you don’t necessarily need more spending to be ambitious. Boldness and ambition must continue at the core of the liberal story, but better informed and in response to neglected threats. A feeling of economic insecurity exists not just in some regions or demographics but in people and families across the province. A more ambitious liberal response would have an unyielding commitment to education that is both accessible and of a high quality, available in any community at all ages and stages in life.

Bold ideas that seize the imagination will flow from this focus on the economy and education’s role in growing it by empowering people and communities. And, more generally, liberals need to be bolder in developing and telling their story about what is needed to grow the economy that benefits the many, and the planet.

There are other areas where liberals could take some bold stands in response to the public’s needs. There is growing evidence that concentrations of power stifle innovation and leave people and communities vulnerable to decisions made by others. Liberals could go back to the wellspring of their values with fresh eyes to see where those concentrations of power exist, and to provide new solutions. In all of this, the ambition must come through conversations and hard work. Ambition that is cooked up in a bubble or overly reliant on gurus will not resonate.

Rather, liberals need to reconnect to people and communities who will devel- op and champion those ideas. That requires an ability to discern situations where powerful stakeholders put forward ideas that do not represent the public interest or liberal values.

It also requires the cultivation of a culture of dissent and a willingness to learn in public, a necessary condition for growth and for the ability of a new generation of liberal leaders to question the assumptions they have inherited — even as it generates some hard feelings and negative headlines along the way.

Finally, the party itself could be reimagined, so that it becomes an attractive option to be engaged beyond leadership or nomination contests.

Where the facts on the ground change, liberal political philosophy calls for new leadership and new solutions.

An opportunity will soon exist to articulate a new space where the majority of the population still sits, and to develop new ideas and ways of thinking and working to respond to their needs.

Boldness and ambition must continue at the core of the liberal story, but better informed and in response to neglected threats