TORONTO – A fourth candidate has entered the Ontario Liberal leadership race.
Charles Sousa has announced his candidacy in Mississauga.
Sousa, a former banker, was the province’s Citizenship and Immigration minister and has represented his Mississauga riding since 2007.
He joins former cabinet ministers Sandra Pupatello, Glen Murray and Kathleen Wynne in the race to succeed Premier Dalton McGuinty.
The four hopefuls will likely have more company next week.
Eric Hoskins, former children and youth services minister, resigned his cabinet post earlier this week – a prerequisite for making a leadership bid – and is expected to announce his intentions within days.
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Meanwhile, Gerard Kennedy, who lost to McGuinty in the 1996 leadership race by just 140 votes, said he hasn’t made a decision yet.
A source says John Wilkinson, the former revenue and environment minister who lost his seat in last year’s election, is still considering a bid.
If chosen as the Liberal leader, Sousa says his measures to spur the province’s economy would include supporting the auto sector, investing in new manufacturing in rural Ontario and making immigration work better for the province.
“It’s critical that we create the jobs that will grow our economy and invest in the infrastructure that provide returns for Ontarians” said Sousa. “At the same time, we can’t lose sight of our responsibility to balance the budget by 2017-18.”
McGuinty prorogued the legislature Oct. 15 when he announced he would step down as premier, and has since faced a lot of criticism for the move.
The prorogation killed planned committee hearings into the costly cancellation of two gas plants, as well as a rare contempt motion against embattled Energy Minister Chris Bentley.
McGuinty must also now deal with running the province with a rapidly shrinking cabinet as ministers launch their leadership bids.
Potential candidates have until Nov. 23 to launch their bids. The party will choose McGuinty’s successor the weekend of Jan. 25, 2013, in Toronto.
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