TORONTO – Members of the Ontario gathered at old Maple Leaf Gardens Friday to begin the liberal leadership convention and pay tribute to current leader and Premier Dalton McGuinty.
After a lengthy tribute featuring McGuinty’s family and some of his performers, the premier took the stage to deliver one final speech as the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party.
Below is a transcript of McGuinty’s final speech:
“Thank you.
What a great party this is. And what a great Party you are.
Bienvenue à mes amis Libéraux de l’Ontario…Bienvenue au Congrès à la direction de notre Parti. La province est grande et certains d’entre vous viennent de très loin. Je vous remercie d’être ici.
You know as I think about it, it all started right here.
It was here, 16 years ago, when they announced the results that Terri grabbed me, leaned over and gently whispered in my ear: “You said you weren’t going to win.”
This building has changed a lot since then. It’s been renewed.
And that’s what our party is doing this weekend: We are renewing ourselves with new leadership, new members, new ideas, and new energy.
And speaking of energy – I am so proud of our leadership candidates and their campaign teams.
Thank you for caring so deeply about the future of our party.
On behalf of all of us – to Charles, Eric, Gerard, Glen, Harinder, Kathleen, and Sandra – thank you and congratulations on running campaigns we can all be proud of.
And please join me in thanking everyone who has served on our party executive these many years. Our caucus stands on your shoulders and the shoulders of all our party members and you have never once let us down.
To Yasir and the current executive, thank you for doing such a great job organizing our leadership convention on such short notice.
I’m here tonight to celebrate all of you, my Ontario Liberal friends, because you have made a difference in the lives of Ontarians.
A big difference.
And you did it by working together.
You started by making a difference for our Party. We had won only one election in 50 years. So we recommitted ourselves, re-organized ourselves and found new confidence in ourselves.
And Ontarians found new confidence in us.
This was long, hard work. There were ups and downs. Good days and not so good days. But you stuck to it. And you stuck by me. And for that, I am very grateful.
Together, for seven years, we earned our stripes in opposition. And then we won.
And we won.
And we won.
I want to acknowledge every single member of every election campaign team right across Ontario and I especially want to recognize the leadership and energy of our own Greg Sorbara.
Gagner n’est pas tout dans la vie, mais en politique, c’est le meilleur moyen de transformer la vie d’autrui. Nos victoires politiques ne doivent rien au hasard. Elles sont le fruit d’un dur labeur. D’une collaboration.D’une fidélité à nos idéaux.
Winning isn’t everything in life, but in politics, it’s the best way to make a difference for others.
There is no big secret to our political victories. We worked hard. We worked together. We stayed true to ourselves. And we held fast to our belief that Ontarians are all in this together.
We touch one another. We need one another. And we are at our best when we work, build and dream together.
Ontario Liberals understand: It’s not about us. It’s always about Ontarians.
We’re here – we exist as a party – to champion their schools, their health care, their jobs, their future, their hopes, their dreams.
My friends, inspired by Ontarians, you turned our province around. Because we were headed in the wrong direction. The last government had Ontario in a race to the bottom with cuts to our schools, our health care and our environmental protections.
For nine years now, we have been building Ontario for the future by getting the big things right for families, today.
So we’ve gone from struggling schools to the best schools in the English-speaking world.
From Canada’s longest wait times to Canada’s shortest.
From dirty, coal-fired electricity to clean energy, clean air and 30,000 new jobs.
And when the recession came, we stood up for Ontario families by stepping up for Ontario jobs. We protected 485,000 jobs in the auto sector and we created hundreds of thousands more – building infrastructure like roads, public transit, schools and hospitals.
And to power our economy in the coming years we made room for 200,000 more young people in our colleges and universities and apprenticeship programs.
Ontario’s workforce, Ontario’s workforce is now one of the best trained and educated, anywhere. It’s no wonder we’re Canada’s number one destination for international investment and that we’re creating nearly one half of our country’s new jobs.
Ontario is now in a different race: We’re in the race to the top.
Now, we compete with the best talent and the highest quality of life for the best jobs, the best pay and the brightest future.
Ontario Liberals, you did that!
Think back for a moment. Sixteen years ago, when we began our journey together, the world was decidedly a different place.
There were no Blackberrys, no smartphones of any kind. Google and Wikipedia didn’t exist. There was no social media – no Facebook, no YouTube, no Twitter.
The tragedy of 9-11 and its profound geo-political consequences had not happened. And China and India had yet to tilt the balance in the global economy.
All that has changed our world. To say nothing of the recession, the most powerful global economic event in 80 years.
My friends, Ontarians have gone through a period of massive change.
And because of your good work, together Ontario has come out stronger and better prepared for a future of unrelenting change.
This is what Ontario Liberals do. We embrace change. We shape it to meet the needs of all Ontarians. We are relentless reformers.
Nobody put it anybody than Laurier when he said: “I am a Liberal. I am one of those who think that everywhere, in human things, there are abuses to be reformed, new horizons to be opened up, and new forces to be developed.”
And today in North America, Ontario is first with the best educated workforce.
We’re the first to offer full-day kindergarten to our children….The first to offer nurse-practitioner clinics to our families….The first to shut down coal ….Which makes us first in the fight against climate change.
We’re first in auto production, first in stem cell research, and first in the world with the highest rate of cancer survival and the largest protected Greenbelt.
Ontario Liberals, you did that!
Being first …leaning into the future with strength and optimism …is exactly where we need Ontario to be.
Ontarians are now ready, willing and able to successfully carry out every generation’s most important work: To build an even better Ontario for our children.
Durant mes 22 années de vie publique, j’ai beaucoup appris sur la politique. J’ai appris de vous, d’autres politiciens et de l’histoire. Beaucoup de choses peuvent nous inspirer, mais rien ne m’a plus inspiré que l’engagement altruiste que la génération plus âgée a pris d’assurer un avenir plus radieux à la nouvelle génération.
I saw this in my own parents and how hard they worked and how much they sacrificed for me and my nine brothers and sisters and I see this every day in the eyes and actions of Ontario families.
I believe our love for our children has been the foundation of human progress.
Since the dawn of humanity, we have wanted to build a better, safer, happier world for our children. And that, at heart, is the solemn responsibility we have been carrying out as Ontario Liberals. Building that bright future…building a strong economy and a caring society.
This, as we well know, my friends, is exacting, imperfect work.
We can be proud we got the big things right while seeing with clear eyes there’s still much more to do.
Getting it done will take leadership. Ontario Liberal leadership.
And I’m proud to say the future is in good hands. Our party has never been stronger…and our province never better positioned to seize opportunities in the global economy.
Again, Ontario Liberals, you did that!
This weekend you will take the next step in securing a bright future for our party and our province by choosing a new leader and new Premier of Ontario.
It’s the best job in the world.
To all of you – my Ontario Liberal friends, to my incredibly hard working staff, and to all our volunteers- for everything you have done for me…for your support, your advice, your encouragement, your hard work, your loyalty and above all, your friendship: I thank you.
You and I are now family. Just don’t expect me to remember all your birthdays. Just what a McGuinty needs, more family.
I also want to thank all the members of our Ontario Liberal caucus with whom I have served during the past 22 years.
You have inspired me with your public service. And I consider it a great honour to have served alongside you. You know that my dad taught me that politics is an honourable profession.
It was true then and it’s still true today.
My only regret is that my dad never saw me enter public life. I am grateful for the support my mom has given me and I am so proud she could be here tonight.
Many kind things have been said to me of late.
Let me say this: If I have been able to do good for others, it’s because of all the good things my parents did for me.
Thank you so much, mom.
And to my brothers and sisters: Joyce, Liseanne, Dylan, Patrick, David, Michael, Anne Marie, Brendan and Noralyn – and to your families – thanks for all your love, all your hard work and your patience.
You have never been bystanders in all of this. You have been energetic, tireless volunteers I could always count on.
Thank you.
To Terri, Carleen, Dalton Jr., Liam and Connor – you have been my rock.
You gave me the strength I needed by making our home a place where premiers and politics counted for nothing, but where being a dad and a husband count for everything.
Thanks for all your love. I hope I made you as proud of me as I am of you.
I have one final thank you I want to make.
And that’s to the people of Ontario….because I’m not sure if you truly understand just how magnificent and inspirational you are.
Whenever I tell your story in other parts of the world, people grow wide-eyed with wonder at all you have built together…at the extraordinary quality of life you have made for yourselves and your children …and at how bright your future is.
Ontario … the world looks to you with envy and awe.
And it has been my joy and honour to serve you as your premier.
And for that, I thank you.
In closing, to you, my Ontario Liberal friends, I ask you always to remember how we succeed:
We work hard.
We work together.
We are true to ourselves.
And we put Ontarians first.
I thank you for your friendship and I leave you with the words of a poet:
“Someday, the light will shine like a sun through my skin
And they will say, what have you done with your life?
And though there are many moments I think I will remember,
In the end, I will be proud to say, I was one of us.”
My friends, it’s been great being one of us …
One of the Ontario Liberal Party.
Thank you.”
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