OTTAWA – Ontario’s provincial Liberal caucus will soon drop to five, after one of its members won the nomination to run for an Ottawa seat in next month’s federal election.
Marie-France Lalonde was named late Thursday night as the Liberal Party of Canada candidate for Orléans, the same riding she currently holds provincially.
A spokeswoman says Lalonde is expected to resign from the provincial legislature, meaning the Ontario Liberals will soon number just five.
The party went from a majority of seats to just seven – not enough for official party status – in last year’s election that saw the Progressive Conservatives under Doug Ford win a majority.
Lalonde’s expected resignation comes after Nathalie Des Rosiers left her Ottawa-Vanier seat this summer to take a position at Toronto’s Massey College.
Ford will now have to call provincial byelections for the Ottawa ridings.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2019.