Steven Del Duca was elected the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party on Saturday, succeeding Kathleen Wynne.
Del Duca now has a monumental task on his hands as he works to rebuild the party that was decimated in the 2018 provincial election.
According to his campaign site, Del Duca has been an active liberal since he was 15 years old.
He studied political science and Canadian history at the University of Toronto and Carleton University. Del Duca also received a Bachelor of Laws degree from Osgoode Hall.
He has been a campaign volunteer, a campus club president, a campaign manager, an MPP and, most notably, a cabinet minister in the Wynne government.
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The son of a Scottish mother and Italian father, Del Duca is a first-generation Canadian. He lives in Vaughan with his wife and two daughters.
He was first elected as an MPP in Vaughan in 2012 and later served as the minister of transportation and minister of economic development and growth.
He wasn’t re-elected in the 2018 provincial election, losing to Progressive Conservative Michael Tibollo.
In his speech before the results were revealed Saturday, Del Duca acknowledged he would have a lot of work to do if he were elected the leader of the party.
“Our road ahead as Liberals will not be easy, because we have a ton of work to do,” he told the party convention in Mississauga.
“We need to raise millions of dollars. We need to find qualified candidates who reflect Ontario’s incredible diversity. And most importantly, we need to forge a platform of compelling ideas that once again inspires people, lets them know they can trust us to govern – because they trust us to be on their side and to fight for them.”
Despite taking on $10 million in debt to help fund the campaign, the Ontario Liberals suffered their worst defeat in history in 2018, losing official party status and prompting Wynne’s resignation.
–With files from the Canadian Press