Former MP Derek Sloan to lead Ontario Party

Former Hastings, Lennox and Addington member of Parliament Derek Sloan has been appointed as leader of the Ontario Party.

According to a news release, the Ontario Party was formally registered prior to the 2018 provincial election and ran “a small number of candidates.”

“For the past several weeks, I have been in discussions with principled freedom fighters and pro-family advocates throughout the province,” Sloan said. “Finally, we are starting to come together in one place: the Ontario Party.”

The party adds that Sloan and other party officials will release more details regarding “the direction that the Ontario Party will take as it prepares for the next Ontario election.

1:54 Kingston-area politicians react to Derek Sloan announcing that he is trying to launch his own political party

“There is a tremendous desire on the part of social conservatives, libertarians, and defenders of freedom in Ontario for there to be an alternative to the four left-wing parties,” Sloan said.

“The Ontario Party will be that alternative. I can only say a heartfelt ‘thank you’ for making me their leader.”

Sloan was ejected from the federal Conservative caucus in January 2021 while he was a sitting MP in the riding of Hastings, Lennox and Addington. But during the 2021 federal election, he ran as an independent in the riding of Banff-Airdrie, where he eventually lost.