SCOOP — Bonnie Crombie is running for Mississauga mayor.
Publicly, Crombie is playing it cool. “I care deeply about Mississauga and the people of Mississauga,” she said in a statement. “The residents deserve strong, experienced and accountable leadership. I’m listening closely to people and will have more to say soon.”
But sources say Mississauga’s ex-mayor, who has already collected the required signatures, is expected to register as early as next week. Crombie has spent the last few weeks meeting with organizers and donors — some of whom she has privately signalled her intention to run — while maintaining a visible presence at local events.
SCOOP — Bonnie Crombie is running for Mississauga mayor.
Publicly, Crombie is playing it cool. “I care deeply about Mississauga and the people of Mississauga,” she said in a statement. “The residents deserve strong, experienced and accountable leadership. I’m listening closely to people and will have more to say soon.”
But sources say Mississauga’s ex-mayor, who has already collected the required signatures, is expected to register as early as next week. Crombie has spent the last few weeks meeting with organizers and donors — some of whom she has privately signalled her intention to run — while maintaining a visible presence at local events.
SCOOP — Bonnie Crombie is running for Mississauga mayor.
Publicly, Crombie is playing it cool. “I care deeply about Mississauga and the people of Mississauga,” she said in a statement. “The residents deserve strong, experienced and accountable leadership. I’m listening closely to people and will have more to say soon.”
But sources say Mississauga’s ex-mayor, who has already collected the required signatures, is expected to register as early as next week. Crombie has spent the last few weeks meeting with organizers and donors — some of whom she has privately signalled her intention to run — while maintaining a visible presence at local events.
Who’s who: The former Liberal leader is going big-tent, turning to Richard Ciano to run her campaign. Ciano, who co-founded Campaign Research with Nick Kouvalis in 2008 before the two parted ways in 2024, is a former Ontario PC Party president, and once served as a senior advisor to Rob Ford. (Kouvalis, for his part, is helping Carolyn Parrish.)
But some of the key architects behind her previous mayoral campaigns — and some of her closest advisers as Liberal leader — are conspicuously absent. Among them: Darryn McArthur, who engineered Crombie’s 2018 and 2022 re-elections and her successful leadership campaign.
The big picture: It would pit the former mayor against the incumbent this October, bringing full circle a rivalry born out of a heated council contest in 2011. Parrish registered to run for re-election last month, pledging “experience, proven dedication and boundless energy that will serve our city well.”
In a December interview, Parrish said she felt “sorry” for Crombie, who was then considering a run against her. “You didn’t leave because you loved the job. You went to do something bigger. Okay, I get that — but to come back? It’s like me running for the school board again. The fact that she’s even considering it kind of makes me feel sorry.”
Alvin Tedjo and Dipika Damerla, both long allied with Crombie, are also running. In the last by-election, the two competed for many of the same organizers and networks Crombie has long depended on — a divide that worked in Parrish’s favour and that the then-Liberal leader later called “unfortunate.”
Those around all three privately fear a repeat. It’s why while Damerla watched to see if Crombie would enter — at one point leaning toward staying out of the race altogether — Tedjo didn’t wait, hoping to shut the door on Crombie before she had made her decision.
He told Moore in the Morning in April he wasn’t convinced the ex-mayor would get the reception she might expect. “To leave and then come back, it feels like an ex-boyfriend wanting to get back together.”
Ryan Vopni, Tedjo’s campaign manager, said in a statement that the city “should not be treated as Bonnie Crombie’s back up plan.” “Every year they have been mayor, Bonnie Crombie and Carolyn Parrish chose to raise Mississauga’s property taxes. Mississauga cannot afford another term of legacy mayors whose tired ideas left us in this affordability crisis.”
Neither Damerla nor Parrish responded to a request for comment.
Behind the scenes: Since resigning as Liberal leader in January, Crombie had been quietly probing support for a potential run, even as she weighed other options — an appointment to a federal agency, a Senate seat or a move into the private sector — repeatedly saying “all options are on the table.”
Privately, while some have encouraged Crombie to run, many of those closest to her have directly cautioned her against it.
“I’ve supported Bonnie Crombie in the past, but she won’t have my support," said one source, among several who spoke on condition of anonymity. “She chose to leave the role, and I believe that chapter is over. I don’t think she can win — and her candidacy would likely invite unnecessary provincial interference in what should remain a local municipal election.”
“I guess it’ll help that people in Mississauga still think she’s the mayor,” a second source said, adding they’ll vote for Crombie even though they had hoped she’d stay out. “She could probably win. It doesn’t mean she will. But if she loses, it’ll be f--king embarrassing. Maybe she sees a path with Dipika and Alvin in the race, but those are all votes that could’ve gone to her.”
A third source close to her cautioned “she’ll need to put in 120 per cent.” “This will be like 2014. This can’t be a wishy-washy, feel-good campaign. They have to run a really good campaign — not a rah-rah bullshit campaign.”
But that source, a key organizer for Crombie, pushed back on the notion that her support has eroded. “We don’t leave our friends. We stand by them,” they said. “Those who are friends with Bonnie and have been on the sidelines were just not sure she was actually going to run. The moment they find out she’s in, they’ll come back. The day she shows strength, all of them will come back.”
Early look: A poll conducted by Mainstreet Research in late April found Crombie in a virtual dead heat with Parrish. The firm confirmed the document was authentic, but when asked who commissioned it, declined to comment further.
By the numbers: Among all voters, Parrish led Crombie, 19.8 per cent to 19.5 per cent. Both are far ahead of Tedjo, at 10 per cent. Damerla sat fourth at 6.9 per cent. 33.7 per cent don’t know who they’d pick.
In a two-way race, Crombie narrowly beat Parrish, 50.1 to 49.9. Tedjo fared worse, losing to Parrish 46.4 to 53.6.
The Ford government has skin in this game. Keeping an ally in the province’s third-largest city is important to the Tories. Parrish has been described as a “reliable and cooperative partner,” and a Crombie win would put someone Premier Doug Ford has clashed with for years — first as mayor, then as Liberal leader — in a city he needs to keep blue.
“It was an absolute disaster under Bonnie Crombie,” Ford said in March, pledging to send “an army down” to support Parrish. “What I say to Bonnie Crombie: bring it on, let’s go, we’re ready.”
Ford has privately urged his Mississauga caucus to get behind Parrish should Crombie enter the race — a message at least one PC MPP was glad to receive. “We would love to,” that member said.
The Tories aren’t losing sleep over Crombie. “Mississauga already had to bear the cost of an approximately $3.5-million mayoral by-election after she abandoned City Hall to pursue the Ontario Liberal leadership,” one Progressive Conservative operative said, describing it as an “opportunistic detour.”
“I’d ask why,” a second said. “She’s been the mayor. If it was so important to her, she could have stayed. She tried to get a better job, failed — then what? Comes back to what she knows?”
But should Crombie win, that source isn’t worried about how Ford would get along with her. “He will be just fine either way. He’s got a great relationship with Steven Del Duca, Andrea Horwath, and especially Olivia Chow. He’s proven he can get along with anyone if he needs to. But in this case, I don’t think he’ll need to. She already abandoned Mississauga — you think they’ll take her back?”
A third source’s reply: a GIF of Marty McFly and Doc Brown from Back to the Future. “See you in the future. You mean the past? Exactly.”
Thank you for reading POLICORNER. Are you someone Crombie called — or didn’t? Are you the Premier, army in tow? Get in touch — anonymity guaranteed. We’re back in your inbox on Monday.
Got 5+ on your team? Team subscriptions are available. Got a client with a message to reach the province’s most powerful players? Ask for our ad rates. Reach out.
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SCOOP — Bonnie Crombie is running for Mississauga mayor.
Publicly, Crombie is playing it cool. “I care deeply about Mississauga and the people of Mississauga,” she said in a statement. “The residents deserve strong, experienced and accountable leadership. I’m listening closely to people and will have more to say soon.”
But sources say Mississauga’s ex-mayor, who has already collected the required signatures, is expected to register as early as next week. Crombie has spent the last few weeks meeting with organizers and donors — some of whom she has privately signalled her intention to run — while maintaining a visible presence at local events.
Who’s who: The former Liberal leader is going big-tent, turning to Richard Ciano to run her campaign. Ciano, who co-founded Campaign Research with Nick Kouvalis in 2008 before the two parted ways in 2024, is a former Ontario PC Party president, and once served as a senior advisor to Rob Ford. (Kouvalis, for his part, is helping Carolyn Parrish.)
But some of the key architects behind her previous mayoral campaigns — and some of her closest advisers as Liberal leader — are conspicuously absent. Among them: Darryn McArthur, who engineered Crombie’s 2018 and 2022 re-elections and her successful leadership campaign.
The big picture: It would pit the former mayor against the incumbent this October, bringing full circle a rivalry born out of a heated council contest in 2011. Parrish registered to run for re-election last month, pledging “experience, proven dedication and boundless energy that will serve our city well.”
In a December interview, Parrish said she felt “sorry” for Crombie, who was then considering a run against her. “You didn’t leave because you loved the job. You went to do something bigger. Okay, I get that — but to come back? It’s like me running for the school board again. The fact that she’s even considering it kind of makes me feel sorry.”
Alvin Tedjo and Dipika Damerla, both long allied with Crombie, are also running. In the last by-election, the two competed for many of the same organizers and networks Crombie has long depended on — a divide that worked in Parrish’s favour and that the then-Liberal leader later called “unfortunate.”
Those around all three privately fear a repeat. It’s why while Damerla watched to see if Crombie would enter — at one point leaning toward staying out of the race altogether — Tedjo didn’t wait, hoping to shut the door on Crombie before she had made her decision.
He told Moore in the Morning in April he wasn’t convinced the ex-mayor would get the reception she might expect. “To leave and then come back, it feels like an ex-boyfriend wanting to get back together.”
Ryan Vopni, Tedjo’s campaign manager, said in a statement that the city “should not be treated as Bonnie Crombie’s back up plan.” “Every year they have been mayor, Bonnie Crombie and Carolyn Parrish chose to raise Mississauga’s property taxes. Mississauga cannot afford another term of legacy mayors whose tired ideas left us in this affordability crisis.”
Neither Damerla nor Parrish responded to a request for comment.
Behind the scenes: Since resigning as Liberal leader in January, Crombie had been quietly probing support for a potential run, even as she weighed other options — an appointment to a federal agency, a Senate seat or a move into the private sector — repeatedly saying “all options are on the table.”
Privately, while some have encouraged Crombie to run, many of those closest to her have directly cautioned her against it.
“I’ve supported Bonnie Crombie in the past, but she won’t have my support," said one source, among several who spoke on condition of anonymity. “She chose to leave the role, and I believe that chapter is over. I don’t think she can win — and her candidacy would likely invite unnecessary provincial interference in what should remain a local municipal election.”
“I guess it’ll help that people in Mississauga still think she’s the mayor,” a second source said, adding they’ll vote for Crombie even though they had hoped she’d stay out. “She could probably win. It doesn’t mean she will. But if she loses, it’ll be f--king embarrassing. Maybe she sees a path with Dipika and Alvin in the race, but those are all votes that could’ve gone to her.”
A third source close to her cautioned “she’ll need to put in 120 per cent.” “This will be like 2014. This can’t be a wishy-washy, feel-good campaign. They have to run a really good campaign — not a rah-rah bullshit campaign.”
But that source, a key organizer for Crombie, pushed back on the notion that her support has eroded. “We don’t leave our friends. We stand by them,” they said. “Those who are friends with Bonnie and have been on the sidelines were just not sure she was actually going to run. The moment they find out she’s in, they’ll come back. The day she shows strength, all of them will come back.”
Early look: A poll conducted by Mainstreet Research in late April found Crombie in a virtual dead heat with Parrish. The firm confirmed the document was authentic, but when asked who commissioned it, declined to comment further.
By the numbers: Among all voters, Parrish led Crombie, 19.8 per cent to 19.5 per cent. Both are far ahead of Tedjo, at 10 per cent. Damerla sat fourth at 6.9 per cent. 33.7 per cent don’t know who they’d pick.
In a two-way race, Crombie narrowly beat Parrish, 50.1 to 49.9. Tedjo fared worse, losing to Parrish 46.4 to 53.6.
The Ford government has skin in this game. Keeping an ally in the province’s third-largest city is important to the Tories. Parrish has been described as a “reliable and cooperative partner,” and a Crombie win would put someone Premier Doug Ford has clashed with for years — first as mayor, then as Liberal leader — in a city he needs to keep blue.
“It was an absolute disaster under Bonnie Crombie,” Ford said in March, pledging to send “an army down” to support Parrish. “What I say to Bonnie Crombie: bring it on, let’s go, we’re ready.”
Ford has privately urged his Mississauga caucus to get behind Parrish should Crombie enter the race — a message at least one PC MPP was glad to receive. “We would love to,” that member said.
The Tories aren’t losing sleep over Crombie. “Mississauga already had to bear the cost of an approximately $3.5-million mayoral by-election after she abandoned City Hall to pursue the Ontario Liberal leadership,” one Progressive Conservative operative said, describing it as an “opportunistic detour.”
“I’d ask why,” a second said. “She’s been the mayor. If it was so important to her, she could have stayed. She tried to get a better job, failed — then what? Comes back to what she knows?”
But should Crombie win, that source isn’t worried about how Ford would get along with her. “He will be just fine either way. He’s got a great relationship with Steven Del Duca, Andrea Horwath, and especially Olivia Chow. He’s proven he can get along with anyone if he needs to. But in this case, I don’t think he’ll need to. She already abandoned Mississauga — you think they’ll take her back?”
A third source’s reply: a GIF of Marty McFly and Doc Brown from Back to the Future. “See you in the future. You mean the past? Exactly.”
Thank you for reading POLICORNER. Are you someone Crombie called — or didn’t? Are you the Premier, army in tow? Get in touch — anonymity guaranteed. We’re back in your inbox on Monday.
Got 5+ on your team? Team subscriptions are available. Got a client with a message to reach the province’s most powerful players? Ask for our ad rates. Reach out.
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SCOOP — Bonnie Crombie is running for Mississauga mayor.
Publicly, Crombie is playing it cool. “I care deeply about Mississauga and the people of Mississauga,” she said in a statement. “The residents deserve strong, experienced and accountable leadership. I’m listening closely to people and will have more to say soon.”
But sources say Mississauga’s ex-mayor, who has already collected the required signatures, is expected to register as early as next week. Crombie has spent the last few weeks meeting with organizers and donors — some of whom she has privately signalled her intention to run — while maintaining a visible presence at local events.
Who’s who: The former Liberal leader is going big-tent, turning to Richard Ciano to run her campaign. Ciano, who co-founded Campaign Research with Nick Kouvalis in 2008 before the two parted ways in 2024, is a former Ontario PC Party president, and once served as a senior advisor to Rob Ford. (Kouvalis, for his part, is helping Carolyn Parrish.)
But some of the key architects behind her previous mayoral campaigns — and some of her closest advisers as Liberal leader — are conspicuously absent. Among them: Darryn McArthur, who engineered Crombie’s 2018 and 2022 re-elections and her successful leadership campaign.
The big picture: It would pit the former mayor against the incumbent this October, bringing full circle a rivalry born out of a heated council contest in 2011. Parrish registered to run for re-election last month, pledging “experience, proven dedication and boundless energy that will serve our city well.”
In a December interview, Parrish said she felt “sorry” for Crombie, who was then considering a run against her. “You didn’t leave because you loved the job. You went to do something bigger. Okay, I get that — but to come back? It’s like me running for the school board again. The fact that she’s even considering it kind of makes me feel sorry.”
Alvin Tedjo and Dipika Damerla, both long allied with Crombie, are also running. In the last by-election, the two competed for many of the same organizers and networks Crombie has long depended on — a divide that worked in Parrish’s favour and that the then-Liberal leader later called “unfortunate.”
Those around all three privately fear a repeat. It’s why while Damerla watched to see if Crombie would enter — at one point leaning toward staying out of the race altogether — Tedjo didn’t wait, hoping to shut the door on Crombie before she had made her decision.
He told Moore in the Morning in April he wasn’t convinced the ex-mayor would get the reception she might expect. “To leave and then come back, it feels like an ex-boyfriend wanting to get back together.”
Ryan Vopni, Tedjo’s campaign manager, said in a statement that the city “should not be treated as Bonnie Crombie’s back up plan.” “Every year they have been mayor, Bonnie Crombie and Carolyn Parrish chose to raise Mississauga’s property taxes. Mississauga cannot afford another term of legacy mayors whose tired ideas left us in this affordability crisis.”
Neither Damerla nor Parrish responded to a request for comment.
Behind the scenes: Since resigning as Liberal leader in January, Crombie had been quietly probing support for a potential run, even as she weighed other options — an appointment to a federal agency, a Senate seat or a move into the private sector — repeatedly saying “all options are on the table.”
Privately, while some have encouraged Crombie to run, many of those closest to her have directly cautioned her against it.
“I’ve supported Bonnie Crombie in the past, but she won’t have my support," said one source, among several who spoke on condition of anonymity. “She chose to leave the role, and I believe that chapter is over. I don’t think she can win — and her candidacy would likely invite unnecessary provincial interference in what should remain a local municipal election.”
“I guess it’ll help that people in Mississauga still think she’s the mayor,” a second source said, adding they’ll vote for Crombie even though they had hoped she’d stay out. “She could probably win. It doesn’t mean she will. But if she loses, it’ll be f--king embarrassing. Maybe she sees a path with Dipika and Alvin in the race, but those are all votes that could’ve gone to her.”
A third source close to her cautioned “she’ll need to put in 120 per cent.” “This will be like 2014. This can’t be a wishy-washy, feel-good campaign. They have to run a really good campaign — not a rah-rah bullshit campaign.”
But that source, a key organizer for Crombie, pushed back on the notion that her support has eroded. “We don’t leave our friends. We stand by them,” they said. “Those who are friends with Bonnie and have been on the sidelines were just not sure she was actually going to run. The moment they find out she’s in, they’ll come back. The day she shows strength, all of them will come back.”
Early look: A poll conducted by Mainstreet Research in late April found Crombie in a virtual dead heat with Parrish. The firm confirmed the document was authentic, but when asked who commissioned it, declined to comment further.
By the numbers: Among all voters, Parrish led Crombie, 19.8 per cent to 19.5 per cent. Both are far ahead of Tedjo, at 10 per cent. Damerla sat fourth at 6.9 per cent. 33.7 per cent don’t know who they’d pick.
In a two-way race, Crombie narrowly beat Parrish, 50.1 to 49.9. Tedjo fared worse, losing to Parrish 46.4 to 53.6.
The Ford government has skin in this game. Keeping an ally in the province’s third-largest city is important to the Tories. Parrish has been described as a “reliable and cooperative partner,” and a Crombie win would put someone Premier Doug Ford has clashed with for years — first as mayor, then as Liberal leader — in a city he needs to keep blue.
“It was an absolute disaster under Bonnie Crombie,” Ford said in March, pledging to send “an army down” to support Parrish. “What I say to Bonnie Crombie: bring it on, let’s go, we’re ready.”
Ford has privately urged his Mississauga caucus to get behind Parrish should Crombie enter the race — a message at least one PC MPP was glad to receive. “We would love to,” that member said.
The Tories aren’t losing sleep over Crombie. “Mississauga already had to bear the cost of an approximately $3.5-million mayoral by-election after she abandoned City Hall to pursue the Ontario Liberal leadership,” one Progressive Conservative operative said, describing it as an “opportunistic detour.”
“I’d ask why,” a second said. “She’s been the mayor. If it was so important to her, she could have stayed. She tried to get a better job, failed — then what? Comes back to what she knows?”
But should Crombie win, that source isn’t worried about how Ford would get along with her. “He will be just fine either way. He’s got a great relationship with Steven Del Duca, Andrea Horwath, and especially Olivia Chow. He’s proven he can get along with anyone if he needs to. But in this case, I don’t think he’ll need to. She already abandoned Mississauga — you think they’ll take her back?”
A third source’s reply: a GIF of Marty McFly and Doc Brown from Back to the Future. “See you in the future. You mean the past? Exactly.”
Thank you for reading POLICORNER. Are you someone Crombie called — or didn’t? Are you the Premier, army in tow? Get in touch — anonymity guaranteed. We’re back in your inbox on Monday.
Got 5+ on your team? Team subscriptions are available. Got a client with a message to reach the province’s most powerful players? Ask for our ad rates. Reach out.
Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now.
SCOOP — Bonnie Crombie is running for Mississauga mayor.
Publicly, Crombie is playing it cool. “I care deeply about Mississauga and the people of Mississauga,” she said in a statement. “The residents deserve strong, experienced and accountable leadership. I’m listening closely to people and will have more to say soon.”
But sources say Mississauga’s ex-mayor, who has already collected the required signatures, is expected to register as early as next week. Crombie has spent the last few weeks meeting with organizers and donors — some of whom she has privately signalled her intention to run — while maintaining a visible presence at local events.
Who’s who: The former Liberal leader is going big-tent, turning to Richard Ciano to run her campaign. Ciano, who co-founded Campaign Research with Nick Kouvalis in 2008 before the two parted ways in 2024, is a former Ontario PC Party president, and once served as a senior advisor to Rob Ford. (Kouvalis, for his part, is helping Carolyn Parrish.)
But some of the key architects behind her previous mayoral campaigns — and some of her closest advisers as Liberal leader — are conspicuously absent. Among them: Darryn McArthur, who engineered Crombie’s 2018 and 2022 re-elections and her successful leadership campaign.
The big picture: It would pit the former mayor against the incumbent this October, bringing full circle a rivalry born out of a heated council contest in 2011. Parrish registered to run for re-election last month, pledging “experience, proven dedication and boundless energy that will serve our city well.”
In a December interview, Parrish said she felt “sorry” for Crombie, who was then considering a run against her. “You didn’t leave because you loved the job. You went to do something bigger. Okay, I get that — but to come back? It’s like me running for the school board again. The fact that she’s even considering it kind of makes me feel sorry.”
Alvin Tedjo and Dipika Damerla, both long allied with Crombie, are also running. In the last by-election, the two competed for many of the same organizers and networks Crombie has long depended on — a divide that worked in Parrish’s favour and that the then-Liberal leader later called “unfortunate.”
Those around all three privately fear a repeat. It’s why while Damerla watched to see if Crombie would enter — at one point leaning toward staying out of the race altogether — Tedjo didn’t wait, hoping to shut the door on Crombie before she had made her decision.
He told Moore in the Morning in April he wasn’t convinced the ex-mayor would get the reception she might expect. “To leave and then come back, it feels like an ex-boyfriend wanting to get back together.”
Ryan Vopni, Tedjo’s campaign manager, said in a statement that the city “should not be treated as Bonnie Crombie’s back up plan.” “Every year they have been mayor, Bonnie Crombie and Carolyn Parrish chose to raise Mississauga’s property taxes. Mississauga cannot afford another term of legacy mayors whose tired ideas left us in this affordability crisis.”
Neither Damerla nor Parrish responded to a request for comment.
Behind the scenes: Since resigning as Liberal leader in January, Crombie had been quietly probing support for a potential run, even as she weighed other options — an appointment to a federal agency, a Senate seat or a move into the private sector — repeatedly saying “all options are on the table.”
Privately, while some have encouraged Crombie to run, many of those closest to her have directly cautioned her against it.
“I’ve supported Bonnie Crombie in the past, but she won’t have my support," said one source, among several who spoke on condition of anonymity. “She chose to leave the role, and I believe that chapter is over. I don’t think she can win — and her candidacy would likely invite unnecessary provincial interference in what should remain a local municipal election.”
“I guess it’ll help that people in Mississauga still think she’s the mayor,” a second source said, adding they’ll vote for Crombie even though they had hoped she’d stay out. “She could probably win. It doesn’t mean she will. But if she loses, it’ll be f--king embarrassing. Maybe she sees a path with Dipika and Alvin in the race, but those are all votes that could’ve gone to her.”
A third source close to her cautioned “she’ll need to put in 120 per cent.” “This will be like 2014. This can’t be a wishy-washy, feel-good campaign. They have to run a really good campaign — not a rah-rah bullshit campaign.”
But that source, a key organizer for Crombie, pushed back on the notion that her support has eroded. “We don’t leave our friends. We stand by them,” they said. “Those who are friends with Bonnie and have been on the sidelines were just not sure she was actually going to run. The moment they find out she’s in, they’ll come back. The day she shows strength, all of them will come back.”
Early look: A poll conducted by Mainstreet Research in late April found Crombie in a virtual dead heat with Parrish. The firm confirmed the document was authentic, but when asked who commissioned it, declined to comment further.
By the numbers: Among all voters, Parrish led Crombie, 19.8 per cent to 19.5 per cent. Both are far ahead of Tedjo, at 10 per cent. Damerla sat fourth at 6.9 per cent. 33.7 per cent don’t know who they’d pick.
In a two-way race, Crombie narrowly beat Parrish, 50.1 to 49.9. Tedjo fared worse, losing to Parrish 46.4 to 53.6.
The Ford government has skin in this game. Keeping an ally in the province’s third-largest city is important to the Tories. Parrish has been described as a “reliable and cooperative partner,” and a Crombie win would put someone Premier Doug Ford has clashed with for years — first as mayor, then as Liberal leader — in a city he needs to keep blue.
“It was an absolute disaster under Bonnie Crombie,” Ford said in March, pledging to send “an army down” to support Parrish. “What I say to Bonnie Crombie: bring it on, let’s go, we’re ready.”
Ford has privately urged his Mississauga caucus to get behind Parrish should Crombie enter the race — a message at least one PC MPP was glad to receive. “We would love to,” that member said.
The Tories aren’t losing sleep over Crombie. “Mississauga already had to bear the cost of an approximately $3.5-million mayoral by-election after she abandoned City Hall to pursue the Ontario Liberal leadership,” one Progressive Conservative operative said, describing it as an “opportunistic detour.”
“I’d ask why,” a second said. “She’s been the mayor. If it was so important to her, she could have stayed. She tried to get a better job, failed — then what? Comes back to what she knows?”
But should Crombie win, that source isn’t worried about how Ford would get along with her. “He will be just fine either way. He’s got a great relationship with Steven Del Duca, Andrea Horwath, and especially Olivia Chow. He’s proven he can get along with anyone if he needs to. But in this case, I don’t think he’ll need to. She already abandoned Mississauga — you think they’ll take her back?”
A third source’s reply: a GIF of Marty McFly and Doc Brown from Back to the Future. “See you in the future. You mean the past? Exactly.”
Thank you for reading POLICORNER. Are you someone Crombie called — or didn’t? Are you the Premier, army in tow? Get in touch — anonymity guaranteed. We’re back in your inbox on Monday.
Got 5+ on your team? Team subscriptions are available. Got a client with a message to reach the province’s most powerful players? Ask for our ad rates. Reach out.
Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now.
SCOOP — Bonnie Crombie is running for Mississauga mayor.
Publicly, Crombie is playing it cool. “I care deeply about Mississauga and the people of Mississauga,” she said in a statement. “The residents deserve strong, experienced and accountable leadership. I’m listening closely to people and will have more to say soon.”
But sources say Mississauga’s ex-mayor, who has already collected the required signatures, is expected to register as early as next week. Crombie has spent the last few weeks meeting with organizers and donors — some of whom she has privately signalled her intention to run — while maintaining a visible presence at local events.
Who’s who: The former Liberal leader is going big-tent, turning to Richard Ciano to run her campaign. Ciano, who co-founded Campaign Research with Nick Kouvalis in 2008 before the two parted ways in 2024, is a former Ontario PC Party president, and once served as a senior advisor to Rob Ford. (Kouvalis, for his part, is helping Carolyn Parrish.)
But some of the key architects behind her previous mayoral campaigns — and some of her closest advisers as Liberal leader — are conspicuously absent. Among them: Darryn McArthur, who engineered Crombie’s 2018 and 2022 re-elections and her successful leadership campaign.
The big picture: It would pit the former mayor against the incumbent this October, bringing full circle a rivalry born out of a heated council contest in 2011. Parrish registered to run for re-election last month, pledging “experience, proven dedication and boundless energy that will serve our city well.”
In a December interview, Parrish said she felt “sorry” for Crombie, who was then considering a run against her. “You didn’t leave because you loved the job. You went to do something bigger. Okay, I get that — but to come back? It’s like me running for the school board again. The fact that she’s even considering it kind of makes me feel sorry.”
Alvin Tedjo and Dipika Damerla, both long allied with Crombie, are also running. In the last by-election, the two competed for many of the same organizers and networks Crombie has long depended on — a divide that worked in Parrish’s favour and that the then-Liberal leader later called “unfortunate.”
Those around all three privately fear a repeat. It’s why while Damerla watched to see if Crombie would enter — at one point leaning toward staying out of the race altogether — Tedjo didn’t wait, hoping to shut the door on Crombie before she had made her decision.
He told Moore in the Morning in April he wasn’t convinced the ex-mayor would get the reception she might expect. “To leave and then come back, it feels like an ex-boyfriend wanting to get back together.”
Ryan Vopni, Tedjo’s campaign manager, said in a statement that the city “should not be treated as Bonnie Crombie’s back up plan.” “Every year they have been mayor, Bonnie Crombie and Carolyn Parrish chose to raise Mississauga’s property taxes. Mississauga cannot afford another term of legacy mayors whose tired ideas left us in this affordability crisis.”
Neither Damerla nor Parrish responded to a request for comment.
Behind the scenes: Since resigning as Liberal leader in January, Crombie had been quietly probing support for a potential run, even as she weighed other options — an appointment to a federal agency, a Senate seat or a move into the private sector — repeatedly saying “all options are on the table.”
Privately, while some have encouraged Crombie to run, many of those closest to her have directly cautioned her against it.
“I’ve supported Bonnie Crombie in the past, but she won’t have my support," said one source, among several who spoke on condition of anonymity. “She chose to leave the role, and I believe that chapter is over. I don’t think she can win — and her candidacy would likely invite unnecessary provincial interference in what should remain a local municipal election.”
“I guess it’ll help that people in Mississauga still think she’s the mayor,” a second source said, adding they’ll vote for Crombie even though they had hoped she’d stay out. “She could probably win. It doesn’t mean she will. But if she loses, it’ll be f--king embarrassing. Maybe she sees a path with Dipika and Alvin in the race, but those are all votes that could’ve gone to her.”
A third source close to her cautioned “she’ll need to put in 120 per cent.” “This will be like 2014. This can’t be a wishy-washy, feel-good campaign. They have to run a really good campaign — not a rah-rah bullshit campaign.”
But that source, a key organizer for Crombie, pushed back on the notion that her support has eroded. “We don’t leave our friends. We stand by them,” they said. “Those who are friends with Bonnie and have been on the sidelines were just not sure she was actually going to run. The moment they find out she’s in, they’ll come back. The day she shows strength, all of them will come back.”
Early look: A poll conducted by Mainstreet Research in late April found Crombie in a virtual dead heat with Parrish. The firm confirmed the document was authentic, but when asked who commissioned it, declined to comment further.
By the numbers: Among all voters, Parrish led Crombie, 19.8 per cent to 19.5 per cent. Both are far ahead of Tedjo, at 10 per cent. Damerla sat fourth at 6.9 per cent. 33.7 per cent don’t know who they’d pick.
In a two-way race, Crombie narrowly beat Parrish, 50.1 to 49.9. Tedjo fared worse, losing to Parrish 46.4 to 53.6.
The Ford government has skin in this game. Keeping an ally in the province’s third-largest city is important to the Tories. Parrish has been described as a “reliable and cooperative partner,” and a Crombie win would put someone Premier Doug Ford has clashed with for years — first as mayor, then as Liberal leader — in a city he needs to keep blue.
“It was an absolute disaster under Bonnie Crombie,” Ford said in March, pledging to send “an army down” to support Parrish. “What I say to Bonnie Crombie: bring it on, let’s go, we’re ready.”
Ford has privately urged his Mississauga caucus to get behind Parrish should Crombie enter the race — a message at least one PC MPP was glad to receive. “We would love to,” that member said.
The Tories aren’t losing sleep over Crombie. “Mississauga already had to bear the cost of an approximately $3.5-million mayoral by-election after she abandoned City Hall to pursue the Ontario Liberal leadership,” one Progressive Conservative operative said, describing it as an “opportunistic detour.”
“I’d ask why,” a second said. “She’s been the mayor. If it was so important to her, she could have stayed. She tried to get a better job, failed — then what? Comes back to what she knows?”
But should Crombie win, that source isn’t worried about how Ford would get along with her. “He will be just fine either way. He’s got a great relationship with Steven Del Duca, Andrea Horwath, and especially Olivia Chow. He’s proven he can get along with anyone if he needs to. But in this case, I don’t think he’ll need to. She already abandoned Mississauga — you think they’ll take her back?”
A third source’s reply: a GIF of Marty McFly and Doc Brown from Back to the Future. “See you in the future. You mean the past? Exactly.”
Thank you for reading POLICORNER. Are you someone Crombie called — or didn’t? Are you the Premier, army in tow? Get in touch — anonymity guaranteed. We’re back in your inbox on Monday.
Got 5+ on your team? Team subscriptions are available. Got a client with a message to reach the province’s most powerful players? Ask for our ad rates. Reach out.
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SCOOP — Bonnie Crombie is running for Mississauga mayor.
Publicly, Crombie is playing it cool. “I care deeply about Mississauga and the people of Mississauga,” she said in a statement. “The residents deserve strong, experienced and accountable leadership. I’m listening closely to people and will have more to say soon.”
But sources say Mississauga’s ex-mayor, who has already collected the required signatures, is expected to register as early as next week. Crombie has spent the last few weeks meeting with organizers and donors — some of whom she has privately signalled her intention to run — while maintaining a visible presence at local events.
Who’s who: The former Liberal leader is going big-tent, turning to Richard Ciano to run her campaign. Ciano, who co-founded Campaign Research with Nick Kouvalis in 2008 before the two parted ways in 2024, is a former Ontario PC Party president, and once served as a senior advisor to Rob Ford. (Kouvalis, for his part, is helping Carolyn Parrish.)
But some of the key architects behind her previous mayoral campaigns — and some of her closest advisers as Liberal leader — are conspicuously absent. Among them: Darryn McArthur, who engineered Crombie’s 2018 and 2022 re-elections and her successful leadership campaign.
The big picture: It would pit the former mayor against the incumbent this October, bringing full circle a rivalry born out of a heated council contest in 2011. Parrish registered to run for re-election last month, pledging “experience, proven dedication and boundless energy that will serve our city well.”
In a December interview, Parrish said she felt “sorry” for Crombie, who was then considering a run against her. “You didn’t leave because you loved the job. You went to do something bigger. Okay, I get that — but to come back? It’s like me running for the school board again. The fact that she’s even considering it kind of makes me feel sorry.”
Alvin Tedjo and Dipika Damerla, both long allied with Crombie, are also running. In the last by-election, the two competed for many of the same organizers and networks Crombie has long depended on — a divide that worked in Parrish’s favour and that the then-Liberal leader later called “unfortunate.”
Those around all three privately fear a repeat. It’s why while Damerla watched to see if Crombie would enter — at one point leaning toward staying out of the race altogether — Tedjo didn’t wait, hoping to shut the door on Crombie before she had made her decision.
He told Moore in the Morning in April he wasn’t convinced the ex-mayor would get the reception she might expect. “To leave and then come back, it feels like an ex-boyfriend wanting to get back together.”
Ryan Vopni, Tedjo’s campaign manager, said in a statement that the city “should not be treated as Bonnie Crombie’s back up plan.” “Every year they have been mayor, Bonnie Crombie and Carolyn Parrish chose to raise Mississauga’s property taxes. Mississauga cannot afford another term of legacy mayors whose tired ideas left us in this affordability crisis.”
Neither Damerla nor Parrish responded to a request for comment.
Behind the scenes: Since resigning as Liberal leader in January, Crombie had been quietly probing support for a potential run, even as she weighed other options — an appointment to a federal agency, a Senate seat or a move into the private sector — repeatedly saying “all options are on the table.”
Privately, while some have encouraged Crombie to run, many of those closest to her have directly cautioned her against it.
“I’ve supported Bonnie Crombie in the past, but she won’t have my support," said one source, among several who spoke on condition of anonymity. “She chose to leave the role, and I believe that chapter is over. I don’t think she can win — and her candidacy would likely invite unnecessary provincial interference in what should remain a local municipal election.”
“I guess it’ll help that people in Mississauga still think she’s the mayor,” a second source said, adding they’ll vote for Crombie even though they had hoped she’d stay out. “She could probably win. It doesn’t mean she will. But if she loses, it’ll be f--king embarrassing. Maybe she sees a path with Dipika and Alvin in the race, but those are all votes that could’ve gone to her.”
A third source close to her cautioned “she’ll need to put in 120 per cent.” “This will be like 2014. This can’t be a wishy-washy, feel-good campaign. They have to run a really good campaign — not a rah-rah bullshit campaign.”
But that source, a key organizer for Crombie, pushed back on the notion that her support has eroded. “We don’t leave our friends. We stand by them,” they said. “Those who are friends with Bonnie and have been on the sidelines were just not sure she was actually going to run. The moment they find out she’s in, they’ll come back. The day she shows strength, all of them will come back.”
Early look: A poll conducted by Mainstreet Research in late April found Crombie in a virtual dead heat with Parrish. The firm confirmed the document was authentic, but when asked who commissioned it, declined to comment further.
By the numbers: Among all voters, Parrish led Crombie, 19.8 per cent to 19.5 per cent. Both are far ahead of Tedjo, at 10 per cent. Damerla sat fourth at 6.9 per cent. 33.7 per cent don’t know who they’d pick.
In a two-way race, Crombie narrowly beat Parrish, 50.1 to 49.9. Tedjo fared worse, losing to Parrish 46.4 to 53.6.
The Ford government has skin in this game. Keeping an ally in the province’s third-largest city is important to the Tories. Parrish has been described as a “reliable and cooperative partner,” and a Crombie win would put someone Premier Doug Ford has clashed with for years — first as mayor, then as Liberal leader — in a city he needs to keep blue.
“It was an absolute disaster under Bonnie Crombie,” Ford said in March, pledging to send “an army down” to support Parrish. “What I say to Bonnie Crombie: bring it on, let’s go, we’re ready.”
Ford has privately urged his Mississauga caucus to get behind Parrish should Crombie enter the race — a message at least one PC MPP was glad to receive. “We would love to,” that member said.
The Tories aren’t losing sleep over Crombie. “Mississauga already had to bear the cost of an approximately $3.5-million mayoral by-election after she abandoned City Hall to pursue the Ontario Liberal leadership,” one Progressive Conservative operative said, describing it as an “opportunistic detour.”
“I’d ask why,” a second said. “She’s been the mayor. If it was so important to her, she could have stayed. She tried to get a better job, failed — then what? Comes back to what she knows?”
But should Crombie win, that source isn’t worried about how Ford would get along with her. “He will be just fine either way. He’s got a great relationship with Steven Del Duca, Andrea Horwath, and especially Olivia Chow. He’s proven he can get along with anyone if he needs to. But in this case, I don’t think he’ll need to. She already abandoned Mississauga — you think they’ll take her back?”
A third source’s reply: a GIF of Marty McFly and Doc Brown from Back to the Future. “See you in the future. You mean the past? Exactly.”
Thank you for reading POLICORNER. Are you someone Crombie called — or didn’t? Are you the Premier, army in tow? Get in touch — anonymity guaranteed. We’re back in your inbox on Monday.
Got 5+ on your team? Team subscriptions are available. Got a client with a message to reach the province’s most powerful players? Ask for our ad rates. Reach out.
Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now.
SCOOP — Bonnie Crombie is running for Mississauga mayor.
Publicly, Crombie is playing it cool. “I care deeply about Mississauga and the people of Mississauga,” she said in a statement. “The residents deserve strong, experienced and accountable leadership. I’m listening closely to people and will have more to say soon.”
But sources say Mississauga’s ex-mayor, who has already collected the required signatures, is expected to register as early as next week. Crombie has spent the last few weeks meeting with organizers and donors — some of whom she has privately signalled her intention to run — while maintaining a visible presence at local events.
Who’s who: The former Liberal leader is going big-tent, turning to Richard Ciano to run her campaign. Ciano, who co-founded Campaign Research with Nick Kouvalis in 2008 before the two parted ways in 2024, is a former Ontario PC Party president, and once served as a senior advisor to Rob Ford. (Kouvalis, for his part, is helping Carolyn Parrish.)
But some of the key architects behind her previous mayoral campaigns — and some of her closest advisers as Liberal leader — are conspicuously absent. Among them: Darryn McArthur, who engineered Crombie’s 2018 and 2022 re-elections and her successful leadership campaign.
The big picture: It would pit the former mayor against the incumbent this October, bringing full circle a rivalry born out of a heated council contest in 2011. Parrish registered to run for re-election last month, pledging “experience, proven dedication and boundless energy that will serve our city well.”
In a December interview, Parrish said she felt “sorry” for Crombie, who was then considering a run against her. “You didn’t leave because you loved the job. You went to do something bigger. Okay, I get that — but to come back? It’s like me running for the school board again. The fact that she’s even considering it kind of makes me feel sorry.”
Alvin Tedjo and Dipika Damerla, both long allied with Crombie, are also running. In the last by-election, the two competed for many of the same organizers and networks Crombie has long depended on — a divide that worked in Parrish’s favour and that the then-Liberal leader later called “unfortunate.”
Those around all three privately fear a repeat. It’s why while Damerla watched to see if Crombie would enter — at one point leaning toward staying out of the race altogether — Tedjo didn’t wait, hoping to shut the door on Crombie before she had made her decision.
He told Moore in the Morning in April he wasn’t convinced the ex-mayor would get the reception she might expect. “To leave and then come back, it feels like an ex-boyfriend wanting to get back together.”
Ryan Vopni, Tedjo’s campaign manager, said in a statement that the city “should not be treated as Bonnie Crombie’s back up plan.” “Every year they have been mayor, Bonnie Crombie and Carolyn Parrish chose to raise Mississauga’s property taxes. Mississauga cannot afford another term of legacy mayors whose tired ideas left us in this affordability crisis.”
Neither Damerla nor Parrish responded to a request for comment.
Behind the scenes: Since resigning as Liberal leader in January, Crombie had been quietly probing support for a potential run, even as she weighed other options — an appointment to a federal agency, a Senate seat or a move into the private sector — repeatedly saying “all options are on the table.”
Privately, while some have encouraged Crombie to run, many of those closest to her have directly cautioned her against it.
“I’ve supported Bonnie Crombie in the past, but she won’t have my support," said one source, among several who spoke on condition of anonymity. “She chose to leave the role, and I believe that chapter is over. I don’t think she can win — and her candidacy would likely invite unnecessary provincial interference in what should remain a local municipal election.”
“I guess it’ll help that people in Mississauga still think she’s the mayor,” a second source said, adding they’ll vote for Crombie even though they had hoped she’d stay out. “She could probably win. It doesn’t mean she will. But if she loses, it’ll be f--king embarrassing. Maybe she sees a path with Dipika and Alvin in the race, but those are all votes that could’ve gone to her.”
A third source close to her cautioned “she’ll need to put in 120 per cent.” “This will be like 2014. This can’t be a wishy-washy, feel-good campaign. They have to run a really good campaign — not a rah-rah bullshit campaign.”
But that source, a key organizer for Crombie, pushed back on the notion that her support has eroded. “We don’t leave our friends. We stand by them,” they said. “Those who are friends with Bonnie and have been on the sidelines were just not sure she was actually going to run. The moment they find out she’s in, they’ll come back. The day she shows strength, all of them will come back.”
Early look: A poll conducted by Mainstreet Research in late April found Crombie in a virtual dead heat with Parrish. The firm confirmed the document was authentic, but when asked who commissioned it, declined to comment further.
By the numbers: Among all voters, Parrish led Crombie, 19.8 per cent to 19.5 per cent. Both are far ahead of Tedjo, at 10 per cent. Damerla sat fourth at 6.9 per cent. 33.7 per cent don’t know who they’d pick.
In a two-way race, Crombie narrowly beat Parrish, 50.1 to 49.9. Tedjo fared worse, losing to Parrish 46.4 to 53.6.
The Ford government has skin in this game. Keeping an ally in the province’s third-largest city is important to the Tories. Parrish has been described as a “reliable and cooperative partner,” and a Crombie win would put someone Premier Doug Ford has clashed with for years — first as mayor, then as Liberal leader — in a city he needs to keep blue.
“It was an absolute disaster under Bonnie Crombie,” Ford said in March, pledging to send “an army down” to support Parrish. “What I say to Bonnie Crombie: bring it on, let’s go, we’re ready.”
Ford has privately urged his Mississauga caucus to get behind Parrish should Crombie enter the race — a message at least one PC MPP was glad to receive. “We would love to,” that member said.
The Tories aren’t losing sleep over Crombie. “Mississauga already had to bear the cost of an approximately $3.5-million mayoral by-election after she abandoned City Hall to pursue the Ontario Liberal leadership,” one Progressive Conservative operative said, describing it as an “opportunistic detour.”
“I’d ask why,” a second said. “She’s been the mayor. If it was so important to her, she could have stayed. She tried to get a better job, failed — then what? Comes back to what she knows?”
But should Crombie win, that source isn’t worried about how Ford would get along with her. “He will be just fine either way. He’s got a great relationship with Steven Del Duca, Andrea Horwath, and especially Olivia Chow. He’s proven he can get along with anyone if he needs to. But in this case, I don’t think he’ll need to. She already abandoned Mississauga — you think they’ll take her back?”
A third source’s reply: a GIF of Marty McFly and Doc Brown from Back to the Future. “See you in the future. You mean the past? Exactly.”
Thank you for reading POLICORNER. Are you someone Crombie called — or didn’t? Are you the Premier, army in tow? Get in touch — anonymity guaranteed. We’re back in your inbox on Monday.
Got 5+ on your team? Team subscriptions are available. Got a client with a message to reach the province’s most powerful players? Ask for our ad rates. Reach out.
Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now.
SCOOP — Bonnie Crombie is running for Mississauga mayor.
Publicly, Crombie is playing it cool. “I care deeply about Mississauga and the people of Mississauga,” she said in a statement. “The residents deserve strong, experienced and accountable leadership. I’m listening closely to people and will have more to say soon.”
But sources say Mississauga’s ex-mayor, who has already collected the required signatures, is expected to register as early as next week. Crombie has spent the last few weeks meeting with organizers and donors — some of whom she has privately signalled her intention to run — while maintaining a visible presence at local events.
Who’s who: The former Liberal leader is going big-tent, turning to Richard Ciano to run her campaign. Ciano, who co-founded Campaign Research with Nick Kouvalis in 2008 before the two parted ways in 2024, is a former Ontario PC Party president, and once served as a senior advisor to Rob Ford. (Kouvalis, for his part, is helping Carolyn Parrish.)
But some of the key architects behind her previous mayoral campaigns — and some of her closest advisers as Liberal leader — are conspicuously absent. Among them: Darryn McArthur, who engineered Crombie’s 2018 and 2022 re-elections and her successful leadership campaign.
The big picture: It would pit the former mayor against the incumbent this October, bringing full circle a rivalry born out of a heated council contest in 2011. Parrish registered to run for re-election last month, pledging “experience, proven dedication and boundless energy that will serve our city well.”
In a December interview, Parrish said she felt “sorry” for Crombie, who was then considering a run against her. “You didn’t leave because you loved the job. You went to do something bigger. Okay, I get that — but to come back? It’s like me running for the school board again. The fact that she’s even considering it kind of makes me feel sorry.”
Alvin Tedjo and Dipika Damerla, both long allied with Crombie, are also running. In the last by-election, the two competed for many of the same organizers and networks Crombie has long depended on — a divide that worked in Parrish’s favour and that the then-Liberal leader later called “unfortunate.”
Those around all three privately fear a repeat. It’s why while Damerla watched to see if Crombie would enter — at one point leaning toward staying out of the race altogether — Tedjo didn’t wait, hoping to shut the door on Crombie before she had made her decision.
He told Moore in the Morning in April he wasn’t convinced the ex-mayor would get the reception she might expect. “To leave and then come back, it feels like an ex-boyfriend wanting to get back together.”
Ryan Vopni, Tedjo’s campaign manager, said in a statement that the city “should not be treated as Bonnie Crombie’s back up plan.” “Every year they have been mayor, Bonnie Crombie and Carolyn Parrish chose to raise Mississauga’s property taxes. Mississauga cannot afford another term of legacy mayors whose tired ideas left us in this affordability crisis.”
Neither Damerla nor Parrish responded to a request for comment.
Behind the scenes: Since resigning as Liberal leader in January, Crombie had been quietly probing support for a potential run, even as she weighed other options — an appointment to a federal agency, a Senate seat or a move into the private sector — repeatedly saying “all options are on the table.”
Privately, while some have encouraged Crombie to run, many of those closest to her have directly cautioned her against it.
“I’ve supported Bonnie Crombie in the past, but she won’t have my support," said one source, among several who spoke on condition of anonymity. “She chose to leave the role, and I believe that chapter is over. I don’t think she can win — and her candidacy would likely invite unnecessary provincial interference in what should remain a local municipal election.”
“I guess it’ll help that people in Mississauga still think she’s the mayor,” a second source said, adding they’ll vote for Crombie even though they had hoped she’d stay out. “She could probably win. It doesn’t mean she will. But if she loses, it’ll be f--king embarrassing. Maybe she sees a path with Dipika and Alvin in the race, but those are all votes that could’ve gone to her.”
A third source close to her cautioned “she’ll need to put in 120 per cent.” “This will be like 2014. This can’t be a wishy-washy, feel-good campaign. They have to run a really good campaign — not a rah-rah bullshit campaign.”
But that source, a key organizer for Crombie, pushed back on the notion that her support has eroded. “We don’t leave our friends. We stand by them,” they said. “Those who are friends with Bonnie and have been on the sidelines were just not sure she was actually going to run. The moment they find out she’s in, they’ll come back. The day she shows strength, all of them will come back.”
Early look: A poll conducted by Mainstreet Research in late April found Crombie in a virtual dead heat with Parrish. The firm confirmed the document was authentic, but when asked who commissioned it, declined to comment further.
By the numbers: Among all voters, Parrish led Crombie, 19.8 per cent to 19.5 per cent. Both are far ahead of Tedjo, at 10 per cent. Damerla sat fourth at 6.9 per cent. 33.7 per cent don’t know who they’d pick.
In a two-way race, Crombie narrowly beat Parrish, 50.1 to 49.9. Tedjo fared worse, losing to Parrish 46.4 to 53.6.
The Ford government has skin in this game. Keeping an ally in the province’s third-largest city is important to the Tories. Parrish has been described as a “reliable and cooperative partner,” and a Crombie win would put someone Premier Doug Ford has clashed with for years — first as mayor, then as Liberal leader — in a city he needs to keep blue.
“It was an absolute disaster under Bonnie Crombie,” Ford said in March, pledging to send “an army down” to support Parrish. “What I say to Bonnie Crombie: bring it on, let’s go, we’re ready.”
Ford has privately urged his Mississauga caucus to get behind Parrish should Crombie enter the race — a message at least one PC MPP was glad to receive. “We would love to,” that member said.
The Tories aren’t losing sleep over Crombie. “Mississauga already had to bear the cost of an approximately $3.5-million mayoral by-election after she abandoned City Hall to pursue the Ontario Liberal leadership,” one Progressive Conservative operative said, describing it as an “opportunistic detour.”
“I’d ask why,” a second said. “She’s been the mayor. If it was so important to her, she could have stayed. She tried to get a better job, failed — then what? Comes back to what she knows?”
But should Crombie win, that source isn’t worried about how Ford would get along with her. “He will be just fine either way. He’s got a great relationship with Steven Del Duca, Andrea Horwath, and especially Olivia Chow. He’s proven he can get along with anyone if he needs to. But in this case, I don’t think he’ll need to. She already abandoned Mississauga — you think they’ll take her back?”
A third source’s reply: a GIF of Marty McFly and Doc Brown from Back to the Future. “See you in the future. You mean the past? Exactly.”
Thank you for reading POLICORNER. Are you someone Crombie called — or didn’t? Are you the Premier, army in tow? Get in touch — anonymity guaranteed. We’re back in your inbox on Monday.
Got 5+ on your team? Team subscriptions are available. Got a client with a message to reach the province’s most powerful players? Ask for our ad rates. Reach out.
Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now.
SCOOP — Bonnie Crombie is running for Mississauga mayor.
Publicly, Crombie is playing it cool. “I care deeply about Mississauga and the people of Mississauga,” she said in a statement. “The residents deserve strong, experienced and accountable leadership. I’m listening closely to people and will have more to say soon.”
But sources say Mississauga’s ex-mayor, who has already collected the required signatures, is expected to register as early as next week. Crombie has spent the last few weeks meeting with organizers and donors — some of whom she has privately signalled her intention to run — while maintaining a visible presence at local events.
Who’s who: The former Liberal leader is going big-tent, turning to Richard Ciano to run her campaign. Ciano, who co-founded Campaign Research with Nick Kouvalis in 2008 before the two parted ways in 2024, is a former Ontario PC Party president, and once served as a senior advisor to Rob Ford. (Kouvalis, for his part, is helping Carolyn Parrish.)
But some of the key architects behind her previous mayoral campaigns — and some of her closest advisers as Liberal leader — are conspicuously absent. Among them: Darryn McArthur, who engineered Crombie’s 2018 and 2022 re-elections and her successful leadership campaign.
The big picture: It would pit the former mayor against the incumbent this October, bringing full circle a rivalry born out of a heated council contest in 2011. Parrish registered to run for re-election last month, pledging “experience, proven dedication and boundless energy that will serve our city well.”
In a December interview, Parrish said she felt “sorry” for Crombie, who was then considering a run against her. “You didn’t leave because you loved the job. You went to do something bigger. Okay, I get that — but to come back? It’s like me running for the school board again. The fact that she’s even considering it kind of makes me feel sorry.”
Alvin Tedjo and Dipika Damerla, both long allied with Crombie, are also running. In the last by-election, the two competed for many of the same organizers and networks Crombie has long depended on — a divide that worked in Parrish’s favour and that the then-Liberal leader later called “unfortunate.”
Those around all three privately fear a repeat. It’s why while Damerla watched to see if Crombie would enter — at one point leaning toward staying out of the race altogether — Tedjo didn’t wait, hoping to shut the door on Crombie before she had made her decision.
He told Moore in the Morning in April he wasn’t convinced the ex-mayor would get the reception she might expect. “To leave and then come back, it feels like an ex-boyfriend wanting to get back together.”
Ryan Vopni, Tedjo’s campaign manager, said in a statement that the city “should not be treated as Bonnie Crombie’s back up plan.” “Every year they have been mayor, Bonnie Crombie and Carolyn Parrish chose to raise Mississauga’s property taxes. Mississauga cannot afford another term of legacy mayors whose tired ideas left us in this affordability crisis.”
Neither Damerla nor Parrish responded to a request for comment.
Behind the scenes: Since resigning as Liberal leader in January, Crombie had been quietly probing support for a potential run, even as she weighed other options — an appointment to a federal agency, a Senate seat or a move into the private sector — repeatedly saying “all options are on the table.”
Privately, while some have encouraged Crombie to run, many of those closest to her have directly cautioned her against it.
“I’ve supported Bonnie Crombie in the past, but she won’t have my support," said one source, among several who spoke on condition of anonymity. “She chose to leave the role, and I believe that chapter is over. I don’t think she can win — and her candidacy would likely invite unnecessary provincial interference in what should remain a local municipal election.”
“I guess it’ll help that people in Mississauga still think she’s the mayor,” a second source said, adding they’ll vote for Crombie even though they had hoped she’d stay out. “She could probably win. It doesn’t mean she will. But if she loses, it’ll be f--king embarrassing. Maybe she sees a path with Dipika and Alvin in the race, but those are all votes that could’ve gone to her.”
A third source close to her cautioned “she’ll need to put in 120 per cent.” “This will be like 2014. This can’t be a wishy-washy, feel-good campaign. They have to run a really good campaign — not a rah-rah bullshit campaign.”
But that source, a key organizer for Crombie, pushed back on the notion that her support has eroded. “We don’t leave our friends. We stand by them,” they said. “Those who are friends with Bonnie and have been on the sidelines were just not sure she was actually going to run. The moment they find out she’s in, they’ll come back. The day she shows strength, all of them will come back.”
Early look: A poll conducted by Mainstreet Research in late April found Crombie in a virtual dead heat with Parrish. The firm confirmed the document was authentic, but when asked who commissioned it, declined to comment further.
By the numbers: Among all voters, Parrish led Crombie, 19.8 per cent to 19.5 per cent. Both are far ahead of Tedjo, at 10 per cent. Damerla sat fourth at 6.9 per cent. 33.7 per cent don’t know who they’d pick.
In a two-way race, Crombie narrowly beat Parrish, 50.1 to 49.9. Tedjo fared worse, losing to Parrish 46.4 to 53.6.
The Ford government has skin in this game. Keeping an ally in the province’s third-largest city is important to the Tories. Parrish has been described as a “reliable and cooperative partner,” and a Crombie win would put someone Premier Doug Ford has clashed with for years — first as mayor, then as Liberal leader — in a city he needs to keep blue.
“It was an absolute disaster under Bonnie Crombie,” Ford said in March, pledging to send “an army down” to support Parrish. “What I say to Bonnie Crombie: bring it on, let’s go, we’re ready.”
Ford has privately urged his Mississauga caucus to get behind Parrish should Crombie enter the race — a message at least one PC MPP was glad to receive. “We would love to,” that member said.
The Tories aren’t losing sleep over Crombie. “Mississauga already had to bear the cost of an approximately $3.5-million mayoral by-election after she abandoned City Hall to pursue the Ontario Liberal leadership,” one Progressive Conservative operative said, describing it as an “opportunistic detour.”
“I’d ask why,” a second said. “She’s been the mayor. If it was so important to her, she could have stayed. She tried to get a better job, failed — then what? Comes back to what she knows?”
But should Crombie win, that source isn’t worried about how Ford would get along with her. “He will be just fine either way. He’s got a great relationship with Steven Del Duca, Andrea Horwath, and especially Olivia Chow. He’s proven he can get along with anyone if he needs to. But in this case, I don’t think he’ll need to. She already abandoned Mississauga — you think they’ll take her back?”
A third source’s reply: a GIF of Marty McFly and Doc Brown from Back to the Future. “See you in the future. You mean the past? Exactly.”
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