Ontario Green leader Mike Schreiner is staying in his job after a weeks-long saga that saw many prominent Ontario Liberals try to draft him into the Grits' leadership race.
Schreiner made the announcement over Twitter on Tuesday morning and was later seen in Queen’s Park wearing his usual green tie.
“I want to thank the 40 Liberals who had the courage to take the unprecedented step of writing me a letter encouraging me to run for Ontario Liberal Party (OLP) leader, opening a conversation about how progressive parties might work differently,” Schreiner said in the video. “I've asked myself and others how I can best make a positive difference in building the Ontario we truly want and the answer for me is as the leader of the Ontario Green party, because we need strong Green voices at Queen's Park to remain focused on the need for climate action.”
Liberal interim leader John Fraser said Schreiner’s decision didn’t come as a surprise.
"I have gotten to know Mike Schreiner over the last four and a half years, and we have worked well together. I am not in any way surprised by his decision. I will continue to work collaboratively with Mike to hold the Ford Conservatives to account,” Fraser said in an emailed statement.
In late January, 40 people with deep ties to the Liberal party — including three former cabinet ministers, a sitting Liberal MPP, and campaign directors — signed an open letter asking Schreiner to switch sides and run for leader of the OLP.
“Our party needs to rediscover a politics of purpose and principle. We need to reach out to a new generation of voters. We need to open up to new people and new ideas and to embrace the kind of energy and enthusiasm that is driving grassroots activism and engagement across the province,” the letter said. “And that’s why we’re turning to you.”
The switching sides idea was first floated by TVO’s Steve Paikin last September.
Paikin himself admitted the idea was a little “nutty.” He also said it was “unorthodox” and “creative,” and maybe just enough of the former to work.
Schreiner initially said he had no plans to switch and was happy leading Ontario’s Green party. As the weeks went on and some prominent Liberals warmed to the idea, it got more serious. One senior Liberal organizer, who signed the eventual letter, said they’d spoken to Schreiner about a potential move a few times since the Paikin column.
The Trillium granted the source anonymity to speak candidly about sensitive intra-party matters.
“It was very clear that he was not going to consider it in backroom discussions,” the source said. “He would only do it if he could openly have discussions with the Green party, the people of Guelph, and Liberals.”
“So we thought, how do we get this into the public domain? That’s how we decided on the open letter.”
Schreiner reached out to Greens, the people of Guelph, and Liberals, through late last year and into the early part of 2023, the source said.
Some of those prominent Liberals also took the time to build a campaign team that was ready should Schreiner choose to make the jump. After the letter came out, Schreiner said publicly that he was seriously considering the idea, marking a big change from his earlier public statements.
“They have reached out across party lines in a unique way in the spirit of doing politics differently,” Schreiner said at the time. “So, I’m going to ask people to give me time to think about their arguments.”
