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Scott Stinson: Ontario Liberal leadership race is off to a messy start

The party has rejected an appeal from federal MP Nate Erskine-Smith in a disputed nomination race

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Navdeep Bains declared his candidacy to lead the Ontario Liberals on Monday with a video that only someone confident of winning would produce.

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The former minister in Justin Trudeau’s federal cabinet doesn’t introduce himself or even say anything, just sits down and rolls up his sleeves before “Let’s get to work” is flashed on the screen.

Scott Stinson: Ontario Liberal leadership race is off to a messy start Back to video

His name, helpfully, is flashed at the end of the brief clip, for the benefit of the viewers — presumably a great many of them — who did not immediately recognize the man who left an executive job at Rogers to return to political life.

And why wouldn’t he be confident? Bains is said to have the backing of some party heavyweights, and his registered opponents so far are rookie Toronto MPP Lee Fairclough and Dylan Marando, a backroom staffer. Ajax MPP Rob Cerjanec, also first elected just last year, is expected to join them.

The one wild card? That would be Bains’ former colleague in the Trudeau government, current Beaches-East York MP Nate Erskine-Smith. He announced plans........

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