The party’s not over — but to bring it back to life, the Ontario Liberals know they have a lot of work ahead of them.And at the centre of the rebuilding will be the seven MPPs who survived an election that saw the party go from majority government at Queen’s Park to losing official status. “The first thing is listening to people, to get a better understanding of why people felt so disconnected,” said MPP and former cabinet minister Michael Coteau, who was re-elected in Don Valley East in a tough fight with PC candidate Denzil Minnan-Wong. “What was really behind the hate for the Liberals, in many areas?”Coteau said he believes Liberal values and policies still have support, but in the last few years, “it was hard for people to stay connected to us.” Outrage over issues like hydro “was the piece that was obvious,” said Coteau, who held three big portfolios prior to the election — children and youth, anti-racism and community and social services. “But there are other pieces that are there that are less obvious, and we need to talk about them.”After the June 7 vote, and 15 years in power, the Liberals faced the wrath of voters, who reduced their numbers to a handful of MPPs, including Coteau, outgoing Premier Kathleen Wynne and Mitzie Hunter in the Toronto area; John Fraser, Nathalie Des Rosiers and Marie-France Lalonde in the Ottawa area; and Michael Gravelle in Thunder Bay-Superior North.Read more:Ontario voter turnout highest since 1999 What does losing official party status mean in Ontario?Opinion | Why Ontarians relate to Doug Ford and not his media critics“The results speak for themselves — it was a clear message,” said Hunter, who represents Scarborough-Guildwood. “We have to listen to that.”The first challenge will be for the remaining Liberal MPPs to push for party status — which would provide them with funding and the right to regularly ...
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