QUEEN'S PARK — It's not official until the party holds a confirmation vote, but Marit Stiles is on track to become the new leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party, succeeding Andrea Horwath who stepped down after the provincial election in June.
The MPP for the Toronto-area riding of Davenport was the only candidate who applied for the job by the 1 a.m. Tuesday deadline for filing.
Both NDP members from Northwestern Ontario welcomed the prospect of working under Stiles, who's a former school board trustee and has served as the NDP's education critic.
"I'm excited. There's consensus behind Marit that she is the best person to be the leader of the party at this time," said Lise Vaugeois, the MPP for Thunder Bay-Superior North.
Vaugeois described Stiles as "smart and sincere," adding that "she brings a lot of depth to the issues."
Vaugeois said she's pleased that the new leader spent time working for NDP MPP Gilles Bisson in Timmins earlier in her career, meaning "she already has at least some experience dealing with Northern issues."
Stiles' acclamation has cost the NDP a valuable opportunity to gain attention from voters during the run-up to a leadership convention .
Vaugeois conceded Tueday that "a contest is a very good thing" but for a variety of reasons other potential candidates felt it wasn't the right time for them to pursue the job.
She emphasized, though, that caucus members are also very confident in Stiles' leadership abilities.
Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa, who is one of the party's deputy leaders, extended his congratulations to Stiles and said he will support her "to the fullest."
Mamakwa had given some consideration to running for the top job, and agreed that a race would have been generated some excitement and exposure.
But he was concerned that being leader would impact his ability to devote the necessary time to issues affecting his riding and Northern Ontario, an area he described as "the unseen Ontario, the unseen Canada."
"It's a lot of work to be a leader of a party," Mamakwa said. "I can only speak for myself, but there are so many issues happening in my riding, and I think what [being leader] does is take away the visits to the riding, and you have to focus on the whole of Ontario."
