May 16, 2026
Today, a petition to amend the Ontario Liberal Party’s constitution was delivered electronically to the Executive Director and the President of the Ontario Liberal Party,
We demand change.
The 2025 Hogue Inquiry report identified that internal party nomination and leadership contests are vulnerable to foreign interference and influence. The Hon. Marie-Josée Hogue provided recommendations on mitigating this threat, and specifically recommendation #31 that “Only Canadian citizens and permanent residents should be eligible to vote in nomination and leadership contests”, among other measures, at both provincial and federal levels. The Liberal Party of Canada, in the 2025 Leadership Contest Rules, implemented this recommendation federally.
This amendment proposes to change the definition of member in Section 3.1 to give effect to the recommendation of the Hogue Inquiry and restricts membership of the Ontario Liberal Party to Canadian Citizens, Permanent Residents, and those with Status under the Indian Act, mirroring the federal Liberal eligibility for voting in leadership races and nomination contests.
This amendment would bring the Ontario Liberal Party’s constitution in line with the Liberal Party of Canada’s constitution, which was recently amended at the Biennial Convention in Montreal.
If passed at the next Annual Meeting by a two-thirds (2/3) majority, the full text of the relevant section of the constitution will be amended as follows:
Current Text
3. Membership
Members
3.1 The membership of the Ontario Liberal Party is open to any person who:
- has attained the age of fourteen (14);
- Is resident in Ontario;
- Supports the purposes of the Party;
- abides by the constitution; and
- is not a member of any other provincial political party in Ontario
Proposed Amendment
Definitions
“Permanent Resident” means a person having the status of permanent resident under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
3. Membership
Members
3.1 The membership of the Ontario Liberal Party is open to any person who:
- Is a Canadian Citizen, a Permanent Resident, or a person with status under the Indian Act;
- has attained the age of fourteen (14);
- Is resident in Ontario;
- Supports the purposes of the Party;
- abides by the constitution; and
- is not a member of any other provincial political party in Ontario
Join the Section 31 Liberals
We’ll need your help to ensure this amendment passes. Join us. We’ll share how we’ll secure the support we need at the Annual Meeting in the coming weeks. Don’t forget, you must be an active member of the Ontario Liberal Party to vote. You can renew your membership here.
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About the Section 31 Liberals
We are a grassroots group of Liberals from every corner of the province and from diverse political and ideological backgrounds. We are united by only one thing: passing this amendment for the betterment of the Ontario Liberal Party. You can contact us at media@section31liberals.ca