“Trump is not clearing his schedule to have lunch with Dougie”: Bonnie Crombie isn’t done coming after Doug Ford

Bonnie Crombie is a familiar face in the GTA after serving as the mayor of Mississauga—but a relatively unknown quantity as the provincial Liberal leader. Her plans to connect with voters across Ontario were forced into high gear late last month, when Doug Ford called a snap election that will send us to the polls in just a few days. Ford says he needs a strong mandate from his constituents in order to fight back against Donald Trump and the tariff threat. Crombie says it’s all a big pile of pierogi. Here, she shares her plan to get family doctors back on the job, why she called out Ford on the cost of eggs and why her centrist approach is the political potpourri Ontario needs

As we speak, the premier is back in Washington. Ford has said that Canada’s fight against Trump and his tariffs is the reason he called the election: he needs a strong mandate to put up a fight. He already has a strong mandate. He is the leader of a majority government. How do you get stronger than that? It’s all an excuse to call an early election. It’s very opportunistic, and I think the reason he is doing this is because he’s trying to outrun an RCMP investigation. He says he’s all about protecting jobs, but the only job he’s really protecting is his own.

Zing! He’s in Washington doing photo ops with low-level advisers. It’s not like Donald Trump is saying, “Clear my schedule—I want to have lunch with Dougie.”

Maybe he’s heard about Ford’s famous macaroni and cheese. I actually had dinner with Ford back when I was mayor of Mississauga, and that’s what we ate. He doesn’t really eat meat. He loves pasta. But the more important thing here is that calling an early election is costing Ontarians $189 million.

Related: “Maybe Doug Ford isn’t used to hearing input from women”—A Q&A with Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie

What would the Liberal party do with $189 million? Well, I think we could look at our education system, which has seen so many cuts under Ford, or our health care system, which he is deliberately underfunding—starving the public system so that he can justify ushering in privatized health care. We have announced our $3-billion commitment to health care, which just so happens to be the exact amount that Ford and his government spent sending out $200 cheques to Ontarians. It’s nice to have a cheque—it can help you buy groceries, pay your rent—but it’s a one-time thing.

Our health care plan will ensure that everyone in Ontario has a family doctor within four years. We’d recruit 3,100 doctors by compensating them properly, in addition to recruiting more nurses and PSWs. We need to attract back some of the 6,000 family doctors who left their practices to work elsewhere. We need to incentivize retirement-age doctors to stay a little longer, and we need to bring in foreign-trained doctors. We’re planning to double residency programs, we’re introducing a mentorship program and we’re going to incentivize Canadian doctors who are working south of the border to come home.

Related: Ontario’s health care system is in chaos, and these doctors and patients are fed up

This all sounds good but expensive. Are you sure it won’t bring down the economy “faster than a Canadian bobsled,” to quote one of Ford’s lines from Monday’s debate? Right. That’s coming from the man who wants to spend 40 years building a $200-billion tunnel under the highway. The man who wants to spend $2.2 billion to turn a public park into a private megaspa. Where are his priorities?

You have been critical of the Ontario Place spa project. As premier, would you simply cancel it? I am opposed to it, but I think we would have to review what we’ve signed on to. Nobody’s seen these contracts, including me, so that’s what we need to do first, and then if we can roll it back, of course. Step one would be hiring an investigator to look into the shady deals, and I believe there are many. Look at the Science Centre, which supposedly had to close because the roof would collapse under one big snow storm. I guess that wasn’t true!

Ford has called you Queen of the Carbon Tax. That’s just so untrue. The reason we have a carbon tax in Ontario is because Doug Ford didn’t have a climate plan, and every province that didn’t got a carbon tax. I have never, ever supported a climate tax. Period. What I said was that people are struggling, they can’t afford new taxes, and I would not ever implement a consumer carbon tax on families or farmers. We need a climate plan, and we will make polluters pay, but there will not be a tax.

That doesn’t sound like something the Queen of the Carbon Tax would say. Well, the thing is that Conservatives like to play loose with the facts. While I’m correcting things: I don’t have a $500-million house in the Hamptons, either.

You also went for the jugular at Monday’s debate, calling Ford a silver spooner who didn’t know the price of eggs. I wanted to make the contrast clear. Ford doesn’t understand the needs of people because he really hasn’t struggled. People are choosing between paying rent, phone bills and groceries—it’s really tough right now, and I see the moms in the grocery store because I’m also a mom and I also shop for groceries.

What’s the price of eggs? Usually around $5, or $7 if you’re getting the Omega kind.

You ended the debate by imploring Ontario NDP supporters to vote Liberal. At the same time, you have positioned yourself as a leader bringing the Liberal party further to the right. So which is it? My pitch is that, if you share my vision, if you want everyone to have a family doctor in four years, if you want to pay lower taxes, then vote for us because we’re going to deliver. We need a new government to move this province in the direction it needs to go. We are the party with the wind in our sails, and we have created a platform and a vision that will appeal to NDP voters, Green Party voters and Red Tories.

Usually the Liberals and the NDP are competing with each other, but I was recently listening to a pollster talk about how voters felt you were failing to differentiate yourself from Ford. That is just not true. Ford wants to benefit all of his friends and donors, and I want to benefit the people of Ontario. I think I am a lot more socially progressive than Ford. For example, my message that mental health care is health care—that’s something we are going to address with a plan to include mental health coverage under OHIP. I recognize that Ford’s use of the notwithstanding clause to address people living in encampments is an abuse of civil liberties. We don’t criminalize people experiencing homelessness. We need to provide treatment, and 340 beds across the province isn’t going to do that.

You mentioned in the debate that you’re a lover of Polish food. Where should people go for pierogies in Toronto? Ideally, we should all go to my mother’s. But, if not, I would say there are a lot of great places on Roncesvalles and the Queensway. Café Polonez, Pierogi King, Chopin. In Mississauga, I would go to Arkady or order from Baby Point Lounge. Or you can buy frozen from Starskies. There really are a lot of great options.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.