Steven Del Duca's to-do list: Rebuild Ontario's Liberals, take on Doug Ford

For Steven Del Duca, winning the Ontario Liberal leadership was the easy job.

Del Duca, a former cabinet minister, succeeds Kathleen Wynneas party leaderafter his landslide first-ballot victory at Saturday's Liberal convention in Mississauga.

Now Del Duca faces the far more difficult tasks of rebuilding his third-place party, taking on incumbent Premier Doug Ford, and giving Ontarianswho want Ford gone a compelling reason to vote Liberal in 2022 rather than NDPor Green.

Here's what's on Steven Del Duca's to-do list:

1. Introduce himself to Ontarians

People who follow politics closely know Del Ducafrom his six years as the Liberal MPPfor Vaughan, Ont., including four years in cabinet. But for the vast majority of Ontario voters, he's unknown.

His back story has the potential for some appeal: he's a first generation Canadian, son of a Scottish mother and Italian father. He went to law school, graduating from OsgoodeHall in Toronto in 2007.

While even his supporters admit he's far from the most charismatic politician Ontario has ever seen, they argue he is smart, hard-working and plain-spoken.

But the Progressive Conservatives and NDPwill quickly aim to tie Del Duca to the Liberal legacy that brought about the party's decimation in 2018, and paint him as emblematic of all that is wrong with Liberals in power.

"He's the Liberal party's gift to us," a PC insider told CBC Newsat their party convention in Niagara Falls, Ont., last month. Speaking on condition of anonymity to reveal the party's internal discussions, the insider said the PCs hoped Del Ducawould win because they believe he will be far less appealing to voters than other Liberal leadership candidates.

NDP leader Andrea Horwathhas her attack lines ready.

"The people of Ontario have to keep in mind what the Liberal track record was," Horwath said last week."Mr.Del Duca will be a very quick and easy reminder about why people rejected the Liberals for their behaviours in the last 15 years."

2. Deal with his baggage

Del Duca's tenure as transportation minister is not without controversy. He was criticized in the 2018 auditor general's report for approving construction of two GO stations against the advice of Metrolinxstaff, including one at Kirby, near his Vaughan riding.

Del Duca defendsthe move as the right call, saying the analysis by Metrolinx didn't take into account expected population growth.

Just last month, CBC News revealed Del Ducabuilt a backyard swimming pool without all the necessary permitsand too close to neighbouring conservation land, according to municipal bylaws. Del Ducacalls it an "embarrassing ... honest mistake" and is seeking a land swap to bringthe pool into compliance.

As a key member of Wynne's government, Del Duca will also need to figure out whether to distance himself from her record, embrace her accomplishments, or toe some fine line between the two.

Dan Moulton, a former Liberal staffer, now an analyst with Crestview Strategy, a Toronto-based communications and government relations firm, says he is less concerned about Del Duca's baggage than about "whether Ontarians know who he is at all."

It's crucial for Del Duca to communicate to voters "whyhe's in politics and what motivates him" before other parties have the chance to define him first, said Moulton.

3. Rebuild the Liberal machine

Among Del Duca's most important tasks now:"the unglamorous but very, very important work of party building," says one of his senior campaign advisers. This means nurturing local riding associations, recruiting candidates, developing policies and raising money, all with an eye toward the June 2022 election.

"It's going to entail working like crazy over the next 26 months," said the adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy.

The 2018 election disaster left the Ontario Liberals with not only their worst result in party history, but also with a financial mess. The party raised just $970,000 last year, according to donations recorded on the Elections Ontario website. It's a far cry from the PCs' haul last year in excess of $4.8 million. Doug Ford raked in more than $2 million on just one night this past week, at his annual leaders' dinner.

If any of the leadership candidates have the organizational skills for the rebuild, it's Del Duca. Active in the party since he was 15, Del Duca worked his way upfrom lowly volunteer through political staffer and riding-level campaign manager before becoming the party's candidate to succeed the longtime Vaughan MPPand Liberal minence grise Greg Sorbara.

In large part through Del Duca'srecruiting, the Liberal leadership race boosted the party's membership numbers to the 38,000 mark, back in line with its pre-2018 figures. His decisive victory at the convention also means the party is less divided than it could have been had the race turned intoa bitter toe-to-toe battle between two distinct Liberal factions.

Expect Del Duca to announce an election readiness team as early as next week.

4. Contrast with the NDP

Much could change by the time Ontarians go the polls in 2022, but right now the nextelection looks set to be a referendum on Doug Ford. People who want to vote "no" in that referendum will have options other than Del Duca's Liberals, chiefly Horwath's New Democrats.

Given that the Liberals and NDP (as well as the Greens) will be fishing in the same pool of anti-Ford voters, Del Ducaneeds to contrast himself as the clear alternative. He'll likely do that by painting the New Democrats as ineffective inholding Ford to account, as he did in his speech to the convention Saturday, and by whipping up fears that an NDPgovernment would harm the economy.

But he will also need to craft compelling reasons to win back the nearly 750,000 voters who fled from the Liberals in 2018, and win over the millennials who now make up the largest demographic chunk of potential voters.

"People need a reason to show up other than to vote against something," said Moulton.

"Millennial voters in particular look for that in their politics," he added. "We as Liberals have to articulate a vision that when they show up and vote, it's going to lead tochange."

In his convention speech, Del Duca hinted at some of the themes he's expected tocampaign on: climate change, universal pharmacare, a patient bill of rights, and protections for workers in the gig economy.

5. Face off against Doug Ford

There are plenty of voices out there insisting there's no way Doug Ford can win a second term in 2022, but that's a rather naive view. Ford loves campaigning, he has a formidable re-election team and his party is rolling in cash.

The Liberals cannot simply rely on Ford losing. Del Duca knows that, as does his team. "Anyone who suggests that this government is done fordoesn't know what they're talking about," said his senior adviser.

"It took Doug Ford and his friends 15 years to win an election. They will not give up easily," Del Duca said in his speech.

You cannot overstate the size of the task facing Del Duca, with so few incumbent MPPs, so little money, and the brutal 2018 defeat still fresh in voters'mind.

But it's not unheard of for a party to go from a distant third-place finish to a majority win within one election cycle. Justin Trudeau's Liberals did it federally in 2015. Mike Harris's PCs did it in Ontario in 1995. Steven Del Duca'sefforts to make that happen in 2022 start today.