Ajax MPP Rob Cerjanec has entered the race to lead the Ontario Liberal Party, pitching himself as a pragmatic rebuild candidate whose seat at Queen's Park gives him an advantage over his rivals.

Cerjanec, first elected in 2025, told The Provincial Times his campaign will centre on affordability, health care, housing and public education, while rebuilding the Liberal party itself.

In his announcement, Cerjanec said he is running because he believes "Ontario families deserve a government that works as hard as they do."

A crowded field of Liberal brands

He faces three competitors in the 2026 leadership race: Etobicoke—Lakeshore MPP Lee Fairclough, former Mississauga area MP and federal cabinet minister Navdeep Bains, and Dylan Marando, a former political staffer and policy adviser.

Cerjanec argued his presence in the legislature sets him apart, allowing a leader to hold the Ford government to account and show Ontarians the Liberals are a credible alternative.

"If we want a different result, we need to have a different approach," Cerjanec told The Provincial Times.

Public services and OSAP

Cerjanec said core social services should stay in public hands, arguing that strengthening public institutions beats moving toward privatization.

We need to strengthen our public system. Privatizing social services actually costs governments more, and it doesn't help people.

He also pledged to reverse cuts to the Ontario Student Assistance Program, framing education as central to the province's economic future.

Education shouldn't be viewed as an expense; it should be viewed as an investment. That's how we prepare young people for success.

Housing-first over shelters

Cerjanec said he would back a housing-first approach to homelessness, pointing to his support for Bill 28, a housing-first bill co-sponsored by Fairclough. For him, that means building supportive and transitional housing rather than relying on a shelter-first model.

If you build more shelters, you get more people in shelters. If you build homes, you get people out of shelters and off the streets and into housing.

Asked how he differs from the Ontario NDP, Cerjanec described his approach as pragmatic and evidence-based, and said he is willing to draw on good ideas from across the political spectrum.

Nobody holds a monopoly over a good idea.

A record built at Queen's Park

Since his election, Cerjanec has served as the Liberals' critic for economic development and innovation, and for tourism, sport and culture. He is also second vice-chair of the standing committee on finance and economic affairs.

He has sponsored Bill 61, which would require the government to develop an artificial intelligence, talent and innovation strategy, and has co-sponsored bills on ticket resale price caps, sex offender registry disclosure and tax relief for people under 27.

Cerjanec said that record shows he has pushed the government on issues including GO Transit service, Metrolinx accountability and Premier Doug Ford's purchase of a private jet.

Before entering provincial politics, Cerjanec worked in the education and public sectors, including as an operations manager at George Brown College, chief of staff to former Toronto deputy mayor Ana Bailão, and executive lead at the Durham District School Board. He holds a political science degree and an MBA from York University's Schulich School of Business.

The Provincial Times reported that Fairclough's campaign did not respond to a request for comment.