Former Cambridge Mayor Kathryn McGarry named president of Ontario Liberal Party

A former Ontario Liberal cabinet minister and municipal leader is now the party’s new president as Kathryn McGarry was named to the role on Sunday, the final day of the party’s annual general meeting in Hamilton.

McGarry served as minister of natural resources and transportation minister under former premier Kathleen Wynne, but lost her seat representing the riding of Cambridge in 2018.

She then served a single term as Cambridge’s mayor before losing her re-election bid last October.

Other members of the Ontario Liberals’ new executive team include Damien O’Brien as executive vice-president, Pankaj Sandhu as secretary and Tim Shorthill as treasurer.

One of the new team’s first orders of business will be to set the rules and timelines for a leadership race, which party members voted on Saturday to conduct using a one-member-one-vote system rather than a delegated convention.