Ontario Premier Doug Ford called Bonnie Crombie's pursuit of the Liberal leadership a "slap in the face" to Mississauga residents.
Crombie officially announced Monday that he formed an exploratory committee to study the Ontario Liberal Party leadership race. It's the next logical step for the politician, who in early May could be seen hobnobbing with high-profile politicians and strategists at the Liberal National Convention in Ottawa.
The Mississauga mayor spoke to the media Tuesday and described herself as a centrist who would focus her leadership on "addressing what's broken" in Ontario.
She also said she would not leave her post as mayor as she prepares for a leadership bid, adding that she would campaign on weekdays and weekends.
Here's Premier Ford's reaction to Bonnie Crombie's intentions to seek the Liberal leadership
"My first reaction is what took her so long, she's been campaigning for five years now. My second reaction is: go ahead. You can't run for mayor or be mayor and at the same time run for leadership, you can't put your butt on both sides of the fence. We are making the biggest change in the history of Mississauga and Peel, and this is all about Bonnie Crombie's political agenda, not about the people of Mississauga, I am going to take care of the people of Mississauga, while Bonnie Crombie walks around the province not caring about the people who elected her. In my opinion, this is a slap in the face to the residents there."
Yesterday Bonnie Crombie was saying that she will campaign for the leadership in her spare time, evenings and weekends and that if it gets to a point where this demands too much of her time then she would take a leave of absence.
If Crombie wins and becomes the next leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, or decides to step down during the race, Mississauga would come under a new mayor.