Happy Canada Day! I love this country. I’m proud to be Canadian, and grateful to call Ontario home. Our challenges are real, but so is our promise. Canada remains one of the luckiest countries on Earth, and together, we can build a even better future. Canada can still win. 🇨🇦

Most politicians aren’t honest about our housing system disaster, because the truth is hard. For housing to be affordable again, prices need to fall. That’s exactly what federal and provincial governments bailing out big condo developers are trying to stop. And I get it! - - - Falling home prices means many businesses, people, seniors, and families will lose wealth in real estate. But it’s unavoidable. Anyone saying otherwise is lying and has no intention of fixing things. By 2035, I want price-to-income ratios for housing in Ontario fall to 5:1, which is considered “balanced” (see chart). I would also like to see the price of market rents for 3B fall to under 30% of family income. By being honest about this, I can also speak to the “losers” of change, promise help those who need it through the affordability transition, and ultimately enable greater economic confidence. It’s also worth saying that maintaining “flat” prices with rising incomes won’t work for two reasons: First, because it will take 30 years if not longer to restore true affordability. Second, because the high cost of housing has undermined our productive economy and its ability to generate income growth in the first place. - - - For 30 years, municipal, provincial, and federal governments, progressive, Liberal, and Conservative, have mismanaged our housing system. It was not a partisan failure, but a failure of last generation’s political class to uphold the bargain of an attainable middle class life for the next one. I’m not running for Ontario Liberal Leader to defend these failures, but to acknowledge them and then offer a real path forward. I have 5 priorities: 1) Fix our housing supply system through land use, permitting, and building code reform. 2) Abolish taxes on new housing (and moving) while repairing municipal finance by making cities more than whole. - - - 1 & 2 can lower the cost of building new homes by 30% or more. It will get industry building again and produce better quality housing. - - - 3) Help young people buy homes earlier in life (ideally before 30) so they start families earlier. Yes, these ideas will boost demand. 4) Prevent downward mobility and financial entrapment for middle and working class homeowners, families, and seniors because of falling prices. These are the people governments should help (not big developers). 5) Invest in non-market housing to prevent at-risk Ontarians from ending up homeless and to help the very sick people we’ve allowed to become homeless get the care and treatment they deserve.

To everyone who has reached out over the last few days, especially those who are angry about the direction of Ontario and Canada, I have a request. Channel it into resolve. Have some faith that this campaign can win. Give yourself a reason to hope. I want to ask my supporters to hold themselves to a high standard in public. Treat people with respect. Show no prejudice. Assume good faith where you can. But do not mistake this as a call for silence. Be loud. Make jokes. Be clever. Be optimistic. This campaign does not need to scold people into agreement. Let’s persuade, build, and to give people a reason to believe Ontario and Canada can still win. (And for critics, please have the maturity to understand that I don’t control which people say what online). - - - The standards we see in public life are not much different from the standards we collectively tolerate. If we want better politics, we have to practise it too. That includes being respectful of the @OntLiberal and the people involved in it. Throughout this process, they have been professional and courteous. Especially the grassroots, who have been so welcoming as I’ve traveled the province. We have so many good people in Ontario. From every background. From every community. I’ve never had more faith that the future here is going to be incredible. Whether you’re a long time Liberal, a new one, or a “Lombardi Liberal”, you are welcome in the big coalition I want to build to take down our ineffective and tired government. I’m not running against the Liberal party, but to lead it. Not to defend its past, but to give it a future. I never expected a red-carpet rollout, nor should I have. The truth is that I still have much to prove. I have not yet earned the trust of many Liberals, and some of my critics and skeptics have every right to be skeptical. That is healthy in a democracy. I know I need to get better as a speaker. I know people will notice my lisp. I know a platform is not everything. Politics is also about trust, judgment, discipline, and the ability to bring people with you. But I also believe ideas matter. Serious ideas deserve serious debate. Criticism made in good faith will be met with good faith. In the campaign ahead, we will put forward a vision for Ontario that offers a REAL CHOICE. People will agree with much of it. Some will disagree with parts of it. That is exactly how it should be. I have strong convictions, but I do not claim to have a monopoly on good ideas. I will keep an open mind. I am prepared to have my views challenged, clarified, and improved. That is the point of democracy. And on a personal note, I am genuinely grateful to have this opportunity to participate in it. - - - I also want to make something clear. I have been consistently underestimated throughout this entire endeavour. I hope that continues. People are looking at this race through the lens of traditional politics. I am not. So don’t expect me to become typical. I will continue to be myself on this platform. I will continue to say what I think. And yes, I will hit back on bad-faith when it makes a point. Without apology. This campaign is built on simple beliefs: ideas matter, people are hungry for solutions, and Ontario can still win. Let’s own the future. 🚀 (Whew that became long)