Boni Crombie's term as the Mayor of Mississauga officially ended yesterday, Friday, after she previously announced her withdrawal to dedicate herself to leading the Liberal Party in Ontario, following her leadership victory.

Friday coincided with Crombie’s last day at the City Council, a position she has held for a decade, having been first elected in 2014.

Crombie told reporters after her final council meeting on Wednesday: "It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the great city of Mississauga, we have gone through tough times and wonderful ones."

Her next challenge will be to face Ontario Premier Doug Ford at Queen’s Park and rebuild the Liberal Party after a significant failure in the last two provincial election rounds.

Crombie’s pledge to effect change, revitalize the party base, and her ability to stand up to Ford, is what propelled her to take party leadership on last December 2.

Crombie, the new leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, which has nine members in the parliament, said she aims to defeat the Conservatives in 2026.

She said: "My goal is to win. We will offer an effective, efficient, transparent, and trustworthy government alternative to this government, a government with integrity that people can rely on."

Crombie has not yet gained a seat in the parliament, having been handed the party leadership position after the 2022 provincial elections. Nevertheless, Scott Reid, a political commentator on CTV News, says he is not particularly worried about Crombie not attending parliamentary activities.

He said winning a seat and being present in parliament has probably become less important now than ever before in our political history. Her top priority should be fundraising, raising her profile, and expanding the Liberal Party’s prospects."

He pointed out that Crombie can still host press conferences and participate in daily activities at Queen’s Park.

For her part, Crombie said there is a lot of work to be done on the ground, and she will not immediately seek a seat, although a seat in Lambton Kent Middlesex is expected to become available at some point this year.

Crombie had a good relationship with Ford over the past few years in her position as Mayor, but this relationship has cooled since December 2.