Marit Stiles first competed in the pool. She wants to lead an orange wave in Ontario

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles answers questions at a campaign event in Oshawa, Ont. on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

In some ways, her political career began at the community pool.

As part of a synchronized swimming team during their childhoods in Newfoundland, Marit Stiles and her younger sister, Enid, regularly had three-hour practices, weekend meets and competitions.

"Probably the first time I saw her leadership was on our teams in synchro," Enid Stiles said in a phone interview from her veterinary practice in Quebec.

Her older sister was a natural, she said, somebody their teammates would often ask for.

"She was very good at her choreography."

The precision and artistry of synchronized swimming might have given the now-Ontario NDP leader a leg up in her political career.

And Marit Stiles, 55, said she's always been a "competitive person." That's what's propelling her to run for the premiership after two years as leader of the Official Opposition, she said.

But with the NDP trailing far behind the Conservatives and the Liberals overtaking them in the polls, it will be challenging to choreograph a victory.

The early contest called by Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford put opposition parties in a scramble. With less than three weeks to go until the Feb. 27 vote, few of the policies Stiles has proposed have come with dollar figures attached.

She is relying on the competitive spirit she cultivated in her youth to convince voters on the campaign trail that it is time for a change.

"I think some of that does come from that athletic background," she said in a recent phone interview from her campaign bus in Ottawa. "It was really a lot about the learning, discipline and focus."

Stiles's eagerness to lead may have begun with a splash at the pool, but it took hold when she immersed herself in politics early on, getting involved in student life at Carleton University and becoming active in the anti-apartheid movement, she said.

Her early politics was how she met her husband, Jordan Berger.

"When I went to university, I met up with a guy I knew back home, and he was involved with the NDP club," Stiles said. "So that was kind of how I ended up connecting to the NDP. I think it was just because I met a cute boy who, by the way, I'm still with today."

"There is romance in student politics," she added with a laugh.

After graduating, Stiles began working for a New Democrat member of provincial politics, Gilles Bisson, as his executive assistant. It was the start of a decades-long career in and out of politics in Ontario.

After working for Bisson, Stiles was an assistant to then-northern development minister Shelley Martel. Then, she served as Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists' national director for a decade. She was also president of the federal NDP and a Toronto District School Board trustee.

Stiles was elected to the Toronto riding of Davenport in the 2018 election in which the NDP became the Official Opposition, and she served as the education critic.

After the 2022 election, then-party leader Andrea Horwath stepped down and Stiles began her bid to succeed her, eventually winning uncontested in February 2023.

Enid Stiles said it's not surprising that her sister pursued political leadership. The older Stiles is always up for a challenge, she said, even as the family cook.

"She is always looking at new recipes, and I always think, 'Wow, they're so hard, I don’t have time for that.’ But she’s always ready and willing," said Enid.

Low voter turnout in the 2022 election inspired her to throw her hat in the ring for NDP leadership, Marit Stiles said.

"I feel very strongly that we need to inspire people and give them hope again, that things can be better," she said.

"I think a lot of people have got to a point where they think that politics isn’t going to change anything, that government can’t change the way things are going, and that's not true."

Many of her campaign speeches have talked about her upbringing on a farm in Newfoundland and her journey to Ontario for its "promise of opportunity," as she told supporters at her campaign launch last month.

That background is something to lean on and use to her advantage in the race, said Melanie Richer, a former federal NDP communications director.

"I knew she was from Newfoundland. I didn't know that she grew up on a farm," said Richer, who works as a communications principal at Earnscliffe Strategies. "I think she's done a really good job of getting her story out, telling people what she's going to do, and taking up space, making the choice super clear."

Voters are feeling "discouraged" amid international conflicts including a possible tariff war with the U.S., said Dennis Pilon, a political science professor at York University.

"I think Stiles has been positioning herself as 'safe hands,' and as a leader who is going to consult and bring groups together," he said.

But the challenge of being the leader of an opposition party for years is often public recognition, Pilon said, which is something she'll have to focus on in the few weeks leading up to the vote.

"I think the struggle will be for her to make the most of whatever opportunities that she gets to do," said Pilon.

"She's got to remind everybody of the track record of this government. She's got to pick out the issues — and there are many — that she thinks will appeal to the group of voters that might come over to the New Democrats beyond their base."

Reaching outside her party is all the more important with some in the base already distrustful of Stiles's leadership.

In 2023, Stiles came under fire after she booted Hamilton Centre MPP Sarah Jama from the NDP caucus. Jama had posted a statement on the Israel-Hamas war that failed to mention or condemn the Oct. 7 attack on Israeli civilians. Stiles later ousted her after a series of moves from Jama that either publicly defied Stiles or caught her unaware.

The decision to oust Jama drew criticism even from New Democrats, some of whom accused the Ontario NDP leadership of failing to support racialized voices. Matthew Green, federal NDP MP for Hamilton Centre, released a statement saying he was frustrated with the provincial party's decision, while the NDP riding association in Kitchener Centre called for Stiles to resign.

Last month, Jama announced that her application to run in the upcoming Ontario election in Hamilton Centre as NDP was rejected, resulting in her current run as an independent. Hamilton Centre's provincial NDP riding association then accused the party of failing to provide fair treatment to Jama and the electoral district's New Democrats.

When asked about the allegations, Stiles said the NDP provincial director "conducts the same process" for every applicant and she trusts his decision.

Voters will decide if Stiles has a chance to become premier or reclaim her title as Official Opposition leader when they go to the ballot boxes later this month.

One thing is for sure, her younger sister said: this is not about dipping her toes into the water. It's a confident dive straight into the deep end.

"She likes to win," Enid Stiles said. "She likes to get things done, and so if she thinks that she can get something done, she's going to make every effort to do so and not wait on the sidelines for others to do it."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 9, 2025.

Rianna Lim, The Canadian Press