A new contender for the Liberal leadership is painting himself as a champion of the underdog who could send Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives packing in the next election.

Michael Coteau will launch his bid for the party helm Sunday night with a very personal video pitch to Ontarians.

“You know that voice, you know what it says: someone like you doesn’t belong here,” the Don Valley East MPP says.

“Immigrant kid, Flemingdon Park, small rental apartment. Mum cleans houses. Dad fixes washing machines. You skip classes. Comic books not textbooks — at least you’re at the library,” the former social services minister continues.

“Then a guidance counsellor sees potential. You get in a good public high school. A friend’s dad lends you money for university — at Carleton, you excel,” he says.

“Then someone like you: working class, Black, immigrant kid starts your own small business, gets on the school board and speaks up for students becomes an MPP, a cabinet minister, takes on the toughest jobs at Queen’s Park.”

Taking aim at the premier, Coteau then says: “But even today, voices out there say someone like you doesn’t belong.”

“Doug Ford says kids today aren’t worth the cost. That’s the message: Ontario doesn’t value you. I was that kid who was told someone like you doesn’t matter. And now, someone like me is taking a stand.”

Stressing “the biggest waste we face in Ontario is the waste of human potential,” Coteau tells viewers he is offering a different vision.

“Doug Ford is in it for tax breaks to the wealthy and big corporations — and cuts for everyone else,” he says, vowing “to replace Doug Ford (and) to restore decency to our politics” in the 2022 election.

Coteau will criss-cross Ontario from Windsor to Ottawa next week before a campaign rally Saturday in Toronto’s Flemingdon Park.

With Liberal delegates set to select a new leader on March 7 at Mississauga’s International Centre, he is one of three candidates in the race so far, joining Steven Del Duca, the former transportation minister, and Alvin Tedjo, a former Liberal candidate in Oakville-North Burlington.

Coteau is the only one of the declared candidates who currently holds a seat in the Ontario Legislature.

But others are expressing interest, including Scarborough-Guildwood MPP Mitzie Hunter, a former education minister.

With Ford’s Tories plummeting in seven public-opinion polls over the past month, the Liberals feel rejuvenated only one year after former premier Kathleen Wynne lost power.

Despite having just seven seats in the 124-member legislature, they attracted 1,000 supporters to their annual general meeting last weekend in Mississauga.

On Saturday, the Liberals announced it will cost $100,000 to enter the leadership race — a $75,000 registration fee and a $25,000 “conditionally refundable deposit.”

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Candidates have until 5 p.m. on Nov. 25 to enter. That’s a month after the federal election, which would allow any defeated Liberal MPs to join the fray.

The party membership cut-off is 6 p.m. Dec. 2 and the delegates who will cast ballots on March 7 will be selected Feb. 8-9.

“We are kicking off another weekend with relentless work on some of the most crucial details pertaining to the leadership race,” said party president Brian Johns.

“Last weekend at our AGM, Ontario Liberals clearly communicated they are excited, ready and eager to take the next steps toward rebuilding our party.”

Robert Benzie is the Star's Queen's Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie

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