The Ontario NDP education critic has become the first candidate to launch a bid to lead the party.

Former school trustee Marit Stiles has been an MPP since 2018 and says she’s focused on taking down the current Doug Ford government.

“I’ve got a job ahead of me, the job of the NDP leader over the next four years to continue to build this movement, this is just the beginning and over the next few months, I’m looking forward to getting out there and listening and talking to more Ontarians,” said Stiles at her campaign launch.

Peter Tabuns is the current interim leader who took over after Andrea Horwath decided to leave for municipal politics in hopes of becoming mayor of her hometown of Hamilton.

The New Democrats slipped to 31 seats in this June’s election. The party has said a new leader will be in place by March 2023 and candidates have until December to register for the race.