TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 01/18/13 -- With its Leadership Convention only a week away, the public backlash against the Ontario Liberal Party shows no signs of abating. The protest scheduled for 1:00 pm on the Saturday of the Convention promises to be the largest the party has faced since taking office in 2003.

So far, over 100 buses from scores of communities and every corner of the province are scheduled to join thousands of protesters who will be thronging to the rally by foot, transit and car. More than 100 community groups and labour unions are expected to converge for a massive protest against the Liberal Government's cuts to public services and suspension of democratic rights.

"This rally isn't simply education workers, and it isn't even just labour, it is as widespread as you can image," said OFL President Sid Ryan. "The Ontario Liberals have tried to out-Tory the Tories by pursuing a destructive austerity agenda of cuts and by stripping people of their fundamental labour rights. They have lost the middle ground and alienated millions of voters who are demanding fairness from a government that betrayed them."

EVENT:    Rally for Rights and Democracy, followed by march to Ontario      
          Liberal Convention at Maple Leaf Gardens                          
WHERE:    Allan Gardens, Toronto (Jarvis St. and Carlton St.)               
WHEN:     1:00 pm - 3:00 pm on Saturday, January 26, 2013                   
WEB:      http://ofl.ca/index.php/campaigns/democraticrights/               
TWITTER:  #J26Rally                                                         

"Recent polling shows the Liberals trailing both other parties in public popularity. It is hard to imagine them being able to recover, regardless of who is elected next weekend," said Ryan. "This rally should be a wake-up call to delegates and candidates at the Leadership Convention. People from all walks of life will be demanding a completely different course for Ontario - one that puts people first."

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. For information, visit www.OFL.ca and follow the OFL on Facebook and Twitter: @OFLabour and follow OFL President Sid Ryan at @SidRyan_OFL.