Federal Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith says a potential bid for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party has become “much less likely” following his narrow defeat in the Scarborough Southwest provincial nomination contest.
Erskine-Smith made the comments Tuesday after formally filing an appeal with the Ontario Liberal Party challenging the results of the nomination race, which was won by Ahsanul Hafiz over the weekend.
The Beaches—East York MP had been widely expected to seek the Ontario Liberal leadership after openly expressing interest in replacing former leader Bonnie Crombie.
However, speaking on CTV’s Power Play, Erskine-Smith acknowledged the events surrounding the nomination contest have significantly affected his thinking.
“I would say it’s certainly much less likely than it was heading into the weekend,” he said, adding that concerns about how the nomination process unfolded contributed to his hesitation.
Erskine-Smith alleges there were irregularities during the vote, including discrepancies between the number of ballots cast and the number of recorded voters.
According to him, 34 more ballots were counted than the number of documented voters. He also questioned the identification and address verification process used during voting, alleging some participants provided weak or questionable proof of residence.
In a blog post published after filing the appeal, Erskine-Smith said he debated whether to continue challenging the result but felt concerns about integrity and fairness could not simply be ignored.
Despite contesting the outcome, he stated that if the party orders a new nomination contest, he would not run again in the riding.
Ontario Liberal interim leader John Fraser defended the integrity of the process and said the party’s arbitration committee would carefully review the appeal.
The Ontario Liberal Party has strongly rejected suggestions that party insiders worked against Erskine-Smith’s candidacy.
The nomination race had already attracted significant attention because some local candidates and organizers argued Erskine-Smith was attempting to use the Scarborough Southwest riding as a stepping stone for a future leadership campaign.
The provincial seat became vacant after former NDP MPP Doly Begum resigned earlier this year following her successful move to federal politics with the Liberals.
Premier Doug Ford has not yet called the byelection but is expected to do so before summer.
Meanwhile, the Ontario NDP has already nominated Fatima Shaban as its candidate for the upcoming contest.
Despite uncertainty surrounding his provincial ambitions, Erskine-Smith confirmed he still plans to resign from federal politics, a move he had previously announced while preparing for a possible transition to provincial politics.
The developments now leave major questions about both the Ontario Liberal leadership race and Erskine-Smith’s political future.