Former Liberal Member of Parliament Nate Erskine-Smith has announced his candidacy for a Toronto city council position in Beaches-East York for the upcoming municipal election in October. Serving as an MP for Beaches-East York for over a decade, Erskine-Smith revealed his decision to run for Ward 19 and disclosed that Mayor Olivia Chow invited him to join her team.
Erskine-Smith is set to officially register for the council race at city hall on Wednesday morning. This move follows his resignation from federal politics in July and his unsuccessful bid for the Ontario Liberal Party nomination in Scarborough-Southwest back in May, which was followed by an unsuccessful appeal of the nomination results.
A lawyer by profession, Erskine-Smith was initially elected as an MP for Beaches-East York in 2015 and subsequently re-elected in 2019, 2021, and 2025. He held the position of housing, infrastructure, and communities minister under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2024 and continued in the role under Prime Minister Mark Carney until being removed from the federal cabinet in May 2025.
Despite finishing as the runner-up in the 2023 Ontario Liberal Party leadership race, losing to Bonnie Crombie, Erskine-Smith expressed his motivation for entering the municipal race. He cited working alongside Mayor Chow, addressing issues ranging from housing to climate action, and reconnecting with the east end of Toronto as a proactive city councilor as his primary reasons for running.
In the upcoming election, Erskine-Smith will face competition from 10 other candidates vying for the council seat in the ward. Natalie Johnson, one of the contenders, criticized Erskine-Smith’s candidacy, emphasizing that Beaches-East York should not be seen as a secondary option. Johnson highlighted her commitment to the community, focusing on initiatives such as traffic improvements, transit enhancements, and the maintenance of public spaces, irrespective of Erskine-Smith’s decision to enter the race.