Former Liberal cabinet minister Nate Erskine-Smith is running for Toronto city council, turning to municipal politics after resigning his federal seat, losing a bid to become a provincial candidate and ruling out an anticipated run for the Ontario Liberal leadership.Erskine-Smith announced Wednesday on X that he will contest the open Ward 19 Beaches—East York seat in the October 26 municipal election. He said Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow had asked him to join her team at city hall.“Countless people, across our community and beyond, have asked me to continue in public service,” Erskine-Smith wrote.“That includes Mayor Olivia Chow, who has asked me to join a team working hard to improve city services. I’m ready to answer the call. I’ll be running to represent you as the City Councillor for Ward 19, Beaches-East York.”Incumbent councillor Brad Bradford is leaving the ward to run for mayor.The municipal campaign marks another change in direction for the former housing minister, who represented the federal riding of Beaches—East York for more than a decade..Erskine-Smith was first elected as a Liberal MP in 2015 and retained the seat in three subsequent elections. He captured 67.7% of the vote in 2025 before formally resigning from Parliament in July 2026.His resignation triggered a federal byelection scheduled for August 31.Before leaving Ottawa, Erskine-Smith attempted to move into provincial politics by seeking the Ontario Liberal nomination for a byelection in Scarborough Southwest.He lost the May 9 nomination contest to Ahsanul Hafiz by 19 votes.Erskine-Smith appealed the result, alleging administrative errors and other irregularities, including a discrepancy between the number of ballots counted and names crossed off the membership list.He did not allege fraud by another candidate or the party.The Ontario Liberal Party’s arbitration committee rejected his appeal, finding no irregularities that changed the result or undermined the nomination’s integrity.“The Nomination Rules were followed,” the panel concluded. “No ballots were counted that should not have been. Mr. Hafiz was the true winner of the vote.”The loss disrupted Erskine-Smith’s expected attempt to succeed Bonnie Crombie as Ontario Liberal leader.He had publicly explored a leadership campaign and sought the Scarborough Southwest seat as a potential route into Queen’s Park. His campaign website described itself as operating in connection with a campaign for the party leadership.Erskine-Smith never formally entered the leadership contest and announced in June that he would not run.He had previously contested the Ontario Liberal leadership in 2023, finishing second to Crombie.In a June message to supporters, Erskine-Smith acknowledged closing out debt from what he called a “small exploratory campaign” and said city politics could allow him to remain close to home while continuing to serve his community.His city council bid now takes him from federal cabinet and Parliament to a municipal race in roughly a year.Candidate nominations for Toronto’s municipal election close Friday at 2 p.m.
