TORONTO — The Ontario Liberal Party’s three-member arbitration committee has rejected an appeal launched by leadership hopeful Nate Erskine-Smith over the party’s Scarborough Southwest nomination contest, upholding businessman Ahsanul Hafiz’s victory in the closely watched race.
The decision ends a dispute that emerged after Erskine-Smith lost the May 9 nomination by 19 votes out of more than 1,400 ballots cast.
Erskine-Smith, the federal Liberal MP for Beaches–East York, had sought the nomination as a pathway to Queen’s Park ahead of a possible campaign for the Ontario Liberal leadership.
Following the original vote, Erskine-Smith raised concerns about the conduct of the nomination process and suggested he could challenge the outcome.
“There was a ton of scrutineers in there, lots of stories about what’s happened inside,” Erskine-Smith told reporters at the time. “I’ve spoken to a few scrutineers already who said they’ve never seen anything like it.”
He alleged there were issues involving voter identification procedures, though his campaign’s chief scrutineers ultimately signed off on the final results.
Hafiz denied allegations the process was unfair, arguing the level of support visible at the nomination meeting reflected the final outcome.
The Ontario Liberal Party said Sunday the arbitration committee operated independently under the party’s constitution and reviewed the appeal process in full.
“We thank Chair David Zimmer and the members of the panel for the speed and rigour of their review,” the party said in a statement.
The party said it avoided public comment during the review because of its commitment to due process and transparency.
“We are making the panel's full report publicly available today so that members, candidates, and Ontarians can review the findings for themselves,” the statement said.
The party also signalled it intends to move past the dispute and focus on the upcoming byelection.
“With this process now complete, our full attention turns to Scarborough Southwest,” the statement said. “As this party has done time and again over the last 160 years, we will unite behind our candidate and work together to win this seat.”
The nomination contest drew provincewide attention because of its implications for the Ontario Liberal leadership race, which began after former leader Bonnie Crombie resigned earlier this year.
Erskine-Smith had received a late endorsement from Prime Minister Mark Carney, who appeared in a social media video backing his candidacy.
Some local Liberals, however, criticized Erskine-Smith’s attempt to seek the nomination, arguing the riding should not serve as a stepping stone for leadership ambitions.
Scarborough Southwest became vacant after former NDP MPP Doly Begum resigned to run federally for the Liberals.
Hafiz is now expected to carry the Liberal banner in a provincial byelection Premier Doug Ford is anticipated to call later this year.
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