John Tory Jr. no longer seeking Beaches–East York federal Liberal nomination

Son of ex-Toronto mayor says tight timeline does 'not provide a realistic or viable path to success for me'

Published Jul 13, 2026  •  3 minute read

John Tory Jr. Photo by johntorybey.ca

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Less than two weeks after he declared he was seeking the federal Liberal nomination for the Beaches–East York riding, John Tory Jr. is out of the race.

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The 47-year-old son of former Toronto mayor John Tory said in a statement released Monday that timing and longer-running candidates led to his decision.

“I have decided to suspend my campaign to be the Liberal MP nominee for Beaches–East York,” wrote Tory on a campaign website.

“The tight timeline of this campaign, combined with the strong support earned by the other candidates from their years of hard work, do not provide a realistic or viable path to success for me. The best thing for our party, for myself and my family and for Beaches–East York is for me to focus all of my energy on ensuring a Liberal MP is elected in this summer’s byelection. The person nominated will have my full support and I will do everything I can to help them.”

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‘Not a great prospect of success’

Tory told his father on Newstalk 1010 on Monday morning, when the senior Tory was filing in for John Moore, that the Liberal nomination meeting for the riding is on Saturday.

“There were a couple of candidates who also put themselves forward for nomination and they’ve been working on this for many years in terms of building their roots in the community as Liberals and as people who had shown interest in seeking the office,” said the younger Tory on Newstalk 1010.

“So for me, there was not a great prospect of success, but there is a great prospect of success if we unite behind the eventual nominee and make sure they get elected.”

Tory had previously announced his interest in challenging for the riding held by outgoing Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith.

The pilot and aviation executive said that while his famous dad has been a conservative since he was a teen, Tory said “myself and my friends and family have known me to be a Liberal for a long time. I can’t put a date on it, but (it was) as I got older and started raising a family.”

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Tory thanks family, friends for support

The married father of three teens with wife Melanie thanked his “family and my team for your support, patience, humour and comfort.

“To the friends, neighbours, community leaders, business owners, parents, students and everyone else who took a few minutes for me — thank you for the opportunity to introduce myself to you and for open minds and ears,” he said. “It is both humbling and inspiring to be able to listen to the challenges and aspirations of people I have only just met and I am grateful for the trust and hope that so many of you were willing to place in me.”

The senior Tory resigned as Toronto’s mayor in 2023 after disclosing an extra-marital relationship with a younger former staff member, led the Progressive Conservatives provincially from 2004-09 and defeated future Ontario Premier Doug Ford and future Mayor Olivia Chow to take the mayor’s seat in 2014.

Erskine-Smith’s failed bid for the Ontario Liberal leadership and quest to represent the provincial riding of Scarborough Southwest made his federal seat available.

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Beaches-East York Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith answers questions by the journalists before heading into the caucus meeting at the West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. Photo by HYUNGCHEOL PARK /Postmedia

No date set for byelection

After Erskine-Smith lost the riding’s nomination process to Ahsanul Hafiz and had an appeal of the results denied, he later confirmed he would resign from his seat in the House of Commons this summer. He’s now considering a run for Toronto city council.

As for the younger Tory, he said his “energy is not gone and neither am I.

“I am turning now to make sure we elect our nominated candidate as the Liberal member of Parliament for Beaches–East York to join the Mark Carney team in Ottawa,” he said.

A byelection date for the riding has yet to be announced, but needs to be declared by Jan. 3, 2027. Beaches–East York is one of four vacant federal seats alongside one in B.C. and two others in Quebec.

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