Nate Erskine-Smith urged to ‘prove it’ after casting doubt on nomination race

Ontario Liberal leadership hopeful lost out to Ahsanul Hafiz in bid to contest Scarborough Southwest byelection

Published May 11, 2026  •  2 minute read

Toronto-area Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith is among those considering running for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party. Photo by Elliot Ferguson /Postmedia Network

Ontario Liberal leadership hopeful Nate Erskine-Smith is being urged to “prove it” after casting doubt on a nomination race that he lost over the weekend in Scarborough.

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The Beaches—East York MP, who was seeking the Ontario Liberal nomination in Scarborough Southwest, lost Saturday by 19 votes to Ahsanul Hafiz and said after the voting process that he “spoke with a few scrutineers already who said they’ve never seen anything like it and it’s unreal what happened in there.

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“I don’t know,” he told reporters after learning about the results, while raising concerns about voter ID issues. “It’s unfair for me to specifically speculate. I’ve got no idea. I’ve got to talk to the team, do a full debrief with the team as to what comes next in terms of it was obviously very close and we’ll see.”

Interim Liberal leader says process was ‘fair’

Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser, however, defended the nomination process on Monday in an interview with The Canadian Press, saying that “I know it was fair.

“If somebody’s saying that it’s not fair, then prove it,” the MPP for Ottawa South said. “Say it. … People say things in the heat of the moment, right? Because no one likes losing.”

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An email from the Toronto Sun seeking additional comments from Fraser was not returned.

When asked about Fraser’s response, the possibility of challenging the results and his future in provincial politics, a spokesperson for Erskine-Smith told the Toronto Sun that they were “not prepared to offer a comment at this time.”

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Seat up for grabs at Queen’s Park

Erskine-Smith was seeking the nomination in Scarborough Southwest, which is unrepresented at Queen’s Park, after former NDP MPP Doly Begum jumped ship to the federal Liberals and won a byelection last month to replace former Liberal MP Bill Blair on Parliament Hill.

When Erskine-Smith announced he would throw his hat in the ring for the Ontario Liberal nomination in Scarborough Southwest, CP reported, some of the other candidates were concerned that he was using the riding for his own gain and agreed to rank each other second on ballots.

That led to Erskine-Smith, who finished second to Bonnie Crombie in the 2023 Ontario Liberal leadership race and still holds his seat federally, suggesting to CP that the party “establishment” was working against him.

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“They were all out for our opponents and they were working very hard to prevent us from being successful,” he said, via CP.

‘Hard-fought’ race in Scarborough Southwest

Fraser objected to those comments in his interview with CP, saying that nomination races are “hard fought.

“People get involved, that’s what happens,” he said. “But no, this party establishment is not against him.”

As for Hafiz, the Domino’s Pizza franchisee and former vice-president of the Liberal Party of Canada told CP on Monday that he was “very excited to win a very hard-fought nomination race” and was focused on how to turn the riding “red” when a byelection date is announced.

– with files from The Canadian Press.

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