Nathaniel Erskine-Smith
Nathaniel B. Erskine-Smith[3] MP (born June 15, 1984) is a Canadian politician who is the member of Parliament (MP) for Beaches—East York. A member of the Liberal Party, Erskine-Smith was elected to the House of Commons in the 2015 federal election. Before entering politics, Erskine-Smith was a commercial litigation lawyer. In 2023, Erskine-Smith was a candidate in the 2023 Ontario Liberal Party leadership election, which he ultimately came second to Bonnie Crombie with 46% of the vote.[4]
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith
Amy Symington
2
Lawyer
Erskine-Smith announced in December 2023 that he would not be standing in the next federal election, expected in 2025.[5]
Early life and education[edit]
Erskine-Smith was born in Toronto, Ontario, attending Bowmore Elementary School and Malvern Collegiate. His parents, Sara Erskine and Lawrence Smith, were public school teachers.
Erskine-Smith attended Queen's University, where he completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics in 2007, before completing law school in 2010. While a student at Queen's, Erskine-Smith was an unsuccessful candidate for city council for Sydenham District in Kingston, Ontario, in the 2006 municipal elections. He also attempted to start a business selling panini sandwiches from a trailer and hoped to start a catering business.[6] He then went on to study political philosophy and constitutional law at the University of Oxford, where he earned a Master of Laws (BCL) degree in 2013 [7]
Legal career[edit]
Erskine-Smith practiced commercial litigation as an associate at Kramer Simaan Dhillon, after working as a law student at Aird & Berlis LLP. He also performed volunteer work for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
He worked pro bono for a range of clients and causes, including a civil liberties case to protect religious freedom in Ontario's school system.[8] In a notable civil liberties case in 2014, Erskine-Smith successfully argued against compulsory religious studies at publicly funded high schools in Ontario.[8]
Provincial leadership campaign[edit]
Erskine-Smith ran for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party in the 2023 Ontario Liberal Party leadership election. He campaigned against frontrunner Bonnie Crombie's plan to move the party back to the centre arguing that the way for the party to win the next provincial election was by wooing people who voted for the Ontario New Democratic Party, which had replaced the Liberals as the official opposition, saying ““We have to earn the trust of progressive voters in this province. “If we split the vote with the NDP, we lose... We have to earn the trust of progressive voters in this province.” Erskine-Smith joined fellow Liberal MP and leadership candidate Yasir Naqvi in a mutual support pact in an attempt to defeat Crombie. However, Crombie was elected on the third ballot, ahead of Erskine-Smith who came in second with 46% support behind Crombie's 53%.[60]
Personal life[edit]
Erskine-Smith was raised vegetarian, and is now vegan.[61] He has Crohn's disease.[62]
Erskine-Smith married Amelia (Amy) Symington, a prominent Toronto vegan chef and nutritionist, on her family farm in Camlachie, Ontario.[61] The two met in an undergraduate film studies course at Queen's University.[63] They have two sons, Mackinlay, born in 2016, and Crawford, born in 2019.[64]