Political moves continuing to be made in advance of federal and provincial Scarborough Southwest byelections

By MATTHEW STEPHENS

Former Scarborough Southwest MP Bill Blair’s domino effect resignation has drawn attention to the political plans of Beaches-East York MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith.

Blair was appointed as Canada’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom on Monday, Feb. 2, and announced he was resigning his MP seat that day.

The next day, Scarborough Southwest MPP Doly Begum, who was also the Deputy Leader of the Ontario NDP, announced she would be running for the federal Liberals in the byelection that will be called in the riding to replace Blair who was also a Liberal.

Which then put the spotlight on an announcement later the same day by Erskine-Smith who said he would be seeking the Liberal nomination to run provincially in the byelection that will be necessary to fill Begum’s Scarborough Southwest seat at Queen’s Park.

“Doly Begum has been a strong progressive representative, she’s going to make a great Liberal MP for our east end community, and I have no doubt that she’ll make a bigger difference as a member of our federal team,” said Erskine-Smith in a newsletter following Begum’s announcement. “I know that the biggest difference I can make is rebuilding our provincial Liberal party to deliver for Ontarians.”

Erskine-Smith is expected to also be seeking the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party when it comes time to select a new leader.

Erskine-Smith said he would continue his federal duties as MP for Beaches-East York until the nomination race for the provincial Liberal candidate position in Scarborough Southwest is complete.

Critics, including Qadira Jackson who was the Liberal candidate for Scarborough Southwest in last February’s provincial election, have taken Erskine-Smith to task for his actions.

“I have no idea how someone who is supposed to be putting Beaches-East York first, and refuses to resign, could possibly do that while seeking the party’s leadership,” said Jackson in a statement on Facebook last week. “This is not a political steppingstone for me, this is my community, this is where I actually live and I would be honoured to represent SSW (Scarborough Southwest) in our provincial Legislature.”

In response, Erskine-Smith told Beach Metro Community News that the upcoming byelection would include an “open, competitive, and positive nomination meeting” for the provincial Liberal candidate and that he has connections to both the Beaches-East York and Scarborough Southwest ridings.

“The two ridings are part of a shared community, which is why Beach Metro Community News covers the politics in both,” said Erskine-Smith. “I played baseball at Birchmount for a number of summers growing up, as just one personal example. And as an MP, I’ve been involved in supporting community organizations on both sides of Victoria Park.”

He said he remains committed to serving the entire east end community.

“I’m committed to making the biggest difference that I can, and have worked hard to make that difference locally and nationally for our east end community since 2015,” said Erskine-Smith. “The local community should choose its candidate in an open nomination, and we look forward to that.”

A date has not yet been set for a nomination meeting for the provincial Liberals in Scarborough Southwest.

So far, it is not known who the NDP’s candidate will be for the Scarborough Southwest provincial byelection.

Dates have not been set for either the provincial or federal bylections in Scarborough Southwest.

A news release from Elections Ontario last week said that a vacancy in the riding has been confirmed and that byelection must be called by the Ontario Legislature within six months. The earliest date the byelection could be called for would be March 12 and the latest would be Sept. 3.

Provincial elections writs are issued on Wednesdays in Ontario, said the Elections Ontario, and the election campaign period is 29 days.

Green Party names federal candidate for Scarborough Southwest

The Green Party, however, has announced that its candidate in the Scarborough Southwest federal byelection will be Pooja Malhotra.

She is a community organizer, medical copywriter, and Scarborough Southwest resident. A first-time candidate, Malhotra said she is entering politics as an ordinary citizen stepping forward to represent her community with integrity, independence, and principles.

“I’m running because this is home—I live here, I listen here, I laugh and I cry with people here, and I see a growing disconnect between political-decision making and the realities people in our community face every single day,” she said in a news release from the Green Party of Canada.

To celebrate Malhotra’s candidacy, Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May will be visiting the Scarborough Southwest riding on Saturday, Feb. 21.

May and Malhotra will be at Access Point on Danforth, 3079 Danforth Ave., at 12:30 p.m.; at the Thunder Woman Healing Lodge site, 2217 Kingston Rd., at 1 p.m.; and at the Kennedy Station LRT entrance at 5 p.m. They will also be visiting the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 13 at 1577 Kingston Rd. on Saturday, but an exact time for that visit is to be determined.

When the federal byelection in Scarborough Southwest is called by Elections Canada, Malhotra will be among the candidates facing now Liberal Begum for the seat. With a date yet to be set, the candidates for the NDP and Conservatives in the riding are not yet known.