John Tory Jr. bows out of nomination race to be federal Liberal candidate in Beaches-East York
John Tory Jr. has announced that he will no longer be seeking the federal Liberal nomination for the riding of Beaches-East York.
He made the announcement in a statement released on the morning of Monday, July 13.
“I have decided to suspend my campaign to be the Liberal MP nominee for Beaches-East York. 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,” said Tory.
“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 by-election. The person nominated will have my full support and I will do everything I can to help them.”
He was one of five people who had declared they were seeking the nomination to be the Liberal candidate for the federal Beaches-East York riding. A nomination meeting to select that candidate is slated for Saturday, July 18, at Gledhill Junior Public School.
The candidate position became open after Beaches-East York MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith officially stepped down from the role this week. Erksine-Smith served as the riding’s MP from 2015 until July of 2026.
Contenders for the nomination are now down to Summer Nudel, Arthur Potts, Claire Seaborn, and Tanveer Shahnawaz.
Only those who are registered members of Beaches-East York Federal Liberal Association will be eligible to vote. Memberships closed on July 7.
“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,” said Tory’s statement.
“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. My 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.”
The July 18 Beaches-East York federal Liberal nomination meeting will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Speeches from the candidates seeking the nomination will be at 10 a.m. and voting for the nominees will go from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Those eligible members voting at the July 18 meeting will be required to prove identity and address. Also, registered Liberals who are eligible to vote and whose names do not appear on Elections Canada’s List of Electors or did not vote for the 2025 Liberal Party of Canada Leadership, shall be required to provide a secondary piece of ID to prove Canadian citizenship, permanent resident status in Canada, or status under the Indian Act, according to the Liberal Party of Canada.
A federal byelection for Beaches-East York must be called no later than Jan. 3, 2027.
However, there is speculation the federal byelection for Beaches-East York could take place before Labour Day. The current dates being mentioned by sources are Monday, Aug. 24, or Monday, Aug. 31.
Along with the seat vacancy in Beaches-East York, the ridings of North Vancouver-Capilano in British Columbia and Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot-Acton in Quebec are also in vacant as byelections in those ridings have been mandated by Elections Canada and those byelections must be announced between July 3 and Dec. 19 of this year. It is expected that all three byelections will be called and held on the same date.
