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Nathaniel Erskine-Smith
Canadian politician and lawyer (born 1984) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Nathaniel Erskine-Smith PC MP (born June 15, 1984) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has served as Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities since December 20, 2024. A member of the Liberal Party, Erskine-Smith has been the member of Parliament (MP) for Beaches—East York since he was first elected in 2015. Before entering politics, Erskine-Smith was a commercial litigation lawyer.
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Early life and education
Erskine-Smith was born on June 15, 1984,[3] in Toronto, Ontario, attending Bowmore Elementary School and Malvern Collegiate. His parents, Sara Erskine and Lawrence Smith, were public school teachers.[citation needed]
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.[4] 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.[5]
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Legal career
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.[6] He has taken on pro bono cases for a range of clients and causes, including a civil liberties case to protect religious freedom in Ontario's school system.[7] In a notable civil liberties case in 2014, Erskine-Smith successfully argued against compulsory religious studies at publicly funded high schools in Ontario.[7]
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Political career
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Member of Parliament
Erskine-Smith was elected to the House of Commons in the 2015 federal election. He beat incumbent MP Matthew Kellway, who was elected in 2011.[8][9] Erskine-Smith received endorsements from the provincial Liberal Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Arthur Potts and City Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon.[6]
Erskine-Smith was re-elected in the 2019 election and 2021 election.[3]
Following a Cabinet shuffle at the end of 2024, Erskine-Smith was appointed as the minister of housing, infrastructure and communities. He announced that he would seek re-election,[10] despite initially stating earlier in the year that he did not plan to run again.[11]
2023 Ontario Liberal leadership campaign
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 per cent support behind Crombie's 53 per cent.[12]
Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities
Erskine-Smith was appointed as the minister of housing, infrastructure and communities on December 20, 2024, following a Cabinet shuffle. His appointment came amid unpopularity for the Liberals in the polls and calls for the prime minister to step down following the resignation of Chrystia Freeland.[13] During a press conference after his appointment to the role, Erskine-Smith stated "I understand there’s going to be a short runway," and said his goal would be "to make the biggest difference that I can." He also expressed his intention to run in the 2025 federal election, after previously saying he would not.[14]
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Political positions
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Environmental and animal welfare
In 2015, Erskine-Smith seconded Bill S-203, the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, that became law in June 2019. The bill prohibits the captivity of cetaceans and requires permits to import and export them to and from Canada. Erskine-Smith spoke to the house about the importance of the bill in June 2018.[15][16]
On February 26, 2016, Erskine-Smith introduced Bill C-246, the Modernizing Animal Protections Act,[17] to ban the import of shark fins and make Canada's animal cruelty laws tougher.[18] The bill won support from EndCruelty, a coalition of Canadians who support stronger animal protection laws.[19] Due to concerns from animal use lobbyists, the bill was defeated 198 to 84 at second reading.[17] Two years later, a government bill addressing similar concerns was tabled by Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould. She acknowledged Erskine-Smith's efforts as a precursor to the government's legislation.[20] The defeat of Erskine-Smith's Bill C-246 led to the creation of the Liberal Animal Welfare Caucus in 2017.[21] On September 5, 2017, Erskine-Smith wrote an article in NOW Magazine addressing his veganism and the importance of a social change towards the treatment of animals.[22]
For his efforts to modernize Canada's federal animal protection laws with Bill C-246, Erskine-Smith received the Humane Legislator Award from Animal Justice.[23] In 2017, Erskine-Smith received the Fur-Bearers’ Clements award for his dedication to improving the lives of animals with Bill C-246.[24][25] In 2019, Erskine-Smith was awarded the Toronto Vegetarian Association Lisa Grill Compassion for Animals Award for his compassion and commitment toward animals. He was also recognized by Humane Canada for his dedication to ending animal abuse.[26][27]
Climate action and Bill C-454
In October 2018, Erskine-Smith called an emergency debate on climate change in Parliament in response to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's special report on global warming. He requested action to be taken by the government and Canadians to ensure that Canada can reduce its emissions and reach the targeted goals.[28] On June 5, 2019, Erskine-Smith introduced bill C-454, the Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions Act, to require the Government of Canada to reduce GHG emissions to net zero by 2050.[29][30]
Drug policy reform
In February 2016, Erskine-Smith represented Canada at a joint United Nations/Inter-Parliamentary Union conference reviewing how different countries were dealing with illegal drugs. He partnered with Mexican Senator Laura Rojas to argue that countries should seek alternatives to incarceration in cases where individuals have drugs solely for personal use.[31] In early January 2017, Erskine-Smith published an op-ed in Vice calling for the decriminalization of all drug possession as a logical next step to the government's drug policy.[32] In late January 2017, Erskine-Smith delivered a speech in the House of Commons in support of Bill C-37, to expand access to safe injection clinics across Canada.[33] In the first episode of the television series Political Blind Date in 2017, Erskine-Smith and Conservative MP Garnett Genuis discussed their differing perspectives on the legalization of cannabis in Canada.[34] Erskine-Smith introduced a Liberal caucus policy resolution to address the opioid crisis through a public health approach, and it was adopted as the second overall priority by the grassroots Liberal membership at the Liberal Policy Convention in Halifax in April 2018.[35]
Erskine-Smith introduced bill C-460, seeking to remove criminal sanctions for low-level possession and to reduce the stigma associated with seeking treatment.[36] In 2018, Erskine-Smith appeared on CBC's Power & Politics to speak about his disappointment in the Liberal government endorsing a ‘War on Drugs’ document from the United States during CUSMA negotiations. He argued it brought the conversation about drugs away from a health issue, which ran counter to his push for drug decriminalization and domestic policy at the time.[37][38]
In March 2019, Erskine-Smith wrote an op-ed for NOW Magazine where he discussed his support a bill introduced by New Democratic Party (NDP) MP Murray Rankin, stating that only expungements would address the injustice of cannabis criminalization.[39] Erskine-Smith seconded the bill in the House of Commons.[40]
In 2020, Erskine-Smith introduced bill C-235. This bill would delete the drug possession offence from the Criminal Code.[41] He also introduced bill C-236, which would provide diversion options to law enforcement, crown attorneys, and judges for drug possession cases.[41]
Privacy
Erskine-Smith was vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics during the 42nd Parliament.[3]
In June 2018, Erskine-Smith introduced bill C-413, an Act to amend the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, to give new powers for the federal privacy commissioner.[42] In August 2019, Erskine-Smith wrote an op-ed for the Toronto Star expressing his desire for the right to be forgotten. He explained that in an increasingly connected, online world citizens should have the right to hide content published about them from search engines if the individual’s privacy is being seriously violated.[43]
National pharmacare
In February 2021, alongside Wayne Long, Erskine-Smith was one of only two Liberal MPs to vote in favour of a New Democratic Party (NDP) motion to take a first step towards developing a national pharmacare system. The bill, proposed by Peter Julian, would have established the conditions for federal financial contributions to provincial drug insurance plans.[44] The following year, the Liberal Party would commit to work towards a "universal national pharmacare program" as part of their confidence and supply agreement with the NDP following the 2021 federal election.[45]
Emergencies Act
In response to the occupation of downtown Ottawa by the Freedom Convoy, the government enacted the Emergencies Act. With Ottawa streets being largely cleared of protesters by the time of the vote, Erskine-Smith's Speech to Parliament condemned the protests, but questioned the necessity of the declaration of emergency, and its approval after the clearance. He ultimately voted to confirm the use of the declaration.[46][47][48]
Independence
Erskine-Smith has been called Canada's most independent parliamentarian,[49] with the National Post describing him as “maverick”[50] and CBC describing him as Ottawa's “least predictable MP.”[51] Erskine-Smith described his position in an op-ed in the Toronto Star, writing:[52]
"No political party represents our views perfectly. We find the party that best represents our views and values, and we engage, debate and organize to bring both our party and country closer to those objectives. I am a Liberal MP and I continue to support our Liberal government. But that does not mean that I support every government action taken, or that I ought to refrain from public disagreement. In contrast to blind partisan loyalty, we promised to empower MPs and their communities through more free votes in the House of Commons."
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Personal life
Erskine-Smith was raised vegetarian, and is now vegan.[53] He has Crohn's disease.[54]
Erskine-Smith married Amelia (Amy) Symington, a prominent Toronto vegan chef and nutritionist, on her family farm in Camlachie, Ontario.[53] The two met in an undergraduate film studies course at Queen's University.[55] They have two sons, Mackinlay, born in 2016, and Crawford, born in 2019.[56]
Uncommons Podcast
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic Erskine-Smith launched the Uncommons Podcast as a substitute for local town hall meetings.[57] The episodes feature prominent guests, including members of all major parties, and often seek to showcase his thinking on a given issue. In October 2024, Erskine-Smith hosted both Prime Minister Trudeau and Mark Carney on separate episodes of the podcast.[58][59]
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Electoral record
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References
External links
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