The Ontario Liberals have dismissed an appeal from MP Nate Erskine-Smith concerning his recent loss in a nomination contest, casting doubt on his intentions to pursue leadership of the provincial party.

Erskine-Smith was competing to represent the provincial party in the upcoming Scarborough Southwest byelection, but he was defeated in the nomination race held on May 9 by business owner Ahsanul Hafiz, losing by a narrow margin of just 19 votes.

In response to his loss, Erskine-Smith appealed to the party's arbitration panel, alleging various irregularities throughout the nomination process. He pointed out that 34 more ballots were counted than the number of voters recorded, that several individuals could not provide their addresses, and that some used Amazon orders to establish proof of residency.

The arbitration panel, which was chaired by David Zimmer, concluded that they found no significant irregularities that would have impacted the election's outcome or the integrity of the nomination meeting. "We are satisfied that the party's rules were followed and that Ahsanul Hafiz was the true winner of the vote," they stated in a decision released just before the weekend.

As a result of this lost nomination, Erskine-Smith expressed that his aspirations to run for the leadership of the party have become "much less likely." He currently represents the Beaches-East York riding federally, although he plans to resign from that seat soon. There have been concerns expressed by some of his fellow nomination candidates, who felt that Erskine-Smith was attempting to leverage their community in his bid for leadership.

After the loss, Erskine-Smith not only raised issues regarding voting irregularities but also claimed that the party’s establishment had actively sought to prevent his victory. However, the arbitration panel found no supporting evidence for his allegations of bias, noting that he and his team raised most of their complaints only after the vote's results were announced.

The panel remarked, "We conclude that Mr. Erskine-Smith's scrutineers did not take issue with the comings and goings of the nomination meeting while it was underway and did not decide to complain about it until after the meeting had ended and the outcome was known.” They determined that the reported issue of 34 discrepancies in ballots was attributed to errors in record-keeping rather than any discrepancies in voting procedures.

Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser remarked on the party's commitment to an open and transparent process following the appeal dismissal. He emphasized the importance of focusing on the voters of Scarborough Southwest, stating, “They have an important decision ahead, and we will work hard to earn their trust.”

As the Scarborough Southwest byelection approaches, which must be held before August, Premier Doug Ford has yet to announce a specific date for the election. The Progressive Conservative Party (PCs) have not nominated a candidate yet, while Fatima Shaban is set to defend the seat for the New Democratic Party (NDP). This byelection is necessitated by the resignation of Doly Begum, who was the former NDP member of provincial parliament and resigned to successfully run for Liberal representation federally in the same riding.