John Tory Junior, the son of former Toronto Mayor John Tory, wants to be the next Member of Parliament for Beaches-East York.
Journalist Steve Paikin reported for TVO Thursday morning, that the 47-year-old aviation executive intends to seek the federal Liberal nomination to replace outgoing MP Nate Erskine-Smith, if there is a nomination race.
A public LinkedIn profile for Tory indicates that he is the Chief Commercial Officer for Great North Airlines, formerly Pivot Airlines.
His announcement comes after Erskine-Smith was defeated in a separate race for the Ontario Liberal Party’s nomination in the Scarborough Southwest provincial byelection in May.
After an unsuccessful appeal in which he alleged voting irregularities, Erskine-Smith later confirmed that he will resign his seat in the House of Commons this summer and bid farewell to federal politics. He also told the Toronto Star that he is considering running for Toronto City Council and recently discussed the possibility with Mayor Olivia Chow.
Tory is expected to face off against at least three serious contenders who have revealed their intentions to run in the anticipated nomination race. The unofficial candidates include Arthur Potts, the former MPP for the riding who held office from 2014 to 2018; Claire Seaborn, a Bay Street lawyer and former chief of staff to Trudeau-era cabinet minister Jonathan Wilkinson; and Summer Nudel, a senior advisor to the Office of the Commissioner of House Equity.
However, there is a possibility that Prime Minister Mark Carney may appoint a candidate and avoid a nomination race altogether, as he previously did with byelections in University-Rosedale and Scarborough Southwest.
Tory said he was drawn to run for the federal Liberals citing strong public institutions, unlike his father, who led the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario from 2004 to 2009.
“I have known myself, and my friends and family have known me, to be a Liberal for a long time,” he told Paikin.
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