40 Facts About Nathaniel Erskine-Smith

On May 8,2023, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith announced his intention to run for the 2023 Ontario Liberal Party Leadership Election.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith was born in Toronto, Ontario, attending Bowmore Elementary School and Malvern Collegiate.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith attended Queen's University, where he completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics in 2007, before completing law school in 2010.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith then went on to study political philosophy and constitutional law at the University of Oxford, where he earned a Master of Laws degree in 2013.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith performed volunteer work for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith worked pro bono for a range of clients and causes, including a civil liberties case to protect religious freedom in Ontario's school system.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith served as a member of the Public Safety and National Security Committee, and as the Vice-Chair of the Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics committee in the 42nd parliament.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith served as the president of the Canadian group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union for a one-year term in 2016.

In 2015, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith seconded Bill S-203, the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, that became law in June 2019.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith spoke to the house about the importance of the bill in June 2018.

On February 26,2016, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith introduced Bill C-246, the Modernizing Animal Protections Act, to ban the import of shark fins and make Canada's animal cruelty laws tougher.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith acknowledged Erskine-Smith's efforts as a precursor to the government's legislation.

On September 5,2017, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith wrote a piece in Now Magazine addressing his veganism and the importance of a social change towards the treatment of animals.

In 2016, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith received the Humane Legislator Award from Animal Justice for his efforts to modernize Canada's federal animal protection laws with Bill C-246.

In 2017, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith received the Fur-Bearers' Clements award for his dedication to improving the lives of animals with Bill C-246.

In 2019, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith was awarded the Toronto Vegetarian Association Lisa Grill Compassion for Animals Award for his compassion and commitment toward animals.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith was recognized by Humane Canada for his dedication to ending animal abuse.

In October 2018, Nathaniel 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.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith requested action to be taken by the government and Canadians to ensure that Canada can reduce its emissions and reach the targeted goals.

On June 5,2019, Nathaniel 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.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith believes that the war on drugs has been a failure.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith has been a vocal supporter of cannabis legalization and regulation, and has called for a new approach to treat drug use as a health issue.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith 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.

In early January 2017, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith published an op-ed in Vice News Canada calling for the decriminalization of all drug possession as a logical next step to the government's progressive drug policy.

In late January 2017, Nathaniel 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.

Nathaniel 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.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith 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.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith seconded a bill introduced by New Democratic MP Murray Rankin.

In March 2019, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith wrote an op-ed for NOW Magazine where he discussed his support for Rankin's bill, stating that only expungements would address the injustice of cannabis criminalization.

In 2017, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith traveled to Washington with the Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics committee to attend a congressional hearing on the Equifax data breach, and met with Congressmen from the Digital Commerce subcommittee, with Facebook privacy experts, and with officials from the Federal Trade Commission.

In May 2018, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith scrutinized Facebook officials at the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics regarding the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the extent of privacy breaches for Canadians.

In 2018, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith participated as the Canadian delegation in the UK's International Grand Committee on social media and disinformation.

In June 2018, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith introduced Bill-C413, an Act to amend the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, to give new powers for the Privacy Commissioner to better protect our privacy.

In May 2019, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith participated in the Canadian delegation of the International Grand Committee to meet with representatives from Google, Facebook and Twitter, among others.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith 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.

In February 2021, alongside Wayne Long, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith was one of only two Liberal MPs to vote in favour of an New Democratic Party motion to take a first step towards developing a national pharmacare system.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith is a member of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith introduced Bill C-236, which would provide diversion options to law enforcement, crown attorneys, and judges for drug possession cases.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith ultimately voted to confirm the use of the Act.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith married Amelia Symington, a prominent Toronto vegan chef and nutritionist, on her family farm in Camlachie, Ontario.