Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith – who also serves as minister of education – is resigning.
“The last 13 years serving the people of Bay of Quinte and Prince-Edward-Hastings have been the honour of a lifetime,” said Smith, while posting a statement on X, on Friday, Aug. 16.
According to the statement, Smith is stepping away from politics to accept a position in the private sector.
“After almost 13 years as a Member of Provincial Parliament and six years in Premier (Doug) Ford’s Cabinet I have made the very difficult decision to leave politics and accept a position in the private sector,” said Smith, in the statement. “I have spoken to Premier Ford to let him know that I am resigning my seat and stepping down from my cabinet duties effective immediately and that I will not be seeking re-election.”
Smith goes on to thank his constituents in Bay of Quinte and Prince-Edward Hastings, saying: “Thank you for your trust and support – which I am proud to say has grown significantly in each of the last four Ontario elections.”
“It’s been an honour to be your voice at Queen’s Park, and to work with leaders across our communities to deliver new homes, schools, long-term care facilities, a new humane society, a new YMCA and so much more. I’m thrilled that one of my final acts as (an) MPP was to break ground for a new Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital in Picton – a project I’ve been championing for a decade.”
Smith also thanked Ford for the opportunity to serve in his cabinet for more than six years and for “entrusting me with a number of important files.”
Before his education portfolio, Smith held several other ministerial roles – and in his statement touched on several initiatives he’s proud of.
“Over the past three years as minister of energy I had the honour of releasing ‘Powering Ontario’s Growth’ – our plan to build the largest expansion of clean electricity generation and transmission in decades – including the first expansion of nuclear energy in a generation.
“As economic development minister, we assembled our automotive partners and delivered a ‘Driving Prosperity’ plan that has resulted in historic investments in our auto manufacturing sector, which has now reached almost $50 billion. And as minister of children, community and social services, we supported and cared for some of our most vulnerable citizens through a global pandemic.”
“I know Premier Ford and all of my colleagues around the cabinet table and in our PC caucus will continue to deliver on this important work and get things done for the people of Ontario,” continued Smith.
Smith is also giving thanks to his staff and family for their unwavering support over the years.
During his time in politics, Smith said he’s been fortunate to work with “some of the brightest and most caring, committed people you could ever imagine in my local constituency office and in each ministry. Thank you to my teams who really were and are family to me.”
“But most importantly to my wife Tawnya and my daughters Payton and Reagan, thank you for your love and support. It hasn’t always been easy. The life of a politician is hard and takes its toll – especially when I was away from home as often as I’ve been over the past 13 years.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better support system at home.”
Smith hasn’t said what position he’s taking on in the private sector.
We’ve reached out to the MPP’s office and are waiting to hear back.
Ford also posted on social media Friday, wishing Smith well.
“From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank Todd for his many years of service to our government, our province and our party,” wrote Ford, on X. “He leaves politics with a record that he can be incredibly proud of, including and especially fixing the previous government’s energy policies and bringing electricity prices down for hardworking families and businesses.
“Todd will always be a friend and I can’t wait to watch his every success as he starts this next chapter of his life.”
Ford later in the day Friday also announced cabinet changes and named Jill Dunlop as the new minister of education and Nolan Quinn as the new minister of colleges and universities. Kevin Holland has also joined cabinet as the new associate minister of forestry and forest products as part of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Graham McGregor has joined as the new associate minister of auto theft and bail reform as part of the Ministry of the Solicitor General.
There’s supposed to potentially be more news on a possible by-election for the riding in coming days.
(Written by: Sarah Hyatt)
