Hafiz Wins Scarborough Southwest Liberal Nomination by 19 Votes

Ontario Liberal members in Scarborough Southwest selected local businessman Ahsanul Hafiz as their candidate for an upcoming provincial byelection on Saturday, defeating federal MP Nate Erskine-Smith by 19 votes.

Erskine-Smith, who represents the neighbouring federal riding of Beaches-East York, confirmed the narrow margin to reporters after the ranked-ballot vote. He indicated he may challenge the results, citing reports from scrutineers about irregularities. "Scrutineers during the vote told me they'd never seen anything like it," Erskine-Smith said. He added that some scrutineers reported half the people at one table had identification issues and said he planned to consult his team before deciding on next steps. "I would like to hear from every single person who was in that room on our team to understand what took place," he said.

Hafiz, a vice-chair of the federal Liberal Party and owner of multiple Domino's Pizza franchises, described the process as fair. "The hallways were filled with people wearing his badges. So that is the clear evidence of who is the real winner," Hafiz said of Erskine-Smith's supporters. He credited the Ontario Liberal Party for running an excellent...