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Uncommons
We need serious and experienced leadership to defend Canada against US threats, and to deliver a strong economic plan to supercharge home construction, develop clean energy, unlock internal trade, and more.
We need to protect our progress. And to build on it.
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Nate’s earned a reputation as a principled voice in the House of Commons, with a track record of voting more independently, and working across party lines to get things done.
He focuses on substantive debate, goes beyond talking points, welcomes experts and different perspectives to his Uncommons podcast, where he provides long-form explanations of his voting and parliamentary work.
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Nate worked to drive down the costs of home building, advocated for doubling community and non-market housing, and supported efforts to address homelessness and help the most vulnerable.
In a short time as Minister, he secured many long-term deals to strengthen and expand public transit and to get both housing and enabling infrastructure built.
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Nate led efforts to enhance the Canada Workers Benefit. As a former co-chair of the all-party anti-poverty caucus, he also worked across party lines to help realize the Canada Disability Benefit.
When big grocer CEOs all cancelled ‘hero pay’ bonuses at the same time in the pandemic, Nate held them accountable and worked to make wage-fixing illegal. He’s also been vocal about the need to address wealth inequality.
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Nate’s legislation to treat substance use as a health issue was adopted by the government and passed by Parliament. He also worked to secure federal funding for evidence-based addiction treatment.
He worked closely with a local childhood cancer survivor to deliver $30 million in federal support for pediatric cancer research and treatment. And he’s been part of successful efforts to advance sensible gun control.
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Nate introduced net zero legislation and played an active role in efforts to improve the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act.
He has consistently used his position to support stronger and more ambitious climate action and nature protection, and to defend the idea that polluters should pay.
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Nate’s been a leading advocate for consumer protections online through stronger privacy laws, especially for our kids. He introduced privacy legislation and led Canadian and international efforts to hold social media platforms accountable.
He worked at the industry committee to advocate for more competition, taking telecom companies to task in particular. And he led efforts at the privacy committee to hold Pornhub accountable for failing to protect young women on its platform.
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Nate’s represented Canada on the world stage and defended human rights at the UN. He’s called for action to protect Rohingya refugees, support Palestinian human rights, hold China accountable for its treatment of the Uyghurs, and address forced labour in supply chains.
He also supported death with dignity laws, defended LGBTQ+ rights, supported refugee resettlement, worked to fix over-reaching anti-terror legislation, shut down hate speech, and criticized Quebec’s Bill 21.
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Nate worked to reform Indigenous child welfare, supported government efforts to end long-term boil water advisories, and helped to build a partnership between the Liberal 416 caucus and TASSC, a coalition of Toronto’s Indigenous service organizations.
As a result of his advocacy, the government delivered $2 million to provide TASSC a permanent home.
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Nate’s been at the forefront of improving animal protections in Canada. His advocacy led to government action to ban the shark fin trade, address animal fighting and abuse, and phase out toxicity testing on animals.
He also helped found the Liberal Animal Welfare caucus, seconded legislation to ban the captivity of whales and dolphins, and was the House sponsor for the Jane Goodall Act.
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Nate has delivered for our city and community. He finalized a deal to help the TTC acquire new subway cars, delivered federal support to unlock Toronto’s waterfront, and worked with the Mayor’s office to create Toronto Builds, federal low-cost financing of $2.55 billion to get new rentals and affordable housing built.
He’s always been there for constituents. Nate stood with our community in the wake of the Danforth shooting, he and his team helped local vaccine clinics succeed in the pandemic, and he has advocated for countless constituents on specific case files or by raising their voice and concerns in Parliament.
Nate Erskine-Smith
Dr. Joeri Rogelj is an expert in climate science. He is currently Director of Research at Imperial College London, he’s been a long-time lead author of the UN Emissions Gap annual reports, and he’s also a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, including its 1.5 degree report and its upcoming 6th assessment…
In this episode, Nate is joined by professor Miles Corak to discuss how to strengthen our social safety net and, more specifically, what an EI system for the 21st century should look like. Miles is currently an economics professor at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and senior scholar at the…
Brett House is vice-president and deputy chief economist at ScotiaBank. Among a long list of past roles, he’s served as principal advisor in the office of the UN Secretary-General and as an economist at the International Monetary Fund. In this episode Nate and Brett discuss Canada’s fiscal response to the pandemic, whether the significant size…
Now chair of the World Refugee Council, Lloyd Axworthy held a number of cabinet roles over the course of a 27 year parliamentary career. As Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, he led efforts towards a global landmines ban (which earned him a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize), and he’s one of 56 notable signatories on…
Eric Duncan represents the rural Ontario riding of Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry, he was first elected to the House in October 2019, he’s only in his early 30s but has already somehow served over a decade in municipal office, and he’s also our country’s first openly gay Conservative Member of Parliament. On this episode, Eric and Nate…
Justin Ling is a journalist, author, and one of the most prolific users of Canada’s access to information system. He has also been critical of how broken the system now is. In this episode, Justin explains why access to information matters for accountability and transparency, what makes the system so broken, and how the government…
Chelsea Rochman is a marine ecologist whose research focuses on plastic pollution in freshwater and marine ecosystems. She is an assistant professor at the University of Toronto in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a scientific advisor to the Ocean Conservancy. In this episode Nate and Chelsea discuss Canada’s zero waste strategy, the…
David Morley is the President and CEO of UNICEF Canada. With millions of kids around the world still out of school, and with vaccine efforts central to our recovery, UNICEF has a unique role to play. David has long been dedicated to issues of global justice, with over thirty years of experience advancing children’s rights…
Carla Qualtrough is the Liberal MP for Delta BC, and the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development, and Disability Inclusion. She will lead efforts in this parliament to strengthen Canada’s social safety net, through EI reform and a new disability benefit. On this episode, Minister Qualtrough discusses the work that lies ahead, the challenges of rolling…
Victor Madrigal-Borloz is a Costa Rican lawyer and the UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Earlier this year, he published a report that called for a global ban on conversion therapy. Our federal government here in Canada is moving forward with amendments to the Criminal…