Ontario Liberal Leadership hopeful Nate Erskine-Smith is hopeful a recent tour of Northwestern Ontario will help rejuvenate the party, which was decimated in both the 2018 and 2022 provincial elections.

He says he is drawing upon his experiences federally eight years ago, when he first ran federally for the Trudeau Liberals, which went from third place to forming government.

“There’s no substitute for that hard work, in building and rebuilding connections across this province. You gotta make sure people see politics as the most important way to make a difference in the lives of others and a really positive message of change.”

Speaking with supporters Erskine-Smith notes some of the biggest challenges for the region revolve around housing and mental health and addictions, something he believes the province has not been fully supportive on and has failed the region on.

“Its felt all across this province, its acutely felt in Northern Ontario, and again you need provincial leadership. You can’t download these responsibilities to municipalities that don’t have the resources to deal with that.”

He notes on the housing front the current generation is worse off than their parents.

Erskine-Smiths tour of the region included stops in Thunder Bay, Atikokan, Sioux Lookout, Dryden and Kenora.