Statement from Todd Smith
After almost 13 years as a Member of Provincial Parliament and 6 years in Premier Ford’s Cabinet I have made the very difficult decision to leave politics and accept a position in the private sector.
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 reelection.
To my constituents in Bay of Quinte and Prince-Edward-Hastings, 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 a MPP was to break ground for a new Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital in Picton – a project l’ve been championing for over a decade.
I also want to thank Premier Ford for the opportunity to serve in his cabinet for more than six years and for entrusting me with a number of important files.
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 $50B. 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.
Throughout this time I’ve 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 l’ve been over the past 13 years.
I couldn’t have asked for a better support system at home.
Thank you
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
