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Erskine-Smith said there’s an opportunity to learn the lessons of the federal Liberal’s reboot eight years ago, to rebuild active relationships and to “listen.”

Growing up in Toronto, Erskine-Smith cut his political teeth during Ontario’s Mike Harris years that were marked by cutbacks and labour unrest. As a youngster he stood on the picket lines with both his parents, who were teachers.

Unlike some of the other candidates, Erskine-Smith has ties to rural Ontario.

His wife Amy Symington, a Toronto chef who is currently doing a PhD in nutritional science, hails from the farming community of Wyoming in Lambton County. The couple have two children.

Erskine-Smith said he repeatedly hears the same problems in his travels around the province. Housing affordability, mental health and addiction issues, and a lack of access to health care are the number one concerns he hears, noting there are 2.1 million Ontarians who do not have access to a health team.