Todd Smith, the longtime Bay of Quinte MPP and most recent minister of education, is leaving politics.
Premier Doug Ford announced a mini cabinet shuffle via press release on Friday afternoon — right before hosting a Ford Fest event in Milton — naming Jill Dunlop, who served as Ontario’s minister of colleges and universities since June 2021, as Smith’s replacement. The shuffle also included an expansion of the premier’s record-sized cabinet.
Nolan Quinn, who Ford added to his cabinet as associate minister of forestry two-and-a-half months ago, will take on Dunlop’s former role of overseeing the post-secondary sector.
Kevin Holland, MPP for Thunder Bay—Atikokan, will join Ford’s cabinet as the associate minister of forestry and forest products, and Graham McGregor, the MPP for Brampton North, will also take a seat at the cabinet table in the newly created role of associate minister of auto theft and bail reform.
Smith announced his departure from politics in a statement posted to X on Friday morning.
"After almost 13 years as a Member of Provincial Parliament and six years in Premier Ford's Cabinet I have made the very difficult decision to leave politics and accept a position in the private sector," Smith said, noting that he had let the premier know he was resigning his seat immediately and would not seek re-election.
He said he was "thrilled" one of his last acts as a provincial legislator was to "break ground for a new Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital in Picton — a project I've been championing for over a decade.”
Premier Doug Ford thanked Smith in a post on X.
"From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank Todd for his many years of service to our government, our province and our party. He leaves politics with a record that he can be incredibly proud of, including and especially fixing the previous government’s energy policies and bringing electricity prices down for hardworking families and businesses," Ford stated.
"Todd will always be a friend and I can’t wait to watch his every success as he starts this next chapter of his life."
Smith has served in various cabinet roles including as minister of energy, economic development, government and consumer services and children, community and social services. He was shuffled into the education portfolio in June.
The day before he resigned, Smith made a major announcement for the province's child-care sector and released the much-awaited new funding formula for operators. He also announced the province would be capping child-care fees at centres enrolled in the $10-a-day program at $22 per day starting in January. The government expects this to lower the average per-day cost from $23 to $19.
Some in the education and child-care sectors expressed surprise and disappointment by the news.
“It seems like so much upheaval for the sector to have a change in the minister and then another one in the middle of this huge transition,” said Carolyn Ferns, public policy coordinator with the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care. “Who’s the steady hand on the tiller here?”
Kathleen Woodcock, president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, said they were “of course surprised by Todd Smith’s resignation after such a brief tenure.”
Given the timing of Smith’s departure, with school set to start in less than three weeks, Woodcock said boards are ready to welcome students back.
“With several serious and time-sensitive issues facing the education sector, it is critical that the new minister’s transition is swift and seamless. It is our hope that the new minister will work with us to address these urgent matters, particularly the concerns surrounding the newly introduced regulations under Bill 98, The Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act,” she said. “We are optimistic that by working together we can ensure these issues are resolved effectively and in the best interests of our public education system and all students across Ontario."
Another source within the education sector said many were pleased when Smith was named to the portfolio since he has a “reputation for being someone who builds relationships effectively.”
“I think people feel like it's a bit of lost time,” the source said. “When this happens, it's going to be a few weeks … till they get their office set up and all that.”
Opposition parties used Smith’s resignation as a chance to criticize the Ford government’s actions on the education and child-care files.
“Both of these sectors are in crisis. That the brand-new education minister and minister in charge of child care abruptly jumps ship with less than three months on the job, the day after an important, long-delayed funding formula announcement for child care and just weeks before school is starting, shows the level of seriousness with which Doug Ford and his politicians take kids and families,” said NDP Leader Marit Stiles.
Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie pointed to overcrowding in schools.
“We don’t need a new education minister — we need a new government focused on giving more to children, educators, and families, not even more to Ford’s rich friends."
