Queen's Park Observer

Queen's Park Observer

Grits go fisticuffs in court

Hush hush

Sabrina Nanji's avatar
Sabrina Nanji
Jan 12, 2026
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ABOVE THE FOLD

Big developments in Ford world while you were weekending, but first: a major case in Liberal land comes to a head today.

SMALL CLAIMS, BIG IMPACT — A long-running political grudge match lands before a Small Claims judge later this morning, with federal MP NATHANIEL ERSKINE-SMITH squaring off against Mainstreet pollster QUITO MAGGI in a defamation fight that’s being watched closely around Queen’s Park.

Photo: Getty

To wit: The case centres on Maggi’s social media posts during the 2023 Ontario Liberal leadership race — (in which NES wound up runner-up to BONNIE CROMBIE) — when decade-old allegations resurfaced about Erskine-Smith’s first federal nomination contest in Beaches–East York.

Erskine-Smith denies claims of voter suppression and intimidation targeting low-income South Asian communities and is seeking $35,000 in damages, arguing Maggi falsely accused him of criminal behaviour that harmed his reputation.

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