Federal Liberals select Tanveer Shahnawaz as candidate for Beaches

Federal Liberals select Tanveer Shahnawaz as candidate for Beaches-East York byelection

Former riding MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith resigned from his seat earlier this month.

The Liberal Party of Canada has selected Tanveer Shahnawaz as their candidate for the upcoming federal byelection in the Beaches-East York riding.

Shahnawaz has "deep roots" and a "record of service" in the riding, said the political party in a news releases Saturday.

It said Shahnawaz worked as the office manager for former Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith and as co-chair of the Taylor-Massey & Oakridge Community Response Team.

Erskine-Smith, former MP for the Beaches-East York, resigned his seat in June this year, but did not state any reason for doing so. It's been long believed that Erskine-Smith is vying for a run for Ontario Liberal leadership.

That plan hit a snag earlier this year when he lost the Liberal nomination ahead of a provincial byelection and had his appeal of the results rejected by the party.

Shahnawaz said he's ready to work for the community with Prime Minister Mark Carney's team.

“For nearly a decade, I have had the privilege of serving people across Beaches—East York and to help bring their priorities to Ottawa,” said Shahnawaz.

Sachit Mehra, president of the Liberal Party of Canada, said the upcoming byelection will be important for residents to elect a "strong" Liberal MP.

“Tanveer Shahnawaz is a hard-working community leader who is ready to build a stronger, more prosperous future for Beaches—East York,” he said.

CBC News reached out to other federal parties to see if they have selected their candidates to run in the byelection.