Chris Scott, the Member of Provincial Parliament for Sault Ste. Marie, has been removed from Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservative caucus following his arrest by Toronto police. The announcement was made by the premier's office on Monday, but no specific reasons for Scott's removal were provided.

Scott was arrested on Sunday after an investigation by Sault Ste. Marie police, who indicated that Toronto police took him into custody. Details regarding any potential charges have not been disclosed. During a news conference in eastern Ontario, Ford was asked about Scott's situation. He advised reporters to direct their inquiries to the Sault Ste. Marie police, stating, "I was informed literally in the parking lot as we were going through here. I don’t want to interfere in a police investigation."

Scott, who is 35 years old, was elected to the Ontario legislature in February, narrowly defeating New Democrat candidate Lisa Vezeau-Allen by just 118 votes. Before his election, he served as a special adviser to Ford's chief of staff and held various roles within the Progressive Conservative government since 2019. His previous positions included chief of staff to the associate minister of housing and deputy chief of staff to the minister of the environment.

The removal of Scott from the caucus does not significantly alter the composition of the Ontario legislature, which now includes 79 Progressive Conservative MPPs, 27 New Democrats, 14 Liberals, two Greens, and two Independents. Scott's departure marks a notable change for the party, as he was a handpicked candidate with a background in party activism.