DARTMOUTH — The sexual assault case against the Nova Scotia-based actor best known for playing Bubbles on the TV comedy “Trailer Park Boys” has been dismissed. Mike Smith’s three-day trial was supposed to start in Dartmouth, N.S., this morning. Provincial court Judge Jill Hartlen dismissed the case after Crown lawyers said they would not be presenting any evidence. Outside the courtroom, Crown lawyer Bryson McDonald said the decision was based on their “ongoing assessment that the prosecution standard has no longer been met.” “We’re not going to go into specific facts or discuss prosecutorial discretion,” he added. Smith had pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual assault stemming from an alleged incident in 2017. The actor was charged on Oct. 2, 2025, but court documents did not provide details about the allegations. Smith’s lawyer, Stan MacDonald, said outside the courtroom that his client was pleased with the case’s dismissal and wants to put the matter behind him. Nova Scotia-based Trailer Park Boys Inc., where Smith is listed as a director, issued a statement saying he will resume his responsibilities with the company. Other company directors include John Paul Tremblay, who plays Julian on the show, and Robert Wells, who plays Ricky. Smith has had legal troubles before. In April 2016, he faced a battery charge in Los Angeles for an incident at a Hollywood hotel involving a woman. The misdemeanour domestic battery charge was dropped a month later. At the time, the Los Angeles City attorney’s office said it decided not to pursue the charge “due to lack of sufficient evidence.” Smith denied any wrongdoing in a written statement issued shortly after his arrest on April 1, 2016, saying the woman involved in the incident was a friend with whom he had a “loud and heated dispute.” “At no time did I assault her,” Smith’s statement said. ”I am not guilty of the misdemeanour charged against me.” Not long after news of Smith’s arrest surfaced in 2016, his co-star at the time, Lucy DeCoutere, announced she was leaving the television show. DeCoutere took to social media at the time to say: “If I find out that somebody is abusive, I cut them out of my life.” She later insisted she remained friends with the cast and crew of the Trailer Park Boys, despite saying her departure was linked to Smith’s arrest. The Trailer Park Boys announced in August they had completed filming for the show’s 13th season, which will coincide with the 25th anniversary of the series beginning. The show is a mockumentary-style comedy set in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park, where Bubbles and his friends Julian and Ricky routinely get involved in get-rich-quick schemes that go awry. The original show, created by Mike Clattenburg, ran for seven seasons before spawning four feature-length films, two spinoff series and a Christmas special. Meanwhil, Trailer Park Boys Inc. announced in July that it was launching its own streaming service to host its content. Smith has won a Canadian Comedy Award and two Gemini Awards for his work on the show. He was also the guitarist for rock band Sandbox in the mid-1990s, when they were nominated for Best New Group at the Juno Awards in 1996. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2026. Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press
