Smith likely met his wife (a native of nearby Maugerville Parish) during this period and then moved to England in 1784 to continue his service in the British Army.

He was promoted to the position of lieutenant-colonel of his old regiment (which was recreated in Upper Canada) in 1801 before retiring to 1,000 acres (4 km2) of land he had bought in Etobicoke and also in what is now in Lakeview, Mississauga.

Smith was considered a weak official and was the target of complaints by both the reformer Robert Gourlay and the Family Compact member John Strachan, who thought him feeble, inept, and talentless.

[2] The City of Toronto's Colonel Samuel Smith Park in Etobicoke was created in the 1970s and opened in 1996 along Lake Ontario is named in his honour.

[4] Following his death, his estate (on Lake Shore Boulevard between 40th and 41st Streets across from Long Branch GO Station) was occupied by his son and later sold.