With the next Canadian federal election scheduled for 2015, some prospective candidates are beginning to emerge in the newly formed Nanaimo-Ladysmith riding.
The Conservative Party of Canada’s does not have any confirmed candidates in the riding at the moment, according to Will Geselbracht, electoral district association president, who also said there aren’t any set deadlines for declaring yet.
The Nanaimo-Ladysmith riding has four approved federal NDP candidates so far, said Ken Pearce, electoral district riding association president. Natasha Bob, Nanoose First Nation councillor; Kip Wood, a math teacher in the Nanaimo school district; Dominique Roelants, a lawyer and professor at VIU; and Sheila Malcolmson, Islands Trust council chairwoman, are seeking the party’s endorsement.
The Nanaimo-Ladysmith NDP nomination meeting is Oct. 5, according to Pearce, who also said nominations close 15 days before the nomination meeting.
Andre Lemieux, riding association president for the federal Liberals, said there are quite a few interested candidates but none he can currently mention. He said the riding association is aiming for a nomination meeting in the fall but there is a potential scheduling conflict with municipal elections in November.
“There’s a conflict with the civic elections, so it’s one of our issues and we’re trying to plan for the right time, not to conflict with the municipal elections,” Lemieux said.
He said the association would like to see prospective candidates declare as soon as possible and preferably before Aug. 1.
The Green Party of Canada doesn’t have any confirmed Nanaimo-Ladysmith candidates yet and according to Kathryn Hazel, Green Party electoral district association CEO, the party executive targets people who have a strong history of community involvement and support party policies.
“The Green Party is adopting a strategy that we want to have several candidates lined up in different ridings and then we’re going to make a major announcement,” Hazel said, adding it isn’t known yet when the announcement will be made, but it is under discussion.