The fight for Bob Rae’s old seat in Toronto Centre is shaping up to be a battle of high-profile journalists, with three so far announcing their intention to seek their party’s nomination to run in an upcoming byelection.
Rae, who served as interim Liberal leader until Justin Trudeau took over earlier this year, announced his decision to leave politics in June. His last official day as an MP was July 31.
The Liberals have attracted a star candidate in Chrystia Freeland, a reporter and author who has worked in Canada, abroad and, most recently, in New York. She has given up a top job at Thomson Reuters to move back to Canada and, as she said in a recent interview, “put my life on the line.”
While Freeland is considered Trudeau’s chosen candidate, he had previously maintained his commitment to open party nominations. Todd Ross, a long-time community activist and assistant to former Ontario Liberal health minister George Smitherman, will challenge Freeland for the nomination.
The NDP has also attracted two star candidates. Jennifer Hollett, best-known for her stint as a MuchMusic VJ, but who has also worked as a reporter and human rights activist, will seek the party’s nomination, as will Toronto Star columnist and author Linda McQuaig, who jumped into the race on Tuesday.
While by-elections generally garner fewer headlines or voters, a showdown of big-name candidates in a high-profile riding mean the race is likely to be one of the bigger political stories in the coming months.
CTV political correspondent and host of Power Play Don Martin said the by-election is a test for Trudeau, to show if his party can fend off a strong challenge from the NDP and hold what is considered a safe Liberal seat.
“(Trudeau) can’t be seen as rolling out the red carpet for one candidate over another,” he told CTV News Channel on Tuesday. “So he’s going to have to let this one run its course, although Freeland already has some powerful Liberals behind her. But, she’s not going to necessarily cakewalk into office, because the NDP has designs on this seat and they’d like nothing better than to give Justin Trudeau a black electoral eye in this by-election.”
While all the big names are lining up to replace Rae on Parliament Hill, the actual date of the by-election has yet to be determined. Elections Canada said Tuesday that Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand received official notice of the seat’s vacancy.
“At least 11 days and no more than 180 days” must pass before a byelection is called, Elections Canada says. And another 36 days must pass between the time a byelection is called and the vote actually takes place, making Monday, Sept. 23 the earliest date it can be held.
While all the focus is on the Liberal and NDP candidates, the Conservatives “are not going to give up a seat without a fight,” Martin said. The Conservatives usually fare poorly in the riding, however, so the candidate will be “a sacrificial lamb of some sort.”
In 2011, Rae won the seat with more than 40 per cent of the vote, compared to 30 per cent for the NDP and just over 22 per cent for the Conservatives.
