Parties recruit star candidates as nominations close in federal election

The Peace Tower on Parliament Hill is seen in Ottawa on Sunday, March 9, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

OTTAWA — People from diverse backgrounds all across the country are campaigning for seats in the House of Commons — and some of them had high profiles well before they took the leap into federal politics.

Candidate nominations close today at 2 p.m. ET.

A large number of star federal candidates are current and former politicians — like Amarjeet Sohi, a former federal minister and current mayor of Edmonton who is running for the Liberals in Edmonton Southeast, and former Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson, who is running for the Liberals in Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby.

Several former provincial politicians are also now federal candidates.

They include former provincial MLA Lisa Roberts, who is running for the NDP in Halifax, and former British Columbia cabinet minister Mike de Jong, who is running as an Independent in Abbotsford-South Langley after the Conservatives did not chose him as their candidate.

Several ex-MPs have thrown their hats in as well.

On Sunday, the NDP announced that former MP for Berthier-Maskinongé Ruth Ellen Brosseau would be attempting a political comeback in the same riding.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Brosseau said it’s nice to see a “big wave of love” surrounding her return but added that there are many good NDP candidates running in the election.

“I’m just really happy to be part of this campaign and we’re going to try to run something really positive and try to have some fun along the way,” she said.

Other former MPs in the race include Stephen Fuhr, running for the Liberals in Kelowna, and Paul Manly, who is running for the Green Party in Nanaimo—Ladysmith.

Dan Arnold, chief strategy officer at Pollara and former pollster for the Trudeau Liberals, said there is “no singular career path” that leads people to Parliament Hill.

“Most run for MP without ever having run for office of any level before,” said Arnold, who pointed out that Prime Minister Mark Carney is not a career politician.

Arnold said “it’s not unique” to have a diverse set of candidates but this election — like the one in 2015 — began after many incumbent MPs decided not to run, opening up lots of winnable seats.

“That makes running more enticing for a political outsider,” he said.

Arnold said it’s also possible that the threat posed by U.S. President Donald Trump has encouraged some people to get into politics.

“If you’re not someone who has been in politics before, it takes something big to force you to take that plunge,” he said. “This could very well be that catalyst.”

A handful of current and former journalists are seeking election. They include Evan Solomon, who is running for the Liberals in Toronto Centre, and radio host Greg Brady, who is running for the Conservatives in Ajax.

Activists and community leaders running for federal seats include Nathalie Provost (Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville), spokesperson for the group PolySeSouvient and survivor of the École Polytechnique massacre, and Chi Nguyen (Spadina—Harbourfront), former head of Equal Voice. Both are running as Liberals.

Other high-profile candidates include Priti Obhrai-Martin, daughter of the late Conservative MP Deepak Obhrai, who is running for the Liberals in Calgary East, and Ellis Ross, former chief of the Haisla Nation, who is the Conservative candidate in Skeena—Bulkley Valley.

On Saturday, the Liberal party nominated one of Toronto’s former deputy chiefs of police to replace former Liberal candidate Paul Chiang, who quit the nomination after suggesting that a political rival should be turned over to the Chinese consulate in return for a bounty.

Peter Yuen, who recently ran and lost in the Ontario provincial election, was nominated as the Liberal candidate for Markham—Unionville.

This report by Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press was first published April 7, 2025.