Housefather wins coveted Liberal nomination in Mount Royal riding

Housefather will represent Liberals The mayor of Cote St. Luc will face an unknown Conservative opponent in the next federal election

Anthony Housefather has been chosen as the next Liberal candidate in Mount Royal for next year’s federal election.

Housefather, the current mayor of Cote-St-Luc, battled for the coveted spot over public relations specialist Jonathan Goldbloom.

Housefather was elected into the role in a ballot in Cote-des-Neiges Sunday, where a total of 1948 ballots were cast out of a possible 4500 Liberal members in the Mount Royal riding.

He will succeed long-time Liberal candidate in that riding, Irwin Cotler. The riding was also held by former MP and senator Sheila Finestone, as well as former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau.

Cotler, 74, was first elected into the seat in a by-election in 1999, by a 92 per cent landslide. He announced earlier this year he would not run for re-election in 2015.

Though the riding has long been a Liberal stronghold since 1940, Housefather will face off against one of two strong Conservative candidates: the founder of the defunct Equality Party, Robert Libman, and well-known newspaper editor and political advisor Beryl Wajsman and both vying for that job.