One of the worst kept secrets in Kamloops is now official.
Former mayor, Kamloops North MLA, and BC Liberal cabinet minister Terry Lake is taking the first step in challenging Conservative MP Cathy McLeod in this fall’s federal election.
“I am officially announcing my intention to seek the nomination for the Liberal Party of Canada for the 2019 Federal Election,” he told Radio NL. “Obviously it is open to other candidates or other people who want to seek the nomination.”
“But yup, I’m back”
Lake says the local Liberal executive has yet to set a nomination date, but he anticipates it will happen over the next month or so, depending on if anyone else jumps into the race.
In the last federal election just over 3,000 votes separated McLeod from the NDP and Liberal candidates.
“Well certainly it was a close three way race last time. Having a strong NDP candidate will make it a three way race again this time. It remains to be seen the impact of having Jagmeet Singh, the NDP leader, in the House of Commons and what impact that will have on the party’s fortunes. I just anticipate a close race whether it is a two way race or a three way race it is going to be close. You cannot take anything for granted.”
Lake addressed the controversies plaguing the Prime Minister while crediting him for strong leadership.
“Does that make him perfect? Absolutely not. I think some of the things he has done along the way he has learned a lot from. When you look at the SNC Lavalin affair it has I think demonstrated that as much as you can try to do everything absolutely the best way possible people have different views on the course to take when you are dealing with those difficult issues. When you are a leader like Justin Trudeau who does evoke those strong emotions he is an easy target for people.”
He adds for a long time the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo riding simply has not received the level of attention and investment from the federal government that it deserves.
Lake says if he is nominated as the federal Liberal candidate he will take a leave of absence from Hexo Corp once the election campaign officially gets underway.
The full interview with Terry Lake on Radio NL can be heard below.
Pleased to announce my intention to seek the nomination for the @liberal_party in #Kamloops Thompson Cariboo https://t.co/nypfr5zCee
— Terry Lake (@TerryLake16) April 23, 2019
