The local Conservative riding association is gearing up for the 2019 federal election, with three potential candidates vying to become Guelph’s next member of parliament.
“We have three applications that have come in and we are just waiting for headquarters to go through them and do their searches,” said Linda Murphy, vice-president for the Guelph Electoral District Association of the Conservative Party of Canada.
Three applications is not common for the Conservatives in Guelph, said Murphy. The Conservative riding association usually receives only one or two applications prior to most elections.
“We’re gearing up,” she said.
If more than one of the applications are vetted by the Conservative headquarters, Murphy said a nomination race will begin and they hope to announce the local candidate by early spring.
“We honestly wanted to have it done in December, but that just didn’t work out,” said Murphy.
So far, the local NDP riding association has received one candidate application, said Tim Mathewson, president of the Guelph NDP.
“At the moment, we are wrapping up our candidate search process,” said Mathewson. “We are looking at holding a nomination meeting in the spring.”
The date for the federal election is set for Oct. 21, 2019, just over eight months away. With Canada's fixed election dates and a majority Liberal government, the election is unlikely to be held prior to that date.
On Feb 4, local businessperson Steve Dyck told GuelphToday he was seeking the Green Party of Canada nomination for Guelph.
Current MP Lloyd Longfield was formally nominated in November to once again run under the Liberal banner in Guelph.
Recently, there has been more government cabinet minister appearances in Guelph than usual, which can be a harbinger for an upcoming election campaign.
Four Liberal cabinet ministers made appearances in Guelph in a single week between Monday Feb. 4 and Monday Feb. 11, including Immigration minister Ahmed Hussen and Finance minister Bill Morneau. Patty Haidu, minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, will be in Guelph on Thursday.
