Minority governments historically do not last the full four years and the local riding associations in Guelph are all making preparations to ensure they are prepared if an early federal election is called.
The Liberal Party of Canada currently holds 155 of the 338 seats in the House of Commons in a legislature scheduled to end in 2023, but a snap election call or the failure of a confidence vote could cause parliament to be dissolved, sending Canadians back to the polls.
During a radio interview earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged an election could be called in 2021.
Brent McArthur, chair of the Guelph Federal Liberal Association, said Guelph’s current member of parliament Lloyd Longfield has already expressed interest to represent the Liberals in the next election — whenever that should come.
Longfield won the riding in 2019 with about 40 per cent of the vote.
“Lloyd looks forward to being acclaimed by the Liberal Party of Canada as the Liberal candidate in the next federal election,” said McArthur. “We are optimistic that the minority Liberal government will be allowed to continue to implement their mandate, especially during the COVID-19 crisis."
Last week, Dr. Ashish Sachan announced on Twitter that he has initiated the application process to once again run as the Conservative Party of Canada’s candidate in Guelph. In 2019, Sachan took just over 19 per cent of the vote, placing third in the riding behind Steve Dyck of the Green Party of Canada.
In an email, Linda Murphy, president of the Guelph Conservative EDA, said the official selection process has not yet begun in Guelph, although people seeking the nomination can request an application package in advance.
“This process officially begins when the Party opens nominations in our riding, at which point all members will be notified,” said Murphy.
Guelph Green Party of Canada Electoral District Association CEO Sam Stevenson told GuelphToday on Monday that its executive team is currently working on candidate nomination plans.
“We do not have any candidates to announce at this point but we plan to have an update soon,” said Stevenson.
The local NDP riding association president told GuelphToday its selection process is underway.
“(We) plan to hold a nomination meeting next month,” said Jordan Lemcke,” president of Guelph NDP, in an email.
GuelphToday did not hear back from an inquiry to the local People’s Party of Canada email used in the last election.
