Mainstreeter Staff
Things have changed since the last Mainstreeter report on Ottawa Centre candidates for the upcoming federal election.
Incumbent Catherine McKenna, who originally was going to run again, has resigned after six years as Ottawa Centre MP. Her tenure was marked by a surprise victory over Paul Dewar in 2015 then her appointment as Minister of the Environment and Climate change. She subsequently became Minister of Infrastructure and
Communities.
Catherine McKenna says farewell and thanks to the voters of OttawaCentre. Photo Supplied
Yasir Naqvi, the Ottawa Centre MPP for 10 years, will seek to replace McKenna having recently been confirmed as the Liberal nominee.
Angella MacEwen won the NDP nomination over Lyra Evans and Angela Keller-Herzog was acclaimed as the Green Party candidate. Carol Clemenhagen will be the Conservative candidate, as previously reported.
McKenna is arguably the most successful Ottawa Centre MP in the riding’s 53 year history. In addition to her high profile in aggressively pursuing new policies to deal with climate change, McKenna made a profound mark on the riding.
Her support of the Flora Footbridge and convincing her government to provide $10.5 million towards its construction led to the bridge’s construction. Similarly, she secured federal funding for the new main branch of the public library.
Early in her tenure, she immediately responded to a community association request for paddling docks in the Rideau Canal. The community association had been seeking these for years but was thwarted by the federal agencies controlling the Canal and its pathways.
“Her decision to leave politics now is rooted in her kids and in climate change,” wrote Fatima Syed in the July Narwhal. “There’s too little time on both,” McKenna said.
McKenna lives in the Glebe with her three children.
