Federal Ottawa-Vanier byelection happening April 3
CBC News | Posted: February 19, 2017 3:50 PM | Last Updated: February 22, 2017
Byelection needed after longtime MP Mauril Bélanger died last year
Ottawa-Vanier will elect a replacement for Mauril Bélanger on April 3, according to the Prime Minister's Office.
Bélanger represented the urban riding for the Liberals from February 1995 until August 2016, when he died less than a year after announcing he had been diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.
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Those running to replace him include:
- Nirmala Dookeran for the Green Party, a high school teacher and community activist who ran for the party in the last federal election.
- Mona Fortier for the Liberals, a businesswoman and Liberal organizer who co-chaired Bélanger's last campaign.
- Adrian Papara for the Conservatives, who has an MBA from uOttawa and has been working as a director of operations for Alberta Conservative MP Tom Kmiec.
- Emilie Taman for the NDP, a lawyer who ran for the party in the last federal election and has been critical of the City of Ottawa's plans for a new central library.
The riding has been held by the Liberals since its creation in 1935 but residents have never elected a female MP.