Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh's party has still not nominated a candidate for Prince Albert. (Nikita Ganovicheff/meadowlakeNOW Staff)

By Michael Joel-Hansen

Federal Election 2019

Federal NDP set to nominate candidate

Sep 4, 2019 | 5:10 PM

The country is not far off from the calling of the next federal election.

Candidates from the Liberals, People’s Party of Canada and Green Party have been nominated to stand for their respective party in the coming election. However, the federal New Democrats have not yet put forward a local candidate.

Craig Thebaud, president of the Prince Albert NDP Riding Association said the party plans to hold a nomination meeting on Sept 14. Thebaud said the delay in selecting a candidate has been in part to make it easier on prospective candidates.

“Sometimes candidates have issues with their employers if they become nominated and they have to take a leave early, so that’s one of the issues that’s delayed our nomination meeting,” he said.

Thebaud said he is not worried about nominating a candidate later as they will be ahead of the election call and are set to have everything needed in place. He added he thinks people are excited about the party’s message which includes improving health care and closing tax loopholes.

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Lon Borgerson, who ran for the NDP in the last federal election and currently sits on the executive for the riding association said he has noticed some people who have issues with the current national leadership of the party.

“There has been some discontent with respect to the Erin Weir situation,” he said.

Leader Jagmeet Singh expelled the Regina MP from the NDP caucus in May 2018 following a third-party investigation into sexual harassment allegations. Recently several fellow constituents issued a letter to the leader asking for Weir’s return.

Borgerson said while that’s one concern, there are others who have turned down the invitation to run locally.

“It was all personal reasons, people’s work responsibilities, their situations in life right now,” he said.

The former Saskatchewan Rivers MLA said the party’s candidate is being nominated later than he would like to see. Borgerson said given the history of the riding he thinks it will come down the Conservatives and the NDP.

“I think that we are going to focus on having a very strong local campaign,” he said.

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MichaelJoel.Hansen@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @mjhskcdn