NDG-Westmount federal by-election: Anna Gainey to represent Liberals

MONTREAL – Anna Gainey will represent the Liberals in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Westmount by-election on June 19 in a bid to succeed Marc Garneau.

The executive director of the Gainey Foundation, which supports organizations offering educational programs for youth, won her party’s primary on Monday.

“Thank you, NDG-Westmount,” she wrote on Twitter. It is truly an honour to have your confidence as the Liberal candidate in this important by-election.”

Thank you, NDG-Westmount.

It’s a true honour to have your trust and confidence as our Liberal candidate in this important by-election.

Now let’s work even harder on the way to June 19th! pic.twitter.com/CsgZwbg2l7

— Anna Gainey (@annamgainey) May 16, 2023

The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) was quick to congratulate Gainey. “Dedicated community leader and former Liberal Party president, Anna is ready to vigorously represent the people of her community in Ottawa,” it said in a Twitter post.

She will seek to succeed Garneau, a former foreign affairs minister and astronaut, who announced he was stepping down in March after 15 years in politics.

Gainey has also served as a political advisor to the Department of National Defence and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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In this riding, she will cross swords with Conservative accountant Mathew Kaminski, whose nomination was also confirmed Monday night.

“The hard-working citizens of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Westmount deserve a government that will put them first. Only a government led by Pierre Poilievre will allow Canadians to regain control of their lives and bring common sense back to Parliament,” Kaminski said in a statement.

Kaminski, who has experience working in public auditing and institutional investment accounting, describes himself as a “fiscal conservative who believes in transparency and fiscal responsibility.”

“In the next election, we want to offer a determined and credible alternative for the people of Quebec and especially for the citizens of NDG-Westmount. Mathew will be a proud representative of his region in a future government led by Pierre Poilievre,” added Conservative Quebec Lieutenant Pierre Paul-Hus.

Two New Democratic Party (NDP) candidates are campaigning in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Westmount to represent the party in the upcoming by-election: Jean-François Filion, an English teacher, and Malcolm Lewis-Richmond, a long-time party member.

Green Party Deputy Leader Jonathan Pedneault is also planning to run in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Westmount.

Elsewhere in the country

Three other ridings will elect their MPs on June 19: Oxford in Ontario, as well as Portage-Lisgar and Winnipeg South Centre in Manitoba.

The Liberal Party announced Monday night that Ben Carr will seek to succeed his late father, Jim Carr, as MP for Winnipeg South Centre. The former Liberal Minister of International Trade Diversification passed away in December 2022.

Kerry Smith and David Hilderley will represent LPC in Portage-Lisgar and Oxford respectively.

Electors in the four ridings will be able to vote at their local polling station on election day, June 19, or at an advance poll from June 9 to 12. They will also be able to vote at their Elections Canada office at any time between now and June 13, or by special ballot, by applying before 6 p.m. on June 13.

In other news, Alberta Conservative MP Bob Benzen resigned his seat in the Calgary Heritage late last year. A by-election is to be held in that riding by July 2 to select a new MP.

This report by The Canadian press was first published in French on May 16, 2023.