Allan Thompson will once again be the federal Liberal candidate in Huron-Bruce in next October’s election, the Huron-Bruce Federal Liberal Association has announced.
Straight out of the gate Thompson said his main focus will be on giving rural communities like Huron-Bruce a stronger voice in Ottawa.
Thompson will be formally acclaimed as the party’s candidate at 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 12, 2019 at a nomination celebration event at the Columbus Centre in Goderich, the riding association said.
“The Board of Directors of the Huron-Bruce Federal Liberal Association is thrilled to have Allan Thompson as our candidate in the October 2019 federal election,” said Duncan Jewell, chair of the Association.
“The commitment to the riding that Allan showed during the 2015 election and which he has continued over the past three years has been tremendous. Allan has attended hundreds of events and spoken to thousands of people and has continued to engage the residents of Huron-Bruce,” Jewell said.
“Having a Huron-Bruce Member of Parliament sitting on the government side of the House of Commons will be a major benefit to our riding and Allan’s large volunteer campaign team is committed to getting him elected as our MP in 2019,” continued Jewell.
Thompson’s nomination as the Liberal candidate in Huron-Bruce is one of the first across the country in a riding that the governing Liberals don’t hold. He said he plans to hit the ground running with a campaign that will focus on listening to the concerns of people who live in Huron-Bruce.
“To my mind, the top priority for the MP from Huron-Bruce should be to stand up for those who live in rural communities, to put a bug in the ear of our political leadership and to ask, every time a decision is being made, what will this mean for people who live in rural communities,” Thompson said.
Thompson, 55, was the federal Liberal candidate in Huron-Bruce in the 2015 election that brought the Justin Trudeau Liberal government to power. During that campaign, he raised Liberal support in Huron-Bruce by more than 23 percentage points and with more than 23,000 votes, placed a close second to the incumbent.
In August, Thompson launched his bid to once again be the Liberal candidate in Huron-Bruce from the front porch of his home in Goderich.
Thompson said there are already signals from the Conservatives that they intend to make this a dirty campaign.
“We are up against an opponent that has once again made clear they will use the politics of fear and division, negative smear tactics and misleading if not downright false information to trick voters,” Thompson said.
“In these times of Trump, I think Canadians have responded loud and clear that we are a caring society, respectful of others and sensitive to the fate of those less fortunate. And they’re sick and tired of nastiness, and bitter tweets.
“We need to give Canadians the politics they deserve, a positive, optimistic vision for the future of this country.
Thompson identified working to create opportunity and build the rural economy in Huron-Bruce as a top priority and vowed he would be a voice for farmers and all those who live in the riding’s small towns and on its country roads. He also said the needs of seniors, access to healthcare and the challenges posed by mental health issues and youth drug addiction in rural communities are particular concerns.
A former political reporter for the Toronto Star newspaper, Thompson has been on a sabbatical from his
position as a journalism professor at Ottawa’s Carleton University and last spring bought a home and took up residence in Goderich. He recently launched Market Street Strategies, a strategic communications firm based in Goderich.
Born and raised on a farm just outside the village of Glammis in southern Bruce County, he went to school at Bruce Township Central Public and Walkerton District Secondary School and began his journalism career as a reporter with the Kincardine Independent and Teeswater News.
The Nomination Meeting is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday January 12, 2019 at the Columbus Centre, 390 Parsons Court, Goderich. The public is invited to attend.
“The Nomination Meeting will be the kickoff of the campaign that will see Allan Thompson and his campaign team working throughout the riding knocking on doors, meeting voters, hosting events and telling the many success stories of the Justin Trudeau government,” said Duncan Jewell, Association Chair.
