A party statement says Charles Sousa, who represented a provincial riding in Mississauga, Ont., for more than a decade and served as finance minister in Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government, will run federally in the Mississauga-Lakeshore riding.
The by-election, which must be called by November 26, will be the first since Pierre Poiliev became leader of the federal Conservatives and the Official Opposition earlier this fall.
He is being held to replace Liberal Sven Spengemann, who announced last May that he would resign to take a position at the United Nations.
A Liberal has represented Mississauga-Lakeshore since the 1990s, with the exception of the years between 2011 and 2015 when a Conservative held the seat.
Sousa is the latest major candidate to be nominated after the Conservatives announced their new candidate in Mississauga-Lakeshore will be Ron Chhinzer, a member of the Peel Regional Police Service. The NDP has nominated Julia Cole, whose profile on the party’s website says the lifelong Mississauga resident has worked as a constituency assistant to a member of provincial parliament.
Another lifelong Mississauga resident, Mary Kidnew, is set to run for the Green Party.
“I am proud to call Mississauga home and care deeply about our community and the families I represented for 11 years as their MPP,” Sousa said in a statement. “Now, I’m asking to be their next MP so we can continue to work together to support new jobs and a strong economy, and make sure there’s room for everyone to achieve, learn and help each other.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on November 5, 2022.
