Pundits' Guide: NDP candidate news, and a few others

Continuing the candidate-catchup, today we turn to the NDP, with a short detour to update all party nominations in the likely by-election ridings.

This morning leader Jack Layton travelled to Longueuil to announce his party's candidate for the forthcoming by-election expected to be called in Saint-Lambert, QC. The seat is vacant following the resignation of Bloc Québécois M.P. Maka Kotto to run in the recent provincial by-election. Running for the NDP there will be Richard Marois, president of the Conseil régional de l’environnement de la Montérégie.

This makes 3 out of the 4 potential by-election ridings with identified NDP candidates, leaving only Westmount – Ville-Marie, QC. The Greens so far are nominated only in Westmount – Ville-Marie and Guelph, ON, while the Conservatives and Liberals are nominated in all 4 (the other riding that will soon be vacant is Don Valley West, ON).

In addition, the Bloc Québécois nominated the administrator of the Community Development Corporation in Longueuil, Josée Beaudin, as their candidate in Saint-Lambert this past Saturday after a contested nomination.

Beaudin is just the third woman to be nominated in any of the 4 potential by-election ridings, following Roxanne Stanners for the Liberals in Saint-Lambert and Gloria Kovach for the Conservatives in Guelph.

Back to the NDP: Marois' environmental credentials put him in good company with the group of NDP candidates who joined Layton at his announcement last week of his party's carbon pricing policy:

Daniel Breton in Jeanne-Le Ber, QC, a founder of the Kyoto Coalition in Québec and former Parti Vert co-founder, who is credited with pushing the Québec government to adopt its climate change plan,
Marilyn Churley in Beaches – East York, ON, a former Ontario cabinet minister and executive director of the Canadian Environmental Defence Fund,
Nathan Cullen, M.P. running for re-election in Skeena – Bulkley Valley, BC, his party's Environment Critic and member on the Commons Environment Committee and Legislative Committee on C-30 (the Clean Air and Climate Change Act)
Linda Duncan in Edmonton – Strathcona, AB, an international environmental lawyer, who is a former chief of enforcement for Environment Canada and assistant deputy minister of natural resources in Yukon,
Denis l'Homme in Lévis – Bellechasse, QC, an economist and engineer, and a former assistant deputy minister of energy for the Québec government, known recently for his campaign opposing the Rabaska project in Lévis,
Bruce Hyer in Thunder Bay – Superior North, ON, past-president of Environment North, and a former adjudicator for the Ontario government Environmental Appeal Board
Thomas Mulcair, M.P. running for re-election in Outremont, QC, his party's Deputy Leader and a former Québec government Environment Minister who introduced the province's legislation on sustainable development,
Jean-Claude Rocheleau in Hochelaga, QC, who advocates cleaner energy from within the petroleum workers' union, CEP 121, of which he is the Local president,
Julian West in Saanich – Gulf Islands, BC, a mathematician and advocate of science-based environmental policy, and a former provincial Green Party candidate in Cowichan-Ladysmith,
Nettie Wiebe in Saskatoon – Rosetown – Biggar, SK, an organic farmer and Ethics professor at U. Sask, who advocated healthy food systems and sustainability as past-president of the National Farmers' Union
The party also released Layton's own "green biography", mentioning among other things his role in developing and popularizing the post-and-ring bicycle stand (who knew).

In other NDP candidate news:

Railway safety activist Ken Kuzminski was reconfirmed as the federal NDP candidate in Yellowhead, AB, after stepping down to run in the recent provincial election. He will face three-term Conservative M.P. Rob Merrifield.
Local feminist and community development activist, Francine Raynault, will carry her party's banner in the riding of Joliette, QC. Raynault is also married to the party's former candidate in the same riding, Jacques Trudeau, and will face long-time Bloc Québécois M.P. Pierre Paquette.
Perth – Wellington, ON NDP candidate Donna Hansen is stepping aside to take care of some health concerns, and the local riding association is conducting a candidate search to replace her in the race against long-time Conservative M.P. Gary Schellenberger.
And "barring a last-minute surprise", it is expected that former Liberal M.P. Françoise Boivin will be officially nominated by the NDP riding association as their candidate in her former riding of Gatineau, QC next week on June 18, and then face off against the first-time Bloc Québécois M.P. who defeated her in 2006, Richard Nadeau.

Along with the announced resignation of former leader and current Halifax, NS M.P. Alexa McDonough, this all brings the NDP roster up to 179 candidates (180 including Ms. Boivin) or around 58% of a full slate, including 70 women or 39.1% (again would be 71 counting Ms. Boivin). The party's best coverage is in B.C., Québec, Nova Scotia and the prairie provinces, with Ontario and Alberta each about half-filled.

And in some other nomination news:

Cumberland – Colchester – Musquodoboit Valley, NS: Former Progressive Canadian Party leader Tracy Parsons has decided to switch allegiances and represent the Liberals in Independent M.P. Bill Casey's riding.
Meantime, candidates vying for the prize at a hoped-for Liberal nomination meeting in Stormont – Dundas – South Glengarry, ON on June 10 will have to wait a bit longer, as the date was not approved, and the meeting is being rescheduled. The riding is currently held by two-term Conservative M.P. Guy Lauzon.
The Conservatives have picked up a new candidate, international financial consultant Hugh Arrison, after a hotly contested nomination meeting in Mississauga South, ON this past Monday. (The name listed in Wikipedia, Tom Simpson, is NOT correct.) Arrison will face off against long-time Liberal M.P. Paul Szabo.
Meantime they're also down one candidate, after the resignation of Jordan Katz as the Conservative candidate in London – Fanshawe, ON, currently held by first-time NDP M.P. Irene Mathyssen.
An independent candidate, Yves Villeneuve, is running in Nickel Belt, ON, where incumbent Liberal M.P. Ray Bonin is retiring.
Another independent candidate, James Ford, has declared in Edmonton – Sherwood Park, AB, where incumbent Conservative M.P. Ken Epp is retiring.
The Green Party nomination meeting scheduled for St. Catharines, ON on May 13 has been postponed. The riding is currently held by first-time Conservative M.P. Rick Dykstra.
A contested nomination meeting will be held by the Green Party association in Peterborough, ON this coming Sunday June 16, to replace candidate Joel M. Parkes who had been nominated back in 2007, and then take on first-time Conservative M.P. Dean Del Mastro.