The federal Conservative riding association for the proposed Thunder Bay-Rainy River has postponed the date for its nomination meeting in the wake of the Liberal sponsorship scandal in Ottawa.
“There has been quite a bit more interest in the last 10 days,” said association president Richard Neumann. “When the polls began to dip, people began to take us quite a bit more seriously as a party.”
As well, with the Liberals plummeting in the polls of late, it is widely expected Prime Minister Paul Martin will not call an election as early as once thought, Neumann said, meaning there is less pressure to nominate a candidate right away.
“We want to give potential candidates as much time as possible to consider that option,” he noted.
Five individuals have expressed a strong interest in running for the Conservative nomination in the new riding, though none have filed their papers, he added.
Some of these five expressed a need for more time to consider running for the nomination beyond the original Feb. 26 deadline.
“We felt we had a bit more time to extend that deadline,” he noted.
“There is interest in the Fort Frances area,” Neumann said, adding the Rainy River District is “a strong area for Conservatives.”
Neumann said with the expected electoral boundary changes, the Conservative party headquarters in Ottawa is “optimistic about our chances. This riding has been designated as a winnable one for us.”
The new dates for the nomination meetings are March 26 in Fort Frances and March 27 in Thunder Bay. The Conservative party will elect its leader March 20 in Toronto.
(Fort Frances Times)
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
