Former Ontario finance minister to run for federal Liberals in Toronto-area riding

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — A former Ontario finance minister will be the federal Liberal candidate in an upcoming Toronto-area by-election scheduled to be called later this month.

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 riding of Mississauga-Lakeshore.

The by-election, which is due to be called by Nov. 26, will be the first since Pierre Poilievre became leader of the federal Conservatives and official opposition earlier this fall.

He replaces the liberal Sven Spengemann, who announced last May that he would resign to take up a post at the United Nations.

A Liberal has represented Mississauga-Lakeshore since the 1990s, except for 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 would be Ron Chhinzer, a member of the Peel Regional Police Department. The NDP nominated Julia Kole, whose profile on the party’s website says the lifelong Mississauga resident worked as a constituency assistant for an MPP.

Another longtime Mississauga resident, Mary Kidnew, is set to run for the Green Party.

« I am proud to call Mississauga my home, and I care deeply about our community and the families I represented for 11 years as an MPP, » Sousa said in a statement. « Now I’m asking to be their next MP to continue working together for new jobs and a strong economy, and to ensure everyone has the opportunity to succeed, learn and help each other. »

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This report from The Canadian Press was first published on November 5, 2022.

The Canadian Press

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