Blair Herbert has been chosen again to carry the torch for the Liberals in the Cowichan-Malahat-Langford riding in the upcoming federal election on Sept. 20.
Herbert was the Liberal candidate for the riding in 2019’s election and said he is honoured to be selected again.
Similar to the 2019 election, Blair said his priorities remain the economy and environment, and he wants the riding to be heard in Ottawa.
“It’s time for this riding to shake things up and elect a Member of Parliament that will actually be part of government,” he said.
“Let’s have a seat at the table.”
In his working career, Herbert has served as a RCMP officer, an investigator for the provincial Ombudsman’s Office and a federal immigration officer settling refugees of the Vietnam War.
For the last 37 years, Herbert has been a small business owner in the construction and real estate industry, and has settled in the Cowichan Valley.
Herbert has also found new roots in farming in the Valley, with chickens, bees, dogs, cats and various crops keeping him and his wife busy.
He said that while the challenges in the environment are critical, the economy needs to remain strong.
“Over the last 18 months, Canadians have been consumed with all things COVID-19, and while some Canadians fared reasonably well during the pandemic, many others have had to access government programs just to survive,” Herbert said.
“There is a lot of work to do to get back to full employment. Those in the retail, restaurant, tourism and cultural industries have been hit very hard and many were ones that could least afford it.”
Herbert said that at the time when the pandemic struck last year, he was comforted knowing that the Liberal government had a plan to ensure support for those that were no longer working.
And now, he said, the Liberals are laying out their plan for coming out of the pandemic.
“Canadians need a government with a clear mandate to finish the fight against COVID-19, from getting vaccines to as many Canadians as possible to supporting people through to the end of this crisis,” he said.
“We need a government that will keep fighting even harder for a healthy and safe Canada, that will push even harder on the path to reconciliation, and that will be even bolder on protecting our environment and growing our economy. The Liberals are that government, and I want to be this riding’s representative.”
Three other candidates have been chosen to run so far in Cowichan-Malahat-Langford in the campaign.
They are Alistair McGregor, the incumbent NDP candidate, Alana DeLong for the Conservatives and Mark Hecht for the People’s Party of Canada.
The Green Party is expected to announce its candidate soon.