Biologist and author Richard Cannings will be seeking the nomination for the NDP in the new federal riding of South Okanagan-West Kootenay.
Alex Atamanenko, who has served as MP in the riding of BC Southern Interior since 2006, announced in October that he would not be seeking re-election in the 2015 federal election.
“It will be difficult to fill Alex’s shoes”, said Cannings, “he’s been a very effective and well-respected representative for this riding over the past 8 years.”
Cannings was the NDP candidate in Penticton during the recent provincial election. “When I was knocking on doors last spring, people kept telling me how disappointed they were in the Harper government, and I had to agree whole-heartedly with them,” said Cannings.
“This government has demeaned Canada’s reputation at home and throughout the world—on foreign policy, on climate change and with a shameless disregard for democratic principles”, he said.
“Canadians see Tom Mulcair as an effective leader who is holding Stephen Harper to account for his actions, and who is proposing a more reasoned, more respectful way forward.”
A resident of Penticton, Cannings has his
own consulting business and is a well-known author of over a dozen books on British Columbia. He has served on the BC Environmental Appeal Board, the BC Forest Appeals Commission and the national board of the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
He can be found online at http://richardcannings.net.