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Crewson seeks nomination as D-C Liberal candidate

January 28, 2015   ·   0 Comments

Dufferin-Caledon MP David Tilson sang Ed Crewson’s praises at a Shelburne gala in the former Shelburne mayor’s honour last Thursday, only to find out shortly afterward that the man he had just handed a commendation letter from Prime Minister Stephen Harper would likely be his main opponent  in the upcoming federal election.

In his letter, Prime Minister Harper wrote: “Your exemplary commitment to your community earned you the enduring esteem of residents. This is evidenced not only by your consecutive election victories, but also by the many friends and admirers who have joined you in celebrating this impressive milestone.”

A well-known and popular Dufferin politician, Mr. Crewson will officially launch his campaign for nomination as the federal Liberal candidate in Dufferin-Caledon at 3 p.m. Saturday.

The formal announcement will take place at DS Handling, 595 Riddell Road in Orangeville, but the actual nomination vote will occur at a yet-to-be-specified date and location.

Should he win the nomination, he is seen as having a more than reasonable chance of taking the seat. Although less known in Caledon, Mr. Crewson will have the advantage of a strong Liberal presence in that part of the riding.

“We are confident Ed will not only win the contested contest to become the Liberal candidate, but go on to be elected the next Member of Parliament for Dufferin-Caledon,” said George denHaan, communications director for local Liberals supporting the nomination bid.

In an email to local media, Mr. denHam said Mr. Crewson “has been Greenlit by the Liberal Party of Canada as an official nominee to challenge for the Liberal candidacy in Dufferin-Caledon.”

Mr. Crewson says he had been asked by both the Ontario Liberal Party and the Liberal Party of Canada on many past occasions to seek the party nomination.

“I have hitherto now declined because there were always unresolved issues at the Town of Shelburne or the County of Dufferin that I felt duty-bound to address and so I continued to serve the community on municipal council.”

Now retired from municipal politics, Mr. Crewson says he is running federally, rather than provincially, because “the Harper government needs to be stopped before the institutions and programs that I hold dear, that Canadians hold dear, are irreparably harmed.” He shares Liberal leader Justin Trudeau’s concern for “the decline of the middle class, the growing inequity of the distribution of income and wealth and the deliberate and unrelenting attack on the social safety net by the Harper government.”

Mr. Crewson says he has a strong interest in “agricultural and environmental policy” and is “consulting with people from these sectors in Dufferin-Caledon” as he prepares for the nomination process. But his first priority being to win the Liberal nomination, his concentration will be on selling party memberships so that when the Dufferin-Caledon Liberal Riding Association holds the nomination meeting he will have more members vote for him than other potential candidates, including Caledon’s Bill Prout, who failed to impress voters at the 2011 federal election when he finished in fourth position.

Mr. Prout’s nomination papers were filed some time ago, giving him a greater opportunity to sell memberships, whereas Mr. Crewson’s nomination papers were only approved last week.  Still, Mr. Crewson hopes party members will recognize him as a better candidate, “because I have 26 years of proven leadership in municipal government, I am passionate about the role of government in building a better community and country and I will work hard to be a vigorous and vocal advocate for the citizens of Dufferin-Caledon.”

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