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Crewson to be unopposed for nomination

February 11, 2015   ·   0 Comments

It is official; Dufferin-Caledon MP David Tilson’s recent praise for longtime Shelburne mayor Ed Crewson is looking like a worse idea every day.

This week, Mr. Crewson is set to be acclaimed as the federal Liberal Candidate for the same riding, his only competitor for the nomination, Caledon’s Bill Prout, having withdrawn his nomination bid. This means Mr. Tilson, who recently gave Mr. Crewson a letter of praise from Prime Minister Stephen Harper, will face him in the coming federal election.

Mr. Crewson officially launched his bid to be the Liberal candidate on Jan. 31. The director of communications for his campaign, George denHaan said the launch saw more than 100 supporters “cheer him on.”

Mr. Prout, who ran for the Liberals in the 2011 federal election, wound up far behind the Progressive Conservative winner and also behind the NDP and Green candidates.

“I put my name in last spring, but things have changed in my life,” Mr. Prout told the Caledon Citizen Wednesday. “So I decided to pull out.”

Adding that he’s busy with solar power contracts with his company, Enercontrol Technologies, he said he will be backing Mr. Crewson in the coming campaign.

“I think he has a better shot, in at least Dufferin, than I did,” he remarked. “But that’s not to say I won’t be back,” he added, commenting that another election could come sooner than people think, if this year’s campaign results in a minority government.

In an earlier statement to the Shelburne Free Press, Mr. Prout expanded on his reasoning for the withdrawal.

“Due to personal reasons and a very large increase in solar installation contracts that I must install over the next eight months, I cannot do justice to run a successful political campaign and have therefore withdrawn from the nomination race. I want to thank everyone who has supported me over the last four years. I am getting many messages from local Liberals stating their disappointment with my decision but it is not to say that I may be back for the next round when my situation opens up and clears a path to representing D-C in Ottawa.”

Mr. Prout also said he hopes “all Liberals, Greens, and NDP voters will unite in D-C to support Ed Crewson.” This sentiment will need to be a sounding board for the Liberals’ campaign if they hope to break Mr. Tilson’s PC stronghold in Dufferin-Caledon. Supporters of Mr. Crewson have called him a “bridge builder” and are betting that he is the politician to convince the constituency to vote for the best “person” before “party.” He started building one bridge by phoning Mr. Prout after he withdrew, and says they “will be getting together for lunch next week.”

In a press release Mr. Crewson said, “I look forward to meeting with the citizens of Dufferin-Caledon over the coming months to listen to their hopes and ideas.”

He said he met last Sunday with 20 women at the home of Lynn Allan in Caledon and promised he would be “attending as many events in the community as possible to engage citizens in conversation.

“When I become their Member of Parliament, I can and will work hard every day advocating for them, representing them and serving them in the House of Commons. I thank all the members of the Dufferin-Caledon Federal Liberal Riding Association for giving me this opportunity.”

The Crewson acclamation will be held next Tuesday in the Banquet Room of the Mono Community Centre, 754483 Mono Centre Road.

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