‘An unknown political quantity’
Vickers’ challenge, and opportunity, in N.B.
Kevin Vickers has been described as a national hero for his role in stopping a gunman’s attack on Parliament Hill in 2014, but New Brunswick pundits say he’s largely seen as an outsider as he considers a political bid in his home province.
Vickers, who has served as Canada’s ambassador to Ireland for the past four years, announced this week he may be interested in seeking the leadership of New Brunswick’s Liberal party.
The out-of-the-blue statement came days after former premier Brian Gallant confirmed he would be stepping down as Liberal leader sooner than expected.
“It was a surprise,” said J.P. Lewis, a political scientist at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John, adding there were no previous indications Vickers had partisan leanings.
Though Vickers could be considered “almost a historic figure,” he doesn’t have a much of a presence in the province, Lewis said in an interview.
“For most people, he’s a public figure from one moment in time. That’s it.”
On Oct. 22, 2014, Vickers was serving as sergeant-at-arms of the House of Commons when he
shot and helped take down a man armed with a .30-30 rifle. Michael Zihaf Bibeau had barged into Centre Block on Parliament Hill after killing honour guard reservist Cpl. Nathan Cirillo at the National War Memorial. Vickers was appointed ambassador
to Ireland by then-prime minister Stephen Harper in January 2015.
On Monday, Vickers told The Canadian Press he’s a “long ways from making a decision” about contesting the Liberal leadership, noting that he’s been in public
service for nearly 43 years. Born and raised in Newcastle, N.B., which is now part of the City of Miramichi, Vickers worked as an RCMP officer for 29 years before joining security staff at the House of Commons in 2005.
“It’s a long haul,” he said in an interview Monday from Trout Brook, N.B.
Vickers has deep roots in New Brunswick. His father, Bill, helped establish the Northumberland co-op dairy in the province decades ago.
However, Vickers has spent many years working outside New Brunswick.
“He has largely been away for so long he is an outsider,” Mario Levesque, a politics professor at Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.B., said in an email.
“At best, he has drawn some media attention to the Liberal party ... They now have a ‘star’ candidate media-wise, but thin on the politics side.”
Still, Levesque said Vickers’ outsider status may not diminish his political capital.
“It is acceptable to move away and come back if you are a Maritimer,” said Levesque. “After all, people are our No. 1 export.”
Other political observers say Vickers’ absence from New Brunswick’s political scene could be his greatest strength.
“On the plus side, he is an unknown political quantity and perhaps the Liberal party wants a shakeup with some new people and fresh ideas,” Jamie Gillies, a political science professor at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, said in an email.