Former CTV News at Six anchor Tamara Taggart is eager to make a leap into national politics.
One of Vancouver’s most famous residents hopes to become a member of Parliament.
Former CTV News at Six anchor Tamara Taggart told the Georgia Straight that she is seeking the Liberal nomination in Vancouver Kingsway. Taggart, a mother of three, is a long-time advocate for people with disabilities, a cancer survivor, and a recipient of the Order of B.C.
“It comes down to being a voice,” Taggart said in a phone interview. “I can’t be a voice for people with disabilities and not be a voice for other people who are marginalized and vulnerable and dismissed. That’s just not who I am.”
The riding has been held since 2008 by Don Davies, the NDP health critic, who succeeded former Conservative cabinet minister David Emerson.
Taggart said that she has never met Davies, who has been pushing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to abandon the war on drugs and decriminalize narcotics in response to the overdose crisis.
In recent months, Taggart has been waging her own campaigns on social media to eliminate lead from drinking water in Vancouver schools and to promote more inclusive attitudes toward LGBT kids in B.C. schools.
She said that her family lived in Vancouver Kingsway for many years until the boundary was changed before the last election. She’s married to 54-40 guitarist Dave Genn, emphasizing that they know the riding “really well”.
“It’s very diverse,” Taggart noted. The former anchor was born and raised in Vancouver. She revealed that her husband’s mother was born in an internment camp for Japanese Canadians during the Second World War, which has heightened her family’s sensitivity to racial discrimination.
She hopes that by running she can inspire her two daughters to see that it’s possible to pivot from one career to another and take on a new challenge.
When asked why she wants to become a Liberal candidate, Taggart replied that she’s been thinking a great deal about her future since she lost her job at CTV in April.
She said the Liberals “align” with her values—and that’s reflected in the government’s new Accessible Canada Act, which promotes far greater inclusion for people with disabilities. Taggart’s son Beckett has Down syndrome.
“I care about the environment,” she said. “I care about gender equity, livability, affordability.”
In addition, Taggart said she’s been particularly impressed by Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, who is also a mother of three.
“She just seems like such a badass,” Taggart said with a laugh. “Everything about her energy, to me, seems inspiring.”
When the Straight asked Taggart if she wanted to comment on pipelines, she replied “Not yet. We can talk about that another time.”
Taggart said that she still has to get the green light before she can become a candidate. This means she will have to undergo credit and criminalrecord checks. And she doesn’t know if anyone else is going to seek the Liberal nomination in the riding.
“If somebody contests it and they want to run too, then I have a challenge on my hand,” she said. “That’s okay.”
The Liberals held Vancouver Kingsway from 1997 to 2006, first with Sophia Leung and later with Emerson.
After the 2006 election, Emerson crossed the floor to the Conservatives. Following a massive backlash in the riding, Emerson didn’t seek reelection in 2008.