Liberal candidate eyed recent run for Tories

BYELECTION

• The Liberals’ new candidate in a coming Ontario byelection was planning to run for the Conservatives just last year.

On Thursday, the Liberals announced Robert Rock, a local municipal councillor, as the party’s candidate in the byelection in the Ontario riding of Durham. The prime minister has not yet set a date for that byelection, but it must be called before the end of January. Former Conservative leader Erin O’toole represented the riding before stepping down last summer.

Rock said he was running to support the local community.

“This is an important moment for our community,” he said in a news release. “I’ve been proud to call Durham my home for the last 20 years, and I know we need a local leader who will fight to put more money in families’ pockets, build a strong economy, and create good middle class jobs.”

Last May, Rock told local newspaper The Standard that he would be seeking the Conservative party’s nomination.

Rock didn’t end up on the ballot for the Conservative nomination, which was ultimately won by Jamil Jivani, a former radio host and community advocate.

Rock told The Standard he wanted to be an MP to focus on “issues that matter to this community.”

In response to questions from the National Post about his past political plans, the Liberal party sent a statement from Rock saying the Conservative party has changed.

“Like many Canadians, I have supported candidates from many different parties — this includes the NDP and past versions of the Conservative Party,” he said. “What I’ve come to understand is that the current version of the Conservative Party of Canada under Pierre Poilievre doesn’t speak to my values and the priorities of our communities here in Durham.”