Hesa国际传媒 back.
Just one day before the writ dropped, former sa国际传媒-Lake Country MP Stephen Fuhr announced his candidacy as the federal Liberal candidate in the new riding of sa国际传媒.
鈥淲hat really sums this up best is itsa国际传媒 an all-hands-on-deck situation for the country. I鈥檓 motivated to step back in and represent this community and do what I can for the country,鈥 said Fuhr in a phone interview on Sunday morning.
Fuhr was first elected as an MP in 2015, defeating Conservative incumbent Ron Cannan in what many pundits considered an upset. During his four years in Ottawa, Fuhr served as chair of the Standing Committee on National Defence. Of his time in office, Fuhr was proud to bring the entire government to sa国际传媒 in 2017 for a retreat in addition to several other visits by key cabinet ministers.
Fuhr was not re-elected in 2019, losing to Conservative and former city councillor Tracy Gray, and he sat out the 2021 election.
Fuhr began considering a return to politics during the American election and, after meeting Liberal Leader Mark Carney at an event in sa国际传媒 earlier this year, it sealed the deal for him.
鈥淪ince the American election, it really got me thinking about the threat to our country. If we get this wrong, all the other things that we care about on a daily basis will be affected if our economy gets clobbered by the U.S. Mark Carney has an impressive resume and is uniquely qualified, tangibly, for what he is doing.鈥
Fuhr, 56, is a Canadian veteran who spent 20 years with the Royal Canadian Air Force as a pilot. His duties included flight training and standards. He was in the RCAF when they assisted the Americans following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York.
He is also a businessman and private pilot and graduated from Trinity Western University.
The April 28 election in sa国际传媒 will feature a Fuhr/Gray rematch. Trevor McAleese is running for the NDP.
鈥淭he political dynamics in every community are different,鈥 Fuhr said. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 say the riding is Conservative safe, but itsa国际传媒 Conservative-leaning. I have to garner support from all the progressive parties and get everyone rolling in one direction. We all share the same values, but may disagree on the route and speed we want to go.鈥
Fuhr said the No. 1 issue remains the U.S. tariffs.
鈥淚tsa国际传媒 abundantly clear that we need to elect a prime minister who has the skills, background, and temperament to deal with these things.
鈥淥n a global scale, economic security and physical security are other important issues. Our biggest security partner in the world was the United States, and they鈥檙e not necessarily our friends anymore. We also share a border with Russia, and we鈥檙e sandwiched between two superpowers that don鈥檛 like us. Domestically, housing and affordability are two of the most important issues.鈥
Fuhr said hesa国际传媒 overwhelmed by the support he received within the first 36 hours of announcing his candidacy. He will be opening a campaign office and, in the meantime, can be found on Facebook at Stephen Fuhr CD.
