Former Police Chief Bill Blair. Photo Credit: Chanelle Seguin
By Hedy Korbee
Former Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair is expected to announce tomorrow that he’s running for the federal Liberal nomination in Scarborough Southwest.
Blair’s official candidacy was confirmed to Birch Cliff News by two independent sources who say that Blair has been calling prominent Liberals in the riding to let them know of his decision.
“There will be an announcement on Sunday that he will be running,” said a source who asked not to be identified.
Until now, Blair has played his cards close to the vest but there’s been much speculation that he would enter the race the race, bolstered by a “Draft Bill Blair” movement.
A federal election is expected to be held in October 2015.
Poll shows Blair could beat Dan Harris
Scarborough Southwest has been represented in Parliament by New Democrat Dan Harris since 2011, but it’s viewed as winnable by the Liberals because they held the riding for almost a quarter century before that, from 1988 to 2011.
According to a poll conducted by Forum Research in February, Blair holds a ten point lead over Harris, with 39% of respondents saying they would vote for Blair if an election were held in February compared to 29% for Harris. 27% said they would vote for a Conservative candidate. The poll surveyed 557 voters.
But first Blair will need to win the nomination.
His high profile candidacy is daunting news for other candidates who’ve been campaigning for the Liberal nomination for many months.
Candidate Tim Weber, a long time Birch Cliff resident and President of Concerned Citizens for Quarry Lands Development, said he’s staying in the race and pointed out that although Blair was born in Scarborough he is not from the area.
“I will say that Bill Blair is a formidable candidate and I welcome him into the race. But Bill Blair hasn’t lived in Scarborough Southwest for 25 years as I have. I don’t need to be told what we need and my supporters think it’s time we elected a candidate from amongst where we live and I very much agree with them.”
Other candidates who’ve been “green lit” by the Liberals include journalist journalist, Muhammad Bukhari, author and social science professor Marlène Thélusma Rémy, and Michael Kempa, a professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa who has moved to Kingston Rd. and Victoria Park Ave.
The other candidates have been actively signing up new members in preparation for a nomination meeting that has yet to be announced and many feel is long overdue given the looming election.
“I just hope we have a nomination meeting as expeditiously as possible,” said Weber. “We’ve been at this for a long time, so it’s time.”
I met Bill Blair when he was a Staff Sgt in the Central Drug squad when Jack Marks was chief. I was the chief crime reporter at the Toronto Sun at the time which I think was around 1988 or 89.
Smart guy. Ironically lives or at least lived one street over from my parents’ home in Sevenoaks in the Neilson 401 area but definitely not a South Scarborough resident.
I’m not voting in this nomination but as a voter generally, I do like my candidates to live in my riding. I will cross party lines to vote for a candidate rather than the party and I know many people do.
Certainly it was shaping up to be an interesting nomination race. However, being the cynical person I am – too many years of covering politics – I’m going to go out on a limb and predict the party leaders, Justin Trudeau, having snapped his prize candidate, will now go to work to convince the other candidates for the nomination to step aside.
Or he could just invoke his right to appoint.
Just my opinion of course, but it wouldn’t be the first time.
Actually Blair isn’t a resident of any part of Scarborough. He has a large home in Forest Hill. He is part of Toronto’s elite now and counts as a close friend – John Tory .
Well, not sure about Forest Hill but as recently as 2008 or so I think he was still living on Creekwood Dr. in Sevenoaks.
As far as John Tory goes, you do realize Ward 36, our riding, was one of the few suburban ridings to support Tory over Ford?
I didn’t think much of him as police chief, so i wouldn’t vote for him,and even if my best friend was running, i wouldn’t vote for Trudeau and the Liberals, ever!
As someone on twitter said… “Some cowboys should simply ride into the sunset.”