MP Bevington announces re-election bid
Member of Parliament for the NWT says he expects the NDP to form the next federal government
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Monday, June 29, 2015
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
The NDP member of Parliament for the NWT has announced he will seek re-election.
Dennis Bevington says he intends to run for his NWT MP seat in the upcoming federal election, expected this fall. - |
Dennis Bevington ended months of speculation on the morning of June 25 by making the official announcement at a hastily-called news conference at the Yellowknife airport.
"I have spent three terms working in Parliament on the opposition side of the House on behalf of the people of the Northwest Territories," Bevington said in an interview afterwards. "Now I want to represent them as part of a New Democratic Government led by Tom Mulcair. I have the experience and knowledge of 10 years in Parliament and this will be my 12th election. I won seven and lost four."
"I feel very good about it right now. I feel very positive that we're doing very well and we're speaking to Canadians," he said. "I'm pretty confident this majority Conservative government will not come back."
As he has traveled to communities in the North, Bevington said that many people from all walks of life have encouraged him to run again.
"After talking to my wife and family, to Mr. Mulcair and to some of my closest advisers here in the North, I came to the conclusion that I should play my part in finally getting good government in Ottawa," Bevington said. "The best way to achieve that is to elect Tom Mulcair and his fine team of hard working New Democrats, a team I want to be on."
Bevington, 62, said he believes he has the full confidence of party leader Thomas Mulcair.
"After he became leader he made me the critic for Arctic issues and I was very happy to do that along with the Northern development portfolio," Bevington said. "I think he listens very well to me on Northern issues and is a person who is very fair-minded and has the backbone to stand up on issues."
Bevington said that he is taking nothing for granted and will run hard for re-election. He notes that during his time on Parliament Hill the NDP vote across the country has tripled and the party has risen to official opposition status.
"Clearly the country is seeing that it's time to get rid of the Harper government and just as clearly the country is seeing that the best way to get that change done is by voting for Mulcair and the NDP."
Bevington still has to be approved as the candidate by the NWT NDP Association. Bevington expects that to happen sometime over the course of the summer. There are two candidates running to become the Liberal Party nominee - Kieron Testart and Gail Cyr. Testart said that the association doesn't expect to have a candidate selected before the end of the summer. It is believed that Inuvik mayor Floyd Roland is the only person running for the Conservative Party nomination. Calls to Roland were not returned as of press time.
