Halton Hills Councillor D’Arcy Keene is set to announce his candidacy for the Conservative Party nomination for the new riding of Milton East-Halton HIlls South.
The Ward 4 councillor said he has toyed with the idea of running federally for a long time.
“The reason I ran municipally is I love the community of Georgetown,” Keene said. “But there is only so much you can do municipally.”
He said the redrawing of the riding boundaries presents the ideal opportunity to seek the nomination. Michael Chong, a Conservative, has represented Wellington-Halton Hills since 2004. But in the next election, Halton Hills will be split into two ridings. Chong, an Elora resident, is expected to run in Wellington-Halton Hills North.
That provides an opening for a candidate in the new riding of Milton East-Halton Hills South. Keene said he knows both communities well, having previously lived in the part of Milton that will join Halton Hills in the new riding.
Keene said he informed the mayor of his intentions and is committed to staying on council.
“I don’t think it will interfere with my ability to perform my council duties,” he said. “As time moves forward, and assuming I win the nomination, if it starts to interfere, I will take an unpaid leave.”
Keene said the Conservative Party leader is another reason for his decision to run.
“I’m a huge supporter of Pierre Poilievre,” Keene said. “I’m fully on board with his approach to Canada and he’s the type of Prime Minister I’d like to have.”
The local riding association, of which Keene is a member, has raised concerns about the process of selecting a candidate for the riding after Parm Gill was appointed the candidate for Milton. The riding association wants to make sure it will have the opportunity to select a candidate, rather than have one appointed.
“We’ve had assurances that it will be a democratic process,” Keene said. “I don’t support appointments and I’m on record of that as far back as 1993.”
Keene said he met with Gill and told him he planned to seek the nomination, and though Gill didn’t state his intentions, Keene expects that Gill will run in the riding where he lives, Burlington-Milton West.
Keene said his experience on Halton Hills Council has been valuable in learning parliamentary processes and procedures, engaging with interest groups as well as working with people from across the political spectrum.
Keene plans to hold an official campaign launch in Milton in early to mid-March.
