Kyle Harrietha for Liberal national membership secretary

The Liberal Party of Canada’s biennial convention in Ottawa is fast-approaching, and while it’s great to see so many interesting candidates contesting the position of national membership secretary I believe that Kyle Harrietha is the best choice for this position, which will be critical to our rebuilding and future success. 

I’ve known Kyle for several years as a hard-working Liberal who has fought for our cause in the trenches, whether it was on Parliament Hill as a staffer, at the riding level in Scarborough or in his new home, Alberta. I’ve said in the past that character and experience are as important to me as policy, and I like that Kyle has that mix of Ottawa experience and extensive experience at the riding association level. I’ve said before that we must make riding associations the lead in our rebuilding, and I want people on the national board with riding-level experience.

I also like his understanding of both the urban and rural perspective, which we all know can be very different. He’s been an active Liberal in the Scarborough and Greater Toronto area, where Liberals have (traditionally) done well. And since he moved to Alberta a few years ago, where the Liberal experience is very different, he has rolled-up his sleeve in a rural Alberta riding that had little to no Liberal organization has has been doing the hard work of building the team, organizing and growing our support, day by day. That knowledge of the urban and rural Liberal perspectives, combined with an understanding of what works (and what doesn’t) in Ottawa, will be a valuable asset to have on the national executive.

That’s his background, but I also like his ideas. He’ll be releasing a detailed policy platform shortly and I don’t want to preempt his specific proposals, but he outlined some of what he wants to do in a recent open letter to Liberals. When it comes to issues like opening nominations, making membership meaningful and professionalizing our organization both nationally and locally, I think he’s very much on the right track and has a strong sense of what needs to be done to turn our party around and move it forward. I think you'll like what you see when the full platform is released.

I’m happy to be supporting Kyle for national membership secretary, and if you’re joining me as a delegate next month in Ottawa I hope you’ll consider doing the same.


UPDATE: The platform is now online, give it a read.

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