Terry Grimwood wanted to be the second party leader running in the upcoming federal byelection in Burnaby South. He got halfway there.
Grimwood will face NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh on Feb. 25 as an independent candidate – not as the head of a fledgling electoral party.
He was the sixth candidate to officially register with Elections Canada in the increasingly crowded race. His name will appear on the ballot with Singh, Liberal Richard Lee, Conservative Jay Shin, independent Valentine Wu and Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson of the People’s Party.
The 66-year-old believes he can bring a fresh voice to politics.
“I have a totally different approach to government than what we’re seeing today,” he said.
Grimwood, who lives in Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast, said his opponents are wrong to focus on Burnaby-specific issues such as housing.
“This election is not about Burnaby. This election is about Canada,” he said.
That’s why, Grimwood said, he plans to start a new national party: Canada Fresh. He failed to register the party with Elections Canada in time for the byelection, blaming the Canada Post strike for delaying his paperwork.
He claims to have 50 candidates ready to run under the Canada Fresh banner in the fall general election.
“I’ll have 338 candidates come October,” Grimwood said, referring to the number of federal ridings. “Canada Fresh is going to be a major player in this coming federal election.”
Grimwood’s aspirations of running for a seat in Parliament got off to two faulty starts in 2018. He said he collected enough signatures to run in the Montreal riding of Outremont but that byelection wasn’t called until the new year. Residents there will also vote on Feb. 25.
When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a byelection in the Ontario riding of Leeds–Grenville–Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, Grimwood tried to run there, but he was unable to collected enough signatures to appear on the ballot.
His platform includes increasing the federal government’s response to forest fires, including more water bombers and military members fighting the flames that engulf much of the country every summer.
Grimwood also wants to establish more economic hubs in Canada’s rural regions, taking part of the housing demand pressure off places like Burnaby.
He also took aim at his NDP opponent, criticizing the party leader’s recently announced housing plan, which includes eliminating GST for developers who build affordable housing.
“Singh doesn’t have a clue,” Grimwood said
The retired builder served two two-year terms on council in North Vancouver in the 1970s, an experience he said taught him “housing is a municipal responsibility.”
He said Burnaby voters, who have long been represented by the NDP at the federal and provincial level and whose municipality has been dominated by the NDP-affiliated Burnaby Citizens Association, shouldn’t trust Singh to deliver on his promises.
Grimwood said he would release a 20-point platform soon and he’s confident it will garner him the support he needs.
“I’m going to win this byelection,” he said. “I’m not in this to lose.”
