- by Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor
Michael Den Tandt, former editor of the Sun Times and founding publisher of the Owen Sound Hub, was chosen this evening to be the Liberal candidate for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound in October's federal election.
It was a contested nomination; a three-way race that saw the party's supporter base more than double from its start. In their speeches to over 200 people at the Harry Lumley Bayshore, Meghan Lipka and Rod Anderson highlighted what they brought to the party for the 2019 election campaign. Lipka shared her Liberal credentials and campaign organizing successes, and said that as a young tradesperson, small business owner and mother, she was relatable to the voters of the riding. Anderson cited his 16 years of service and achievements as a municipal councillor – listening to constituents and solving their problems. Den Tandt said that he would be proud to knock on doors for either one of them.
In his speech, Den Tandt said he could improve on the status quo representation Bruce-Grey- Owen Sound has received with a Conservative MP and MPP. The fabric of community in Canada is very rare, he said, and its cohesion is at risk, particularly under the Ford government in Ontario.
He cited some of the biggest issues facing the country. “Fighting climate change is not for the faint of heart,” he said, and reconciliation will not be brought about by short-term thinking. Then he brought the issues home.
“The purpose of politics is simple,” he concluded, “It is to help make life better for the people in your area.” And that is what Den Tandt says he intends to do.
In spite of Canada having the lowest unemployment in 40 years, Den Tandt say the benefits of a strong economy are not reaching the people of Bruce-Grey- Owen Sound as they should because problems like transportation, housing, the opioid epidemic and inequality are not being addressed by our representatives.
Den Tandt believes that the Liberals will win this riding. It will take work, he said; there are no shortcuts. “It will require relentless push-back against a campaign of disinformation that has already started.”
Den Tandt grew up in the Irish Block, just east of Owen Sound, and returned to the family home every year for the holidays. He took the opportunity to come home to be the editor of Owen Sound Sun Times in 2006, and raised his three children here. After two years in Ottawa as communications advisor to Prime Minister Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland during the NAFTA negotiations, Den Tandt came home and bought his grandmother's house in Owen Sound. This, he says, is home and always will be.
