Liberal Cheryl Thomas became a Victoria riding candidate over the weekend, the only main-party contender in the capital city to have to fight for her seat.
Thomas, 59, beat out part-time radio host Adam Stirling for the nomination on Saturday.
Thomas, formerly Blaney, is a business consultant. She also teaches at the University of Victoria’s Peter B. Gustavson School of Business.
Thomas, who has two grown children, was born in Saskatchewan and raised in Alberta. She moved to Vancouver Island in 1989. In 2012, Thomas said, she returned from Iran, where she worked for eight years running a master of business administration program, and was saddened to see how Canada was perceived abroad and at home.
“I thought, ‘What the hell happened?’ ” Thomas said. “From a shining beacon of human rights and conciliation and [being a] power broker to having a prime minister trying to out-Bush [former U.S. president George W.] Bush.”
The following year, Thomas attended a gathering at the Victoria Conference Centre where about 1,000 Liberal party supporters came to hear a speech by then newly elected Liberal party Leader Justin Trudeau.
“What struck me was the number of people 35 years of age and under,” Thomas said. “Our leader is engaging Canadians again. The under-35 age group has felt disenfranchised and have not been voting.”
All four of the main parties now have candidates in Victoria: Jo Ann Roberts, former host of the CBC Radio One’s Victoria-based All Points West, is running for the Green party; current Victoria MP Murray Rankin, a lawyer and Opposition health critic, is running again for the NDP; and retired school principal John Rizzuti is running for the Conservatives.
