An independent who went up against NDP leader Jagmeet Singh in February’s Burnaby South by-election is running closer to home in the general election.
Terry Grimwood of Sechelt, founder and current leader of the Canada Fresh Party, has been confirmed by Elections Canada as a candidate for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country.
Grimwood, 67, has been a Sunshine Coast resident since 2003, and like many people who moved to the Coast from the Lower Mainland, he has family ties to the region and spent a lot of time in the area as a visitor.
Grimwood told Coast Reporter he’s been travelling the country working to get his fledgling party off the ground for the past couple of years. Canada Fresh has yet to get official recognition, but Grimwood said he has supporters throughout Canada.
He tried to get on the ballot for by-elections in both Quebec and Ontario before taking the opportunity to run in Burnaby South. His political experience also includes a successful run for North Vancouver city council in 1972, while a student at UBC. He was re-elected in 1974.
After leaving university he went on to a career in the building trades.
“The parties of today can’t see the forest for the trees,” Grimwood said. “These parties have had four years to tell us what they’re going to do and there’s less than 20 days until the election and we’re just starting to get their platforms – it’s not right.”
The Canada Fresh platform includes a plan to create “hubs” in rural Canada that include somewhere to socialize, like a pub, as well as transit links, and places to buy dry goods, food, lumber and building supplies. “We need to connect the country,” Grimwood said.
Grimwood also suggests funds invested by the Canada Pension Plan and other public pensions would be better invested domestically, in particular in housing.
“More than 90 per cent of that money is invested offshore. If they were just to invest a fraction of that in Canada, wow, would we ever sing,” Grimwood said. “If you invest that money in our own communities across the country in infrastructure and housing for students and seniors and low-cost housing and rent-to-own… we get close to 24 per cent return on our money.”
Other Canada Fresh platform planks include training the armed forces for work fighting forest fires, and federal government support to develop professional sports leagues – including women’s ice hockey.
Grimwood picked up 242 votes in Burnaby South, and said he’s “running to win” in West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country, but that people’s preconceived ideas are sometimes cast in stone and “they aren’t ready for change.”
Grimwood plans to participate in the Gibsons Chamber of Commerce all-candidates forum Oct. 5 at 2 p.m. at Harmony Hall and will be attending as many others as he can get to. His campaign website is: canada-fresh.ca
With Grimwood’s entry into the race, voters in the riding now have seven candidates to consider. The others are: Liberal Patrick Weiler, Conservative Gabrielle Loren, Green Dana Taylor, New Democrat Judith Wilson, Doug Bebb of the People’s Party and Gordon Jeffrey of the Rhinoceros Party.
Elections Canada’s deadline to register as a candidate was Sept. 30.
