Gerard Kennedy to Run in Parkdale-High Park

Former Liberal leadership contender Gerard Kennedy, on February 6, announced his intention to run federally in the Toronto riding of Parkdale-High Park.

Kennedy, a former Ontario education minister, represented the riding as an MPP at the provincial level for 10 years.

“I intend to be very vigorous in earning the support of Liberals in this area,” said Kennedy, who lives in the riding.

The West Toronto area is home to a large concentration of Ukrainian-Canadians.  It is currently held by New Democrat Peggy Nash, the vice chair of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Committee. 

Since taking the parliamentary seat from Liberal Sarmite Bulte in last year’s federal election, Nash has been an advocate of  issues that concern the community, including the importance of commemorating the internment of Ukrainian Canadians during the First World War and immigration to Canada from Ukraine.

Kennedy, who has Ukrainian ancestry—his great-grandfather, Wasyl Shemanski, was a pioneer who settled in Manitoba in 1897—similarly has demonstrated that he is attuned to some of the community’s concerns and issues. He has made statements on immigration, Canada-Ukraine trade relations and the wartime national internment operations.