Liberal Party supporters question Sophie Chatel’s acclamation as candidate for Pontiac

Liberal Party supporters question Sophie Chatel’s acclamation as candidate for Pontiac

Following the announcement of a new Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) candidate for the Pontiac riding, several residents have expressed surprise at Sophie Chatel being announced as the new candidate less than 24 hours after MP Will Amos said he would not seek reelection.

On August 9, the LPC’s National Campaign Co-Chair Navdeep Bains sent out an email to party members making the announcement.

“I’m pleased to share that Sophie Chatel has been acclaimed as the Liberal Candidate for Pontiac in the next federal election, and will continue building on our hard work to keep Canada moving forward,” he wrote.

However, several party supporters in the Pontiac have told CHIP that they were surprised the LPC didn’t allow other candidates a chance to run for the nomination. Jim Coffey, a well-known businessman who called himself a Liberal supporter for many years, contacted the Pontiac Liberal Riding Association on social media to question the move.

« Out of curiosity (with no offence to the new candidate) why was there not a nomination process for the replacement for Mr Amos »
– Jim Coffey.

“Out of curiosity (with no offence to the new candidate) why was there not a nomination process for the replacement for Mr Amos,” he wrote.

In an interview with CHIP FM, Coffey said that he thought a nomination race would be beneficial for the LPC.

The full interview with Coffey is available here.