While he only received 84 votes last time around, perennial candidate David Popescu is running again in this year's federal election, one of eight candidates in Sudbury officially registered to run in the Oct. 21 poll.
Popescu, who has run in almost every local, provincial and federal election in the last decade, often garners outsized attention for a fringe candidate because of his extreme religious views. Just inviting him to debates has become controversial because of his penchant for homophobic, hateful remarks.
He's running in the riding of Sudbury, which was created in 1947 and encompasses almost 977 square kilometres and 73,000 people. It has been a Liberal riding since, with two exceptions: New Democrat Bud Germa held in 1967-68, while Glenn Thibeault was MP from 2008 until 2014, when he left the federal NDP to run for the provincial Liberals.
He's a closer look at the candidates this time round:
Bill Crumplin, Green Party: The Laurentian University professor is making his third try at elected politics, having run for the Greens in the last provincial election, and for mayor in the last municipal election. A native of London, Ont., Crumplin visited the area regularly when he was growing up to visit two uncles who lived in Lively. He has a doctorate in human geography and taught for nine years at Algoma College University in Sault Ste. Marie. He joined Laurentian University' geography department in 2003, and has focused on environmental studies since 2010. More information and background is available at his website.
Chanel Lalonde, Animal Protection Party of Canada: Lalonde entered the public eye locally last year as one of the organizers of Last Straw Sudbury, which helped convince some restaurants in the city to stop giving out one-time use plastic straws. “Chanel's main motive has been to connect children to our natural environment through outdoor adventure and environmental education, in hopes that they will develop a deep love and connection to all living things and, as a result, be driven to protect it,” says the bio on the party's candidates page. “It is her firm belief that all living organisms deserve the right to keep on existing and that humans are not superior to nature -- we are nature.”
Paul Lefebvre, Liberal: Lefebvre won the seat for the Grits in 2015, defeating the NDP candidate by almost 10,000 votes. A tax lawyer, he also used to own the Le Voyageur newspaper, a radio station and sat on Ontario's Human Rights Commission. He is married to Dr. Lynne Giroux, a dermatologist, and together they have three young children. As MP, he was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources when the election was called and Parliament dissolved. More on Lefebvre can be found on his election website.
Beth Mairs, New Democrat: With the cheeky “make shift happen,” Mairs is running to reclaim Sudbury from the Liberals, which the NDP held until 2015. An anti-poverty activist since the 1980s, she has worked in health promotion and community development. In the 1990s, she moved North to develop Wild Women Expiditions, which has since expanded into the largest outdoor adventure company for women in Canada. Mairs sold the company in 2010 to pursue independent filmmaking and founded Sudbury Indie Cinema Co-op, located on MacKenzie Street downtown. She ran for the Sudbury nomination in the last provincial election, losing to Jamie West, who took the seat for the NDP. Lots more information available here.
Sean Paterson, Peoples Party of Canada: Originally from Mississauga, Paterson's twitter and Linkedin pages say he is a mining specialist in drilling, blasting and excavation, and a former member of the airborne infantry. On his campaign Facebook page, he advocates for the libertarian approach to government and embraces many PPC polices. He's skeptical about the dangers of climate change, and is critical of Antifa. “Socialism/communism at its finest,” he posted Monday, in response to activists blocking an elderly couple from a PPC event – including a senior struggling to cross the road using a walker. “Is this what you actually want Canada. Don't say it's not socialism either cause it's that or worse.”
J. David Popescu, Independent: The Christian extremist has called for such things as replacing commercial TV with religious programming and has faced human rights complaints for some of his comments.
Pierre St-Amant, Conservative Party: Should St-Amant win the riding for the Tories, he would become the first Conservative MP in Sudbury's history. He was born in Quebec's Eastern Townships and spent 41 years in the Canadian Armed Forces. He retired as a major, and his career included two UN tours and working as operations officer for all NATO communications in Canada. St-Amant lives in Sudbury and is married to Dr. Anne-Marise Lavoie. He is the father of two children, Jonathan and Camille. His Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pierre.stamant.125 ) backs the Conservative plan to kill the carbon tax, arguing businesses will be forced to raise their prices to compensate, making life more expensive for ordinary Canadians.
Charlene Sylvestre, Independent: Making her first run in elected politics, Sylvestre says she is still working on releasing a formal platform. But she has this to say about why she's running: “I am basically looking to provide a fresh perspective on major political topics such as the environment, health care and post secondary education in Canada. My aim is to speak to issues that effect us as a community and inspire action at the causal level.”
