Kelowna developer Renee Wasylyk has made it official sa国际传媒� she wants to to be the next MP for Kelowna-Lake Country.
Wasylyk, who has built her development company Troika into a Western Canadian enterprise over the last 20 years, told a crowd gathered atop the Innovation Centre in Kelowna Wednesday she is throwing her hat into the ring for the Conservative Partysa国际传媒檚 nomination in the riding.
No date has been set for a nomination meeting and the next federal election is not expected until the fall of 2019. But Wasylyk made it clear she is starting early in a bid to rebuild support for the party in a riding that has a long history of electing conservative candidates and was wrestled away in the last federal election by Liberal Stephen Fuhr. Fuhr was the first Liberal elected in the riding since 1972.
The 2015 election also saw a Liberal majority government elected in Ottawa.
Wasylyk said it was clear voters were unhappy with the Conservatives in the last election. But she said she belives a new generation of candidates can win back that support.
sa国际传媒淚 am an empowering leader, a visionary community believer, with a broad base of experience, and a heart for our community and our future,sa国际传媒� said Wasylyk. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 time for Kelowna-Lake Country to have a voice in Ottawa, and bring our best ideas forward.sa国际传媒�
In addition to running her group of companies, which build residential developments across Western Canada, Wasylyk also sits on several community boards, including the Breakfast Club of Canada and First West Credit Union and has a long long list of volunteer efforts in Kelowna, including the Naturesa国际传媒檚 Trust of BC and Opera Kelownasa国际传媒檚 advisory council. Former B.C. Liberal premier Christy Clark appointed Wasylyk to her Womensa国际传媒檚 Economic Council and she has also been recognized by several organizations and publications for her work in the development industry.
Wasylyk, 42, holds two masters degrees and moved to Kelowna 20 years ago from Edmonton. She grow up in southern California but was born in Drumheller, Alta. She is the sister of Lane Merrifield, who helped develop the childrensa国际传媒檚 interactive website Club Penguin before selling it to the Disney Corporation in 2007 for $350 million.
Wasylyk said she decided to run for the Tory nomination after being repeatedly asked to do so by Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola Conservative MP Dan Albas, and after meeting new Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer, someone she said she is very impressed with.
Calling Scheer sa国际传媒減ositivesa国际传媒� and a sa国际传媒渧isionary,sa国际传媒� she said has been impressed with his sa国际传媒渃haracter, charisma and competence.sa国际传媒�
But she said her bid for the Kelowna-Lake Country Conservative nominationsa国际传媒攁nd then the riding in the next general election if she wins the nominationsa国际传媒攚ill not be about the party or politics.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 about the person,sa国际传媒� she said.
And she, added, she feels shesa国际传媒檚 the right person for the job.
A self-styled moderate, whose concedes her views on social issues may not have fit in with the Conservative Party under former leader Stephen Harper, Wasylyk said she plans to include people who voted Liberal in the last election on her team because its important to hear their concerns. She said Kelowna, and society as a whole, have changed in recent years and those changes need to be reflected in a new generation of leadership.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 time for representation. Itsa国际传媒檚 time to expand the tent pegs. Itsa国际传媒檚 time to dream again,sa国际传媒� she told her supporters Wednesday.
Albas, who spoke at the gathering as part of the introduction for Wasylyk, endorsed her saying sa国际传媒渋n every endeavour Renee has emerged as a true championsa国际传媒攕omeone who is visionary, who is talented, who is hard-working but yet is also compassionate and kind.sa国际传媒�
Wasylyk is the first person to publicly announce a bid for Conservative nomination in the riding. Current Kelowna Coun. Tracy Gray is believed to be mulling over a bid the nomination as well.
One person who will not be going for it, however, is former MP Ron Cannan. Cannan has ruled out a bid to win back the job he lost to Fuhr in 2015.
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