On a recent visit to 100 Mile House, the NDP candidate for the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo emphasized his ties to the region, while confirming his campaign is “ready to hit the ground running” should Prime Minister Stephen Harper call an election before the fall.
Bill Sundhu met with NDP members and supporters at the 100 Mile United Church before hosting a meet-and-greet open to the public at One Another A Coffee House on Jan. 10.
Sundhu, a former provincial court judge, was raised in Williams Lake and practised law there before moving to Kamloops. His father was the first South Asian to settle in the central Cariboo.
“It’s part of my home – who I am,” he says of this region. “It’s part of my conviction about putting something back in the community, and fighting for the community and the region that is my home – where my father died, where I was raised, where my daughter was born, and my sister was born. It’s about home – and caring about community.”
While Kamloops has the majority of voters in the federal electoral district, represented by Conservative MP Cathy McLeod since 2008, Sundhu says his campaign has also built a strong organization in the district’s core rural communities – such as 100 Mile House, Barrier and Clearwater.
“I’m not some outsider from Kamloops. This is my home – the Cariboo. I care about the Cariboo. It’s a good reason to be involved in politics.”
While the next federal election is scheduled for Oct. 19 at the latest, there is speculation that Prime Minister Stephen Harper will call an election before then.
One main factor for the early-election speculation is the uncertain economic outlook because of a decline in oil revenue. The Conservative government also recently announced it was delaying the release of its 2015 Budget until April as it reassesses the impact of low oil prices.
