Councillor Ben Henderson to run for federal Liberals in Mill Woods

EDMONTON -

Longtime Edmonton city councillor Ben Henderson will run for Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party in the next federal election. 

A notice was posted on the party’s website on Monday announcing Henderson had been acclaimed in the riding of Edmonton Mill Woods.

When reached Monday night, Henderson's only comment was the campaign was an “opportunity that was too good to pass up.”

But during an official virtual news conference Tuesday, the Edmonton councillor of 14 years expanded on his decision to leave municipal politics to seek federal office. 

"I think I have a really good track record," he told media, referencing work on accessible child care, Edmonton's future Valley Line LRT which will link Mill Woods and the downtown core, and 50 Street's widening. "But I think for what we need as a city next, we needed to have a voice in Ottawa, and we needed to have a voice in government in Ottawa. And I felt it was the best way I could serve this city."

The riding he will campaign in once an election is called -- and it is expected to be called soon -- is only two elections old. The Liberals will seek to regain the seat from the Conservatives, whose Tim Uppal won it in 2019 over Amarjeet Sohi. 

"The government has done some really remarkable work around COVID and getting us through a very, very difficult time, what's happened between now and then," Henderson commented.

"That was then and this is now."

The Liberal Party said, “The hope and hard work of Liberals across Canada will ensure our candidates and teams are ready to run competitive campaigns, and earn another mandate from Canadians – including right here in Edmonton Mill Woods." 

Sohi is now running for Mayor of Edmonton.

Monday’s announcement ends speculation that current Mayor Don Iveson was planning to run for the Liberals in Mill Woods.

Henderson has been a city councillor since 2007, and previously announced he would not be seeking another term. He said he'll take a leave of absence from city hall when the election is called. 

But when that'll happen, he didn't say. 

"You know, I think there's one person who may know the answer to that question and it's the prime minister and whether he knows or not, I'm not even sure of. I don't even know."

HENDERSON 'A BIG NAME LOCAL CANDIDATE'

Political writer and commentator Dave Cournoyer shared the acclimation notice on Twitter, and surprise over Henderson not running in the Strathcona area he currently represents.

“There may have been a calculation that running against (current NDP MP) Heather McPherson, either maybe he has a professional relationship with her, or maybe the Liberals chances just weren’t as good with an NDP incumbent,” he said.

Uppal beat Sohi by nearly 9,000 votes in 2019. Sohi won Mill Woods by less than 100 in 2015.

Aside from a handful of urban ridings, Albertans usually elect Conservative MPs. McPherson was the only exception last election. But with the Liberals leading in national polling, Cournoyer believes Henderson has a decent chance.

“The area has a history of voting for Liberals and electing Liberal MPs, so I can see why they would want to recruit a candidate with a little bit of name recognition and campaign experience, that could bring a little bit of attention.”

A federal election has not been called, but with parties quickly nominating candidates, it is widely speculated that Canadians will vote in 2021.