Face of Nation : Tech entrepreneur Taleeb Noormohamed was acclaimed as the federal Liberal candidate for the riding of Vancouver-Granville Tuesday night, setting up a race against former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, who is seeking reelection this fall as an independent candidate. Noormohamed, 42, announced his run for Member of Parliament at the Jewish Community Centre in Vancouver.
He said that Canada has given him and his immigrant parents everything, so he wants to stand up and fight for the kind of country he thinks everyone deserves. “I think we as a party define ourselves as a party that is not going to put up with playing footsies with right wing, white nationalists,” said Noormohamed.
“We are going to be there for Canadians of all backgrounds and we are going to speak clearly and loudly against anti-Semitism, against Islamophobia, against racism which I think every political party has to do.”
Wilson-Raybould became the Liberal Party of Canada’s star candidate for the riding in 2015 in a similar uncontested nomination meeting. The sitting MP announced on May 27 that she will be running against her former political party.
Earlier this year, the former justice minister alleged senior aides in the prime minister’s office improperly pressured her to end a criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin. In May 2018, he attempted to become Vision Vancouver’s candidate for mayor but pulled out of the crowded race citing health worries after what he called a “sudden cardiac event.”
He says his health issues are no longer a concern. Noormohamed ran for the federal Liberals in North Vancouver in 2011 but lost. As well, he was involved in organizing the 2010 Winter Olympics, has worked for several short-term rental companies, and previously worked on a federal government review of the 1985 Air India bombing file.
