Olivia Chow returns to NDP to run in federal election

She finished third. She subsequently took a post at Ryerson University as a visiting professor in the arts faculty.

Main challengers: Chow’s aiming to make a federal comeback, and she wants her riding back.

This morning, Olivia Chow confirmed suspicions of her planned return to federal politics, and announced official plans to accept the NDP nomination and run to be the Member of Parliament for the Spadina-Fort York riding.

“I refuse to stand on the sideline and watch the desperation of parents waiting for child care”, Chow said.

“We’re on the edge of having a government that will finally build affordable childcare for kids across this country”, she said, pointing to the NDP platform.

Election history: Spadina-Fort York was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution push in advance of the 2015 election.

Chow resigned as the MP for Trinity-Spadina in 2014 to pursue what turned out to be an unsuccessful mayoral run in Toronto. “I didn’t keep chasing a different job or new opportunity or new set of issues”.

Vaughan won Chow’s former council seat in 2006 when he defeated her former assistant Helen Kennedy in a bitter matchup.

At Tuesday’s news conference, Mulcair pledged $420 million across Canada for transit from the existing gas tax, $90 million of which would go to Toronto.

She also pledged to work for a national transit strategy and other NDP priorities. “Tom Mulcair is the only leader that can defeat Stephen Harper”.

“This is our offer to the people of Toronto and this is the choice on October. 19: change, or or four more years of Stephen Harper”, Mulcair said.