Former Liberal cabinet ministers Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott say they will run as independents in the next federal election.
They made separate but co-ordinated announcements in their ridings _ Wilson-Raybould in Vancouver and Philpott outside Toronto.
Both were ousted from the Liberal caucus in early April and sit as independent MPs in the House of Commons.
Wilson Raybould told supporters she has heard an “overwhelming” message on the need to do politics differently, adding she believes running under no political banner is the best way for her to achieve that.
“I know that it will not be easy to run a campaign as an independent,” she said.
“There will be challenges, but with your support, I am confident that running as an independent is the best way to … go about it at this time and the best way to transform our political culture.”
Wilson-Raybould served as justice minister in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet before she was shuffled to the portfolio of veterans affairs in January.
She later revealed she thought the decision to move her out of the justice role was motivated by her decision not to intervene in the criminal prosecution of the Quebec engineering giant, SNC-Lavalin.
Philpott was health minister and then minister of Indigenous services and president of the Treasury Board before resigning over Trudeau’s handling of the SNC-Lavalin affair.
“I didn’t lose my voice,” said Philpott of sitting as an independent. “I found my voice.”
Both she and Wilson-Raybould spoke highly of the Green party and its leader Elizabeth May, and acknowledged having repeated conversations about running for that party, but decided that Canadian politics needs more people beholden to no central authority.
The Canadian Press
