The Gargoyle: Former NDP candidate supports Liberals in Nepean

[guest]

A former NDP candidate is encouraging supporters of the party he once represented to vote Liberal in Nepean if they want to oust the Stephen Harper-led Conservatives.

In an open letter released by Liberal candidate Chandra Arya, Phil Brown said he believes the NDP has shifted too far to the right in some respects and that Arya is the only choice to stop the Conservatives in the hotly contested Nepean riding.

“The other parties cannot hope to win. A vote for any of them is a vote for Andy Wang and Stephen Harper,” wrote Brown, who twice ran for the NDP in the riding of Nepean-Carleton in 2004 and 2008.

Brown said he had concerns about the NDP’s approach to a Quebec referendum, but was also frightened by how “a small group of radical neo-Conservatives” had taken over the Conservative party.

Former #NDP candidate pens open letter to #progressive voters to go @liberal_party in #Nepean #elxn42 #ottnews #LPC pic.twitter.com/dwv9qj2OPJ

— Chandra Arya (@ChandraNepean) October 15, 2015
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“The revolution within the Conservative Party has made it imperative for Liberals and New Democrats to stop Harper from wreaking further destruction on Canada’s economy, reputation and society. For this reason, it is critical in 2015 for Liberals and New Democrats to vote with this objective in the forefront of their minds,” he wrote. “In Nepean, Chandra Arya is the only choice to stop Harper.”

Recent polls had Arya and Conservative candidate Andy Wang running neck-and-neck. The NDP candidate, Sean Devine, was polling a distant third.

The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada has also encouraged their members to vote strategically in the riding.

Brown said he had already voted Liberal in an advance poll and encouraged NDP supporters to do the same on Oct. 19.

“In 2011, Jack Layton asked Liberals to lend their votes to the NDP where only the NDP could expect to defeat the Conservative. Now, in Nepean, I am asking you to return the favour in order to defeat the Conservative and help bring down the Harper government,” he wrote. “A vote for Chandra Arya and the Liberals is a vote for a better Canada.”

More from The Gargoyle’s Election 2015 Notebook

aseymour@ottawacitizen.com

Twitter.com/andrew_seymour

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