ABC Vancouver chair to seek federal Conservative nomination

The chair of Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim’s ABC party is stepping down from her position to seek the federal Conservative nomination for a local riding.

Marie Rogers announced Monday that she is vying for the nomination to run for MP of Vancouver Granville in the next federal election, slated for 2025.

In a statement, Rogers, who is described as one of the founding members of ABC Vancouver, says she wants to join Pierre Poilievre’s team to “put our country back on the right track and realize Canada’s incredible potential.”

“As a mum raising three teenagers I know the day-to-day pressures, joys and challenges facing Canadian families,” said Rogers. “Frankly, I don’t want my children to live in Justin Trudeau’s version of Canada, where they can’t get ahead, the streets aren’t safe, and their personal freedom is being eroded.”

Rogers says she was introduced to the federal Conservative party two decades ago, when her brother-in-law was running in Quadra during the 2004 election.

Elaine Allan is also seeking the Conservative nomination in the riding. She ran in 2015 for the Tories in Vancouver Centre, where Liberal Hedy Fry picked up the win.

A date for the Conservative Party’s nomination race in the Vancouver Granville riding has not yet been set. The seat is currently held by Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed.

In 2015, Jody Wilson-Raybould won the riding as a Liberal. In 2019, she was ejected from the party but went on to be re-elected in Vancouver Granville as an Independent that same year.

ABC Vancouver won a landslide victory in the 2022 municipal elections, with Sim becoming mayor and party candidates taking the majority of seats on council, the park board, and the school board.

The next federal election is set for Oct. 20, 2025.

-With files from The Canadian Press