The man who lost an injunction against the New Brunswick PC Party for unfair practices has switched his allegiance to the Liberals, however, his previous political involvement has resulted in an unsuccessful attempt at running for the reds.
Despite working closely with the PC Party over the past three years, Chris Duffie calls his history largely liberal.
“I grew up in a liberal family and I worked on several Liberal campaigns,” he explained.
READ MORE: Judge rules to suspend N.B. PC Party nomination convention for Carleton-York
He says several years back, he changed political affiliations, siding with the Tories.
That all changed when the police were called as he attempted to file his application seeking the nomination in Carleton-York. The PCs had locked their office door and said he wasn’t allowed to file the candidacy forms. They called the authorities when he tried to enter.
After the dust settled, Duffie says he was convinced the party he’d supported at rallies and protests and through social media was no longer for him and decided to return to the party he’d known the majority of his life.
“I was approached by the Carleton-York Liberal Riding Association, their recruiting committee, and we had a great conversation.”
Those talks led to Duffie formally applying to run as the Liberal candidate in the area he’d months before wanted to win as a PC.
But the aforementioned support in person and through social media resulted in a rejection from the N.B. Liberal Party.
WATCH: Denied nomination candidate says PC Party procedures not followed
In a statement, the New Brunswick Liberal Party said, “The candidate for nominee had been, until last year, volunteering for three years in an effort to defeat the Liberal government. He also sought earlier this year, unsuccessfully, the Progressive Conservative nomination. During this period of seeking that nomination this year, he stated: “As a proud member of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick, I want nothing more than the best for the PC Party of New Brunswick.”
Duffie thinks the letters of support and signatures he’s collected should do the talking, not the actions of recent years.
“There’s no secrets here, they know where I’m coming from and they know where I’m going,” Duffie said. “I do have the support of the riding association, I have the support of community and I’m going to keep pushing through.”
READ MORE: N.B. premier short-circuits election speculation, lists priorities for session
With just cause, the party does have the right to exclude candidates from running under their banner.
Duffie indicated a second bid for the Liberal nomination met the same fate — rejection.
However, he still isn’t ready to stop fighting to get his name on the ballot, and although he says he wouldn’t consider representing any other party, he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of running as an independent.
“That is also a consideration but that’s going to be dictated by the support of the people because really, it’s not up to myself to choose that, it’s up to the people.”
Comments