Kingston and the Islands NDP candidate relocating to Waterloo

The former NDP candidate for Kingston and the Islands is leaving his long-time job in the History department at Queen’s University.

Just four days after the federal election Barrington Walker says he’ll be taking a new job at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Walker finished second in the race behind Liberal incumbent Mark Gerretsen, pulling in around 16,000 votes to Gerretsen’s more than 30,000 votes.

Walker is set to become Wilfrid Laurier’s senior advisor for equity, diversity and inclusion.

He will also be appointed a tenured History professor at Laurier.

4:27 Talking with Kingston and the Islands NDP candidate Barrington Walker

Walker is a Scarborough native but has lived in Kingston since 2002, when a professorship at Queen’s University brought him to the city. Walker is currently an associate professor in the university’s history department, where he focuses on black Canadian history, race and immigration.

—With files from Bill Hutchins.