Former MP announces bid for Liberal MPP nomination in Kingston and the Islands

Former MP for Kingston and the Islands Ted Hsu has announced he too will be seeking the nomination for the provincial Liberals.

This comes just weeks after former MPP for the region, Sophie Kiwala, announced she would be running again after losing her seat to NDP MPP Ian Arthur in 2018.

She was one of many Liberal incumbents to lose their seats that election, with the party shrinking down to just seven elected members, one member shy of the Ontario legislature’s official party status.

Although Hsu and Kiwala worked closely together, with Kiwala working in Hsu’s office while he was MP from 2011 to 2015, and Hsu working as her campaign manager in 2018, the two will now be running against each other for the provincial nomination for the 2022 election.

Hsu chose to leave federal politics before the 2015 election, making room for current MP Mark Gerretsen to take the seat.
Now, Hsu wants to get back to centre stage in the political ring.

“As my kids and their young friends have grown up and become aware of their world, they tell me how worried they are,” Hsu said.

“I want to offer voters someone who has a proven record representing constituents, and also has experience working with scientists, climate researchers, economists, engineers and entrepreneurs,” Hsu added.

Before getting into politics, Hsu worked in physics research for 10 years, then in the financial sector for nine years. In 2006, he became executive director of SWITCH, a local sustainable energy association, and also compiled Kingston’s first longitudinal greenhouse gas inventory.

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Hsu noted that he as MP, he served as the chair of the Ontario Liberal caucus and critic for three areas: economic development in Ontario, post-secondary education, and science and technology.

Since leaving politics, Hsu has been coaching robotics for local students and been involved in the local start-ups. He has also been serving as co-chair of the Kingston mayor’s task force on housing, and co-wrote the group’s report.

Hsu believes that, with the current turbulence caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic, his varied experience, especially in the scientific, political and financial sectors, will be an asset to constituents in Kingston and the Islands.

“The pandemic, with its harsh and unequal economic effects and tricky policy decisions, has reminded us how beneficial it is for our elected officials to be able to interact directly with scientists, economists and other experts and to understand them in detail,” Hsu said.​