While we're still a ways out from the next federal election, the Candidate Nominating Committee for the Windsor West Conservative Party Electoral District Association is putting out the call for statements of interest for prospective nominees.
On Wednesday evening at LC Platinum Realty on Ouellette Avenue, the nominating committee officially extended invites to qualified nominees who are interested in becoming the next Windsor West CPC candidate.
Those who are interested will have a preliminary interview arranged, and then are asked to successfully complete a nomination/candidate application which would be reviewed by the federal party.
If approved, nominees can then seek to win the majority of votes of Windsor West CPC members at a future Nomination Night event, and become their Candidate of Windsor West.
Windsor West EDA president Al Teshuba says they'd like to receive all potential nominees' statements of interest as soon as possible, as a mass email was sent to registered members and supporters on Tuesday.
With a federal election expected around October 2025, they believe it's important that the nominating committee commence the interview/application process right away, so that before the end of 2024 members can elect a candidate from the many interested nominees.
Teshuba says so far they've received approximately triple the number of interested nominee prospects for Windsor West compared to prior election periods at this early stage of the process.
"You know you're talking about an election that's in October 2025, 18 months away, at the end of the day this is a very good indication of how popular the Conservative Party is. How important it is to win this seat, and how important it is to be apart of the next Conservative government. We've needed it before certainly, but now more than ever Windsor cannot be left behind," he said.
He says when 2,000 people show up at the Caboto Club to see federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre on short notice, that's an indication people are open to a new message in government.
"The common sense Conservative message is resonating throughout Canada, certainly in the Windsor-Essex region, but we have an opportunity in Windsor West like never before. People understand that it's the Liberal/NDP coalition, so when they see their carbon tax, they can't just blame the Liberals it's the NDP backing them in a minority government."
Teshuba says they're doing everything transparently out in the open, with a vetting process as part of it, to make sure they get the best candidate possible and that the will of their members is heard along the way.
"If we can get a candidate in place a year or so away from the October 2025 election, that'll be great. We are looking to start earlier than in the past, and certainly have a very fair, open and transparent process. One that extends the invitation of interest to not just our members but to the public as we're doing today," he said.
Teshuba shared that the Candidate Nominating Committee has many preliminary interviews scheduled already, with more to come within a few weeks based on any further respondents that submit statements of interest.