Photo: Castanet

Local lawyer and former Green Party candidate Iain Currie is seeking the nomination to run for the Liberals in Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola.

A lawyer and former Green candidate is trading parties to seek the Liberal nomination for the Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola riding in the federal election that's expected to be called this weekend.

Iain Currie, who ran unsuccessfully for the Greens in 2019 and 2021, is presently the only prospective Liberal candidate in the riding, according to the party's riding association. He told Castanet he is filing his paperwork on Friday morning.

Currie said last week he was not planning to run, but that changed after he was approached by people within the Liberal Party. He said he gave it some thought and decided to take another shot.

“The risks to Canada are too great to sit on the sideline and too great to risk on ideological purity, which I was never interested in as a Green and I am not interested in now,” Currie said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to call an election on Sunday, which would put voting day sometime in late April or early May.

Adrienne Murphy of the Liberal riding association said it’s possible Currie is acclaimed, noting the party has had the candidate application window open for a while.

Not so different?

Currie resigned his membership with the Green Party and become a Liberal Party member in the past week.

He said he feels the two parties have some shared political values.

“The principles that I espoused as a candidate for the Green Party, I still firmly believe in all of that, and I think that's consistent with what the Liberal message is and the Liberal platform,” he said.

As for his past as a Green Party candidate, Murphy said environmental issues are important to the Liberal Party, as well.

Currie said his views have softened, too, giving the example of ending the consumer carbon tax. He said as a Green four years ago he would have “railed against the idea,” but now sees it as sound policy given the political context.

Political winds howling

Currie said what ultimately tipped the scales for him was the dramatic shift in the Canadian political landscape over the last six weeks with the trade war and annexation talk from U.S President Donald Trump.

He said part of his decision is also a desire to be part of a party that could form the next government, and he feels the Liberals have a pragmatic, rational approach to the tariff threats from the U.S.

The latest national polling, according to 338Canada.com, has the Liberals with a slim two-point advantage over the Conservatives — 39 per cent to 37 per cent.

“I think the distinction between a Prime Minister Carney and a government led by Pierre Poilievre is stark,” Currie said.

“I want to be on the right side of the debate between an irrational fear and a rational, reasoned optimism for the future of the country.”

If he receives the nomination, Currie will be up against incumbent Conservative MP Frank Caputo — his former colleague in the Kamloops Crown counsel office, where both worked as prosecutors.

“I consider Frank a friend — I admire him in many ways and I wish him all the best, but I don't agree with his party," Currie said. "I think he’s in the wrong party for Canada.”

Murphy said there could be multiple potential candidates at the same stage as Currie looking to run for the Liberals in Kamloops-Shuswap-Central Rockies.

Castanet asked Liberal riding chair Prakash Koirala about the status of candidates for that riding. He said via email he was “unable to provide any details at this point.”

Nomination papers are due 21 days before election day, according to Elections Canada.