Ottawa Centre Liberal Party candidate Catherine McKenna said she wants to make an impact.
McKenna has served as an international trade lawyer, a legal advisor to the United Nations on peacekeeping, a lecturer on international affairs at the University of Toronto (U of T), and senior counsel on the review of Canada’s military justice system.
“I realized that politics really do matter,” the 44-year-old Hamilton, Ont. native said. “My practical experience and my real understanding of local and federal issues gives me an opportunity to make a difference in a very tangible way in people’s lives.”
McKenna’s extensive resume led Ottawa Citizen columnist Kelly Egan to ask why she decided to run in “the wrong, maybe the wrongest, urban riding.”
“Ottawa Centre is Fortress Dewar,” Egan wrote. New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate Paul Dewar has held the riding since 2006.
McKenna said she didn’t think twice about running in Ottawa.
“I’m running in Ottawa Centre because I live in Ottawa Centre,” she said. “I work in Ottawa Centre, I’ve been involved in boards in Ottawa Centre, my kids go to school in Ottawa Centre—I love Ottawa Centre.”
Carleton is an integral part of the Ottawa Centre community, McKenna said. She said she thinks the student vote could help her take down “Fortress Dewar.”
“I spend a lot of time around students,” McKenna said. She added she believes Justin Trudeau’s plan is the best for students, including $1.5 billion for student jobs.
McKenna said she wants to get more students to work, touching on experience they receive in work positions. She said the Liberals will create 40,000 jobs for young people every year for three years.
“If students aren’t getting the first job, they aren’t getting the second job, and they aren’t getting the third job that allows them to start a family and get out of their parents’ basements,” she said. “Not only do students lose, but their parents lose and the economy loses.”
“The reason we can make that investment is that the NDP and Conservatives are obsessed with balancing the budget,” McKenna said. “They’re not concerned with the future.”
“People see that we need critical investment and that our economy is really sluggish,” she added.
She said the Liberal youth jobs plan sets aside thirteen times more money than the NDP proposal. The NDP has promised $200 million for youth employment, including a “crackdown” on unpaid internships.
“It is very important that young people succeed because at some point you aren’t going to be young,” she said. “Somewhere down the road you’re going to be old people, and we need you to be productive members of society.”
McKenna also said she believes young people can resonate with Trudeau. She defended the 43-year-old leader’s record and reputation, and said he is not too inexperienced to be the prime minister.
“He has worked extraordinarily hard to rebuild the party and has actually done the best job to implement it,” she said.
McKenna said her party’s platform is also a better fit for the residents of Ottawa’s downtown riding.
She said the Liberals would invest in a footbridge connecting Vanier to Old Ottawa East.
“It would make a big difference to get people to the Lansdowne area, where we’re trying to foster growth,” she said.
In addition to footbridges, McKenna said she has committed to bringing more social housing to the area.
“We have waitlists up to five years, and I see people living in terrible conditions in Ottawa Centre,” she said.
McKenna was born and raised in Hamilton, Ont. She received a degree in French and international relations from U of T, a graduate degree in international relations from the London School of Economics, and a law degree from McGill University.
“I live my life by impact,” McKenna said, “and when I’m knocking on doors I see people really resonating with our platform.”
