Liberals pick candidate to run against Jody Wilson-Raybould in Vancouver Granville riding

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The federal Liberals have decided who will represent the party to go head-to-head against former Liberal Jody Wilson-Raybould in this year’s federal election.

Taleeb Noormohamed is set to be acclaimed as the party’s candidate in the Vancouver Granville riding on Tuesday, August 13.

“Taleeb Noormohamed is the only qualified nomination contestant to have successfully completed the nomination application process,” reads a release from the federal Liberal party.

Wilson-Raybould won the riding as a Liberal during the last federal election, but currently sits as an independent after she was kicked out of the party following the SNC-Lavalin scandal.

While there was speculation she might join another party, Wilson-Raybould announced she would run for re-election in October as an independent.

A tech entrepreneur and investor, Noormohamed recently served as Chief Growth Officer of Farfetch, an online luxury fashion retail platform. He also previously served as a senior executive for short-term vacation rental website, HomeAway.

This will not be Noormohamed’s first brush with politics. In 2011, he ran in the federal election as a Liberal candidate in the riding of North Vancouver, but lost to Conservative Andrew Saxton. Last year, he ran to become Vision Vancouver’s mayoral candidate in the municipal election before dropping out.

He’s also worked under Liberal Prime Ministers Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin in the privy council office.

Many eyes are on the Vancouver Granville riding to see if Wilson-Raybould can hold on to her seat as an independent. She was at the centre of the SNC-Lavalin scandal prior to getting the boot from the Liberal caucus from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who also kicked out MP Jane Philpott.

The scandal, which started in February, centred around allegations the Prime Minister’s Office pressured the then-Attorney General to help the Quebec engineering firm avoid criminal prosecution, which Trudeau has denied.

Also running in the riding is Yvonne Hanson for the NDP and Naomi Leszkiewicz Chocyk for the new People’s Party of Canada. The Conservatives have named Zach Segal as their candidate.