London city councillor Arielle Kayabaga is moving into the arena of federal politics.
On Friday the Ward 13 councillor announced on Twitter she will be seeking the Liberal nomination in the London West riding held by Liberal Kate Young, who announced this week she would not be seeking re-election. Young has represented the riding since 2015.
A federal election could come this year, and Kayabaga plans to officially leave her council seat closer to the election.
The next municipal election is set for Oct. 22, 2022.
Her departure comes just over two weeks after two other left-leaning city councillors — Mo Salih and Jesse Helmer — together announced they would not run for re-election.
Kayabaga said rather than create a vacuum on the left, the departures will open up opportunities for new voices around the council table.
“It creates room for more people to come in, more progressive voices who are speaking on behalf of London,” she said.
Kayabaga said she’s seeking the federal nomination to help those hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This year has been extremely difficult on many people and I think that this is the time the federal government needs strong voices,” she said. “The pandemic disproportionately affected people of colour, women, especially young people and that’s the voices that are needed right now.”
Kayabaga is the first black women to serve on London city council and focused on poverty issues and downtown challenges, such as vacant buildings, during her term.
During a budget debate last year about cutting a library program to lend out Wi-Fi hot spots, Kayabaga called the move “anti-immigrant, anti-poverty, anti-women, anti-children.”
The program was eventually axed.
Kayabaga was born in Burundi and has a son.
