A standup comedian is standing up for the Liberal Party in New Westminster-Burnaby.
Will Davis expects to be acclaimed in the party’s nomination ahead of the Oct. 21 federal election.
The father of five and Coquitlam resident said his varied professional background, from comedy to media to small business to charity work, has prepared him for politics.
“All that service, I never stopped being involved in my community,” Davis said. “I’ve always advocated and I’ve always worked in the community.”
Davis recently resigned from his most recent job as the executive director of Multicultural Helping House Society, a non-profit providing services to new Canadians.
According to the Georgia Straight, the organization has been mired in controversy, with members of its board accused of “conflicts of interest, mismanagement and inappropriate business transactions.”
Davis said he spent the last six months at the organization trying to fix the issues but ultimately had to leave. He said the timing of his departure was not tied to his foray into politics.
His LinkedIn profile notes he was a professional comedian for several years and was the founder and curator of a company that helped run the Vancouver International Comedy Festival.
Now Davis has a new challenge on his hands: trying to unseat longtime incumbent Peter Julian, the NDP MP who has held the seat since 2004 and beat his closest challenger by more than 7,500 votes in 2015.
But Davis said he is no sacrificial lamb.
“My goal is to be an MP,” he said. “My goal is to serve this riding to the best of my ability and I’m going to give them everything I got.”
Davis said he can offer something Julian can’t: a voice in government. The NDP are very unlikely to form government, but should the Liberals be returned to power, Davis said he could provide a direct line for New West-Burnaby residents to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet.
“This riding is essential because it has been stuck for a generation in the hands of the opposition,” Davis said of Julian, whom he called “ineffective.”
For example, Davis said, a Liberal MP could better advocate for federal money for the Canada Games Pool.
