Former Conservative MP and floor-crosser Eve Adams says she chose to seek the Liberal nomination in Joe Oliver’s riding because the best way she can serve her new party is by knocking off the finance minister in the upcoming federal election.

The Star has reported that, according to Liberal sources, Adams — the controversial and longtime Conservative who crossed over to the Liberals in early February, and days later announced she is seeking the nomination in the federal midtown Toronto riding of Eglinton-Lawrence — was forced to accept the riding because the party is holding two other open Liberal seats in the city, including one for a possible bid by departing Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair.

Blair hasn’t yet declared any intentions.

But Adams maintains the choice was hers.

“This is the riding I chose. Honestly, the best way I can serve the Liberal party is to run against Joe Oliver. I’ve got a strong proven track record of winning each and every campaign that I’ve ever entered, knock on wood. I’ve campaigned now over 20 times,” said Adams in an exclusive interview Sunday.

The Mississauga MP has no prior ties to the riding. She crossed to the Liberals after being barred from running for the Conservatives in the upcoming federal election over allegations of misconduct by her in connection with a Conservative nomination race in Oakville North-Burlington.

She denies she was involved in any misconduct in the race.

Her nomination battle has caused a serious split in Liberal ranks, and harsh criticism from the likes of Mike Colle, a veteran MPP who represents the Eglinton-Lawrence provincially, and who is endorsing Toronto lawyer Marco Mendicino, who is squaring off against Adams in the nomination battle.

Adams, who says she hopes to have Colle on her side after she captures the nomination, admitted she’s had to win over voters in the riding who were skeptical about her being parachuted from a distant GTA suburb.

She’s been knocking on doors in the area for about two months now, signing up new members for the party in her bid to capture the nomination.

“Certainly, in the first week there was certainly a bit of surprise (about my nomination bid). That’s normal, but that has really changed. So now, community by community, we’ve actually developed a large group of volunteers and local captains, so I’m out regularly three or four times a week, out canvassing, building a groundswell of support,” she said at the Lawrence Heights community centre, where she met with a full room of her volunteers.

She says Joe Oliver has been a “phantom” MP in the riding and been “MIA in Ottawa.”

Adams, who has a home in Oakville, says she and her family — son Jeffrey, 9, and fiancé Dimitri Soudas and his four children, who are aged 4 to 10 — have been looking at houses in the riding because she firmly believes candidates should live in the areas they represent.

“You need to face the traffic congestion residents face. You need to run into people at the grocery store so they can offer you insights and advice. I think it’s absolutely critical. So I’m very excited and very much looking forward to moving to Eglinton-Lawrence with my family,” she said Sunday, her son by her side.

She has signed Jeffrey up for soccer in the riding, she says.

Soudas is assisting with the door-knocking and membership sign-ups, she added.

Soudas was a loyalist to Stephen Harper going as far back as 2002 when Harper was in opposition. When Harper became prime minister, Soudas rose to director of communications.

He left the Prime Minister’s Office in 2011. After working for the Canadian Olympic Committee, he later became executive director of the Conservative Party of Canada. Soudas left that post after allegations he meddled in Adams’ Oakville North-Burlington nomination race on her behalf, a violation of the conditions of his duties as director of the party.

Adams called Eglinton-Lawrence a wonderful and diverse riding, where the issue of jobs, especially jobs for young people, is the number one priority.

“The top concern you hear at the door is that moms worry about their children being able to find a decent job that will pay for a mortgage in Toronto. That’s by far the most universal concern I am hearing at the door,” Adams says.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

On her prior harsh criticisms of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau in the House of Commons when she was a Conservative, Adams says: “People understand that because of your profession (as a politician) you need to make certain statements. But personally there was always a great deal of warmth with Mr. Trudeau and with many in the Liberal party.

“They were pretty thrilled when I came across. And they’ve been nothing but welcoming and warm, and I hope to repay their support with a great deal of hard work.”

She repeated her views that the Conservative’s income-splitting plan is wrong for the country, though she campaigned in support of the plan when she ran as a Conservative in 2011. She says she did so before the numbers were crunched and she realized that so few Canadians would benefit from the plan.