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OTTAWA — After seven months of waiting, the federal New Democrats scored their first leadership candidate: Peter Julian, who had already technically registered as a candidate, finally committed to his leadership bid Sunday afternoon.

With the campaign phrase “seize the moment,” Julian made the 25-minute, bilingual announcement at the Columbia Theatre in New Westminster, B.C. and broadcast it live on Facebook. He has represented New Westminster and Burnaby in the House of Commons since 2004.

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“Our vision is to change politics in this country. We have an appointment with destiny in the fall of 2019, just 33 months from now,” Julian said. “The next election will not be about polls or money or any of the superficial things our national media love to talk about. The next election is about the future of our country and of our planet.”

Offering myriad clues about his platform, Julian emphasized climate change and clean energy. With no opponents to debate yet, he took a long-term view and attacked the policies of both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump.