Seamus Heffernan has been chosen by the Liberal Party to run in the Abbotsford riding held by Conservative MP Ed Fast.

Heffernan is an author and constituency manager to Jati Sidhu, the Liberal MP in the neighbouring riding of Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon.

The Liberals will hold an event Saturday at Matsqui Centennial Auditorium to officially nominate Heffernan. Although others expressed interest in running for the Liberals, Heffernan said the party did not sign-off on their candidacies. That leaves Heffernan to be nominated by acclamation on Saturday.

“In my work with MP Sidhu, I’ve had the chance to work closely with the municipal leadership of Abbotsford on a wide range of issues,” Heffernan said in a press release. “I know very well the challenges facing this city as it continues to grow and prosper, and I look forward to bringing its concerns to Ottawa, specifically as regards infrastructure, housing, healthcare and public safety.”

Heffernan has written two crime novels and has a master’s degree from the University of the Fraser Valley, where he worked as an instructor in the criminology department. He has worked for Sidhu since 2016.

Heffernan’s candidacy means that assistants for both of Abbotsford’s members of Parliament are running against the incumbent in the riding adjacent to their boss’s electoral district. While Heffernan runs against Fast, Brad Vis – a longtime assistant to Fast – is running against Jati Sidhu, Heffernan’s employer.

Fast also recently took the rare step of publicly criticizing an MP of a neighbouring riding when he told the Mission Record Sidhu should be doing more to secure funding for a much-needed sewer pipe. (Sidhu said he had done so repeatedly.)

Madeleine Sauve, meanwhile, is running for the NDP in the Abbotsford riding. The Green Party has not yet announced its candidate.

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