WATERLOO - Waterloo city Coun. Diane Freeman is working on an upgrade.

She will attempt to move up a couple levels of government by seeking the Waterloo New Democratic Party nomination for the Oct. 19 federal election.

"I absolutely love what I do at city council and that's why I sought reelection and I would like to take all of that knowledge that I've learned at city council and see whether the citizens would like me to deliver that at a higher level," Freeman said in an interview.

Freeman made the announcement at a media event Thursday at a child care centre on Noecker Street in Waterloo.

She is the first to announce she will seek the local New Democratic Party nomination. A nomination meeting date has not yet been set.

She was bolstered by her decade-long friend Catherine Fife, New Democratic Party MPP for Kitchener-Waterloo.

"Diane has the knowledge, she has the work ethic and she has a proven track record combined with strong principles and compassion," Fife said. "She will draw support form all parties in this upcoming federal election because she has earned the respect of so many different stakeholders in Waterloo Region."

Freeman is in her third term as a Waterloo councillor and, an avid cyclist herself, is known for her staunch beliefs in active transportation and building better infrastructure to support it.

She was just re-elected in October and has no plans to vacate her council seat for the time being.

Freeman would take an unpaid leave of absence during the 30-day campaign period.

"Right now I have a job to do that I've been asked to do by the citizens," Freeman said.

The licensed professional engineer lives in Waterloo with her husband and two sons and is a past-president of Professional Engineers Ontario. She's also founding president of the Butterfly Learning Centre and a member of the Grand River Hospital Board.

For many years Freeman said she was a card-carrying Liberal but realized of late that her values no longer line up with the federal Liberal party.

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"Some time ago I realized that I no longer see my values reflected in that party," Freeman said at the news conference. "We cannot manage the complex challenges of our country's future through policies created in the past."

Freeman rounds out the list of candidates for the Waterloo riding, which includes incumbent Conservative MP Peter Braid, Liberal Bardish Chagger and Richard Walsh for the Greens.