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A familiar face to many North Burnaby residents is hoping to make a political comeback.

More than 14 years after Svend Robinson resigned as the area's MP, he's going to take on Liberal incumbent Terry Beech in Burnaby North—Seymour.

"I'm here to announce today that I will be running in the upcoming federal election as the New Democrat candidate in this riding," Robinson told reporters.

Robinson, the first openly gay MP, plans to emphasize climate change and inequality in his campaign.

Beech defeated NDP candidate Carol Baird Ellan by 3,401 votes in the 2015 election. In third place was Mike Little, who was elected last year as mayor of the District of North Vancouver.

Robinson represented residents in North Burnaby for 25 years. He was known as an outstanding constituency politician, responding effectively to residents' immigration and student-loan concerns and generating positive media coverage for giving away parliamentary raises to fund scholarships in the riding.

But his career ended when he stole an expensive ring at a public jewellery sale.

He admitted the crime and was diagnosed with a form of bipolar disorder.

He later worked for several years with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Robinson's announcement is generating a fair amount of discussion over Twitter.