Ex-Tory MP Rahim Jaffer mulling federal Edmonton byelection run

OTTAWA — Former four-term MP Rahim Jaffer says he’s thinking about running for the Edmonton area seat currently held by departing Conservative Matt Jeneroux.

Jaffer told National Post that he saw the stars aligning for a possible comeback when Jeneroux announced last month he’d be resigning from Parliament, noting the news eerily dovetailed with a development in his personal life.

“My mom lives (in Jeneroux’s riding) and … a few weeks earlier, she’d approached me and said, oh, I want to downsize, why don’t you take over this house now?” said Jaffer. “It’s kind of funny, the timing.”

Jaffer says he’s been approached by a few different people about running for the soon-to-be-vacated seat and will take some time over the holidays to mull over a return to federal politics.

He said he’ll stand as a Conservative if he chooses to run and supports party leader Pierre Poilievre.

“(Poilievre) did not bad in the last campaign. There’s more reasons to try to continue to try to build around him than throw him out and start from scratch,” said Jaffer.

Jaffer said he liked Poilievre’s focus on common sense criminal justice measures targeting property crimes like auto thefts and home break-ins, noting that crime is a top concern across Edmonton..

He said he’s not currently a member of the Conservative party and hasn’t decided if he’ll be attending the party’s national convention in Calgary next month.

“You know, I hadn’t thought about (going to the Calgary convention) but one of the local riding association vice presidents recently told me, you gotta come, you gotta go get your membership up to date. So there’s still a window, I guess to do that,” said Jaffer.

First elected as a Reform MP in 1997, Jaffer spent 11 years representing a nearby Edmonton riding before losing a tight October 2008 race to NDP candidate Linda Duncan. He was appointed chair of the Conservative caucus in early 2006, serving until his departure from Parliament.

He was back in the headlines less than a year after his defeat, when a late-night impaired driving arrest raised questions about his post-government lobbying activities and business ties.

The 2009 DUI wasn’t Jaffer’s first brush with controversy. In 2001, he was caught sending an aide to impersonate him during a radio interview he was unable to attend, a stunt that got him demoted from his committee duties .

Jaffer returned to politics earlier this year to run for mayor of Edmonton, finishing in fifth place with just over four per cent of the vote.

Jeneroux has not said precisely when he will be leaving office and a byelection has not yet been scheduled.

National Post rmohamed@postmedia.com

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