Former Newmarket mayor Van Bynen seeks Liberal nomination for Newmarket-Aurora

Tony Van Bynen announces intention after being retired from municipal politics for 179 days

Yorkregion.com
May 23, 2019
Teresa Latchford

Former Newmarket mayor Tony Van Bynen announced he is seeking the nomination to be the Liberal Party candidate for the riding of Newmarket-Aurora in this fall's federal election.

He only stepped away from municipal politics for 179 days before deciding to step up following current Newmarket-Aurora MP Kyle Peterson’s announcement that he will not seek re-election.

"I realize that after an 18-year municipal career, being steadfastly bipartisan, this might come as a surprise," Van Bynen said. 'However, I am very concerned about where this country could be headed if Andrew Scheer were to become prime minister. Climate change is very real and the Conservatives are pretending it is not a serious issue. I’ve seen the negative effects of provincial and federal neglect on our communities. We cannot afford to go backward."

Van Bynen said he is further concerned about protecting health care and social programs and, if successful in becoming the candidate, he is committed to being a voice for fiscal prudence.

"We need strong positive representation," he said. "The opportunity was unplanned, but someone needs to step up."

A nomination meeting has yet to be called, but is expected within the coming weeks. For now, Van Bynen is working through the process of collecting 100 signatures of support from Liberal members.

"We need to build a renewed spirit of working together," he said. "I have spent my entire municipal career working in a bipartisan basis to achieve results for Newmarket and York Region. Quite frankly, Ottawa needs more of that."

As for potentially going head-to-head with former Newmarket-Aurora Conservative MP Lois Brown, Van Bynen said the two have worked together for years in a professional and courteous manner and he would expect the same would go for the campaign.

Van Bynen was first elected to Newmarket town council 18 years ago as a councillor. He later went on to become regional councillor, then served three terms as mayor. Before venturing into politics, he spent more than 25 years in the financial services sector.