Youth for Anita Vandenbeld for Ottawa West-Nepean

A Very Happy Birthday to Anita from the entire Youth for Anita team! Have a great day. 







That Tim Horton's cake you got looks great!



Today is Anita's 43rd birthday. Wish her a happy birthday with a donation to the Ottawa-West-Nepean Federal Liberal association to help her become the next Member of Parliament for our riding!  You can donate here. 

The incredible momentum of Team Anita has not slowed down one bit since winning the Liberal nomination for Ottawa West-Nepean last month. Anita has kept busy attending events in the community and reaching out to constituents!

Campaign training and door -to-door  canvassing is also in full swing! You can help lay the groundwork for a  successful campaign and big Liberal win in  2015. If you want to be part of our winning team and help elect an amazing  Member of Parliament in 2015, get started by sending a quick email to info@electanita.ca. Anita brings to the table a blend of impressive international credentials as an expert on democracy and human rights, along with a a refreshing personal and grassroots approach to politics.

Here's a pic from the latest "train the trainers" session, hosted by our regional Liberal party fieldworker. Come out to learn how you can help us win in Ottawa West-Nepean!

This is it folks!! It's almost time for the Liberal community in Ottawa West-Nepean to choose their candidate for the 2015 Federal Election.

In just one short week, you can help nominate Anita Vandenbeld to be that candidate!

Over the past months, this blog has chronicled Anita's journey of: reaching out to residents of Ottawa West-Nepean, making connections , building a team and laying the groundwork for a win in the 2015 general election. Anita commitment to public service, her international experience and her impeccable character make her an excellent candidate. Her extensive political experience and deep roots in this riding,  also make her the most winnable Liberal candidate in Ottawa West-Nepean.

The hard work of Anita and her committed team of volunteers will come to fruition on November 2nd! This final push will be crucial in ensuring that we get all of our supporters out to vote for Anita on nomination day. 

You can help!

 The Ottawa West-Nepean nomination contest will be held on Sunday, November 2. I can't tell you how excited I am that we finally have our date. The entire campaign team -- all of us volunteers -- have been working for months towards this.  - Anita Vandenbeld

Coming up is the final big push to help nominate Anita to be the Liberal candidate in Ottawa West-Nepean! We have to be on our game from now until the nomination date to build as much support as possible for Anita.

Anita will be a strong voice and an excellent representative for Ottawa West-Nepean. She brings with her international experience, tremendous compassion, a deep understanding of this riding and a proven track record. Not only would Anita make a fantastic Member of Parliament, but her political experience and commitment to engage and connect with residents of Ottawa West-Nepean make her the most electable Liberal candidate in a general election.

All indications are that the nomination meeting will be in October, which means we are in the final stretch!  If you know anyone who will want to vote at the nomination meeting, please make sure to get them a membership now, as the cut-off date is retroactive and could be as much as a month before the meeting.  If you're not sure your membership is current, just go to www.Liberal.ca/memberships and renew your membership, which will be valid from now until the end of 2015.

Thérèse Casgrain award disappeared under Stephen Harper government: Editorial

PM Harper risks losing economy as election trump card

Harper's credibility on the issue of the economy is quickly diminishing, and the argument that Harper is a sound economic manager is looking very thin. While Harper has been losing ground on the economy, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau is inspiring confidence and building trust with his positive message and vision for Canada which is focused on the middle class. Read L Ian MacDonald's article on why the economy may be one of the many issues going against Harper in 2015.

Harper has ignored Canadian ways while destroying our reputation

This is an excellent article that articulates the disconnect between how Canadians view our foreign policy and how it actually is under Harper/Baird. When foreign policy becomes a tool of domestic partisan politics, it leaves the rest of the world seeing Canada as unpredictable and inconsistent at best, and obstructionist and inflammatory at worst.


'Preventing poverty' not a valid goal for tax purposes, CRA tells Oxfam Canada
An active civil society is one of the tenets of a thriving democracy. Going after a world-recognized charitable organization that works with communities at risk in the poorest countries of the world - ostensibly because preventing poverty might be helping someone who isn't actually already poor - would be laughable if it wasn't so serious.


Tribunal can deny in-person appeals in disability benefits case

This Conservative government chooses consistently to undermine the rights of those who already have little voice. This is a denial of basic justice for persons living with disabilities. I know from my own family's experience how intimidating the CPP disability written forms can be - especially for those suffering from head injuries or cognitive or anxiety disorders. What can we do for those whose very disability makes it hard to include all the relevant details in bureaucratic language on the forms? Everyone should have a right to an in-person appeal.


Have an article that you'd like us to share? We want to hear from you. Send us your suggestion to: info@electanita.ca

You can also connect with Anita in any of the following ways:

Web: http://www.electanita.ca/
Facebook:  Anita Vandenbeld for Ottawa West-Nepean
Twitter: @anitavandenbeld 

The Ontario election is just over a month old, and since then Team Anita and Liberals across the country have been hard at work. July started off great with two new Liberal MP's being elected in  

This is what momentum looks like! It was standing room only at the latest Team Anita volunteer meeting. Anita has a committed team of volunteers who are working hard to help her get the Liberal nomination for Ottawa West-Nepean. The team meets on the first and third Mondays of every month at 7 pm  (email info@electanita.ca for details). We hope you can join our strong (and growing) group of volunteers. 

Hey all!

As you probably know...were nearing the end of a very important provincial election! Ottawa West-Nepean has been well served by Bob Chiarelli, so lets work hard to make sure he is re-elected on June 12th. Its not too late to find out how you can help re-elect Bob Chiaerelli MPP for OWN. Remember, Election Day will require every volunteer!

That being said, we'll start off our photo recap with an Anita selfie , taken shortly after voting in the advanced polls for Bob:




Anita was honoured  to be a panel speaker at the Universal Peace Federation and Women's Federation of World Peace conference at the Travelodge on Carling Avenue. She spoke about whether Canada is still a model of Good Governance. . As a senior advisor to the United Nations, Anita has traveled the globe and learned first-hand the immeasurable value of our Canadian democracy. Her experience includes counselling the UNDP in Vietnam and authoring a study on womens political participation, working as a technical speacialist on Parliamentary committees in Bangladesh and establishing a political party program in DRC during the 2011 Congolese elections. and Other distinguished speakers included Karen McCrimmon, Monia Mazigh, Senator Mobina Jaffer, and keynote speaker Stephane Dion.

On Friday May 30th, Anita will be a speaker at the "The Conscience of Canada Conference"
, on a panel discussion entitled: 'Is Canada A Model of Good Government'. There is an impressive line-up of speakers, including Stephane Dion as the keynote. Anita will surely draw from her years of international experience promoting democracy and human rights abroad as she weighs in on this important subject . You can register to attend the conference here!

The Youth For Anita team is pleased to invite you to join Anita at "Politics in the Pub" hosted by the Ottawa West-Nepean Federal Liberal Association.  We are very fortunate to host Liberal critic for Democratic Reform, Sccott Simms. You can find the Facebook event and all the other information  here!

Date: Monday April 28th
Place: Royal Oak in Centrepoint 
Time: 7 pm


The topic of discussion will be Democratic Reform. As you probably know, this is a very timely topic!
The 'Fair Elections' Act has been met with significant opposition from experts on democracy, senior public officials and countless everyday people who care about the state of our democracy. This event will provide a good opportunity to learn about the contents of the bill - both good and bad.

Two articles stand out to me on this subject. The first is Anita's excellent piece published in iPolitics, in which she draws on her international experience to comment on the proposals in the ''Fair Elections' Act:

" Not only does Bill C-23 undermine the legitimacy of Canadian elections, it also has the potential to disfranchise hundreds of thousands of Canadian citizens. This is taking voter suppression to a whole new level. At a time when voter turnout in elections is going down, making it harder to vote can only be motivated by partisan interests — not by any public good.

Once, Canada led the world on open elections and transparent institutions. Canadians need to speak out now before we lose our voice forever" 

-Anita Vandenbeld

The second is an open letter, signed by hundreds of professors across the country:

"Last month, more than 160 professors signed an open letter to express grave concerns about the damage to Canadian democracy that the “Fair Elections Act,” Bill C-23, would cause. Today, we the undersigned, an even larger group of professors who share a deep concern over this legislation, urge the government to withdraw the bill and draft truly fair election reforms based on meaningful consultations with opposition parties, non-partisan experts, Elections Canada and the public. There is no reason to depart from this laudable Canadian tradition for electoral reform."


I encourage you to read both articles, to enjoy your weekend and then share YOUR views on the subject with us at the upcoming "Politics in the Pub".  See you there!



Here's an 'oldiee but a goodie' of Anita with some of her youth supporters:

A friendly reminder that TONIGHT, Tuesday April 22nd , there will be a meeting for all Team Anita volunteers. Email info@electanita.ca for the details or sign up on Anita's volunteer page.  If you can't make it tonight, no problem! Signing up on as a volunteer on Anita's website means you will be notified about upcoming meetings.

Volunteering can take many forms. It can be as simple as making a few calls, knocking on doors in your neighborhood or helping to recruit supporters. No matter what your interest , availability or past experience, there are ample opportunities to contribute. Without a doubt, volunteer's are at the core of any successful election campaign. Anita has a committed team supporting her... intent on making change in Ottawa West-Nepean!

We hope to see you there!

Anita posted this on Facebook, and I wanted to share:

"One year ago today Justin Trudeau became Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. During this past year he has inspired so many people and rebuilt the Liberal party into a real force for change in our country. He has inspired many - like myself - to put our names forward to run in the 2015 election. HOPE AND HARD WORK!"

We've seen great results with Justin as leader - the Liberal vote rising in by-elections across the country and with some of the best fundraising results our party has ever seen - all because Justin and the Liberal team are doing a great job of holding Harper to account and laying out a positive vision to revitalize the Canadian middle class.

Let us know if you want to help Anita be a part of #TeamTrudeau! 

"This week is national volunteer week. Time to celebrate Canada's 13.3 million volunteers, starting with my own incredibly committed team of amazing campaign volunteers! Thanks everyone!" - Anita 


Do you want to volunteer for Anita? Check out her volunteer page or email info@electanita.ca for information on how YOU can join the winning team in Ottawa West-Nepean. 

What kind of Member of Parliament would Anita be?

“I am running because I believe that the role of a Member of Parliament is to listen carefully to the voices of people in our community and to reliably represent their ideas and solutions in parliament.

I have spoken to thousands of people in Ottawa West-Nepean in the past few years. You have told me your worries and fears, and some of you have even cried with me. But you have also shared your triumphs and your ideas.” - Anita Vandenbeld

To show how Anita is reaching out to the OWN community, I wanted to recap one of her many busy weeks on the campaign trail:

- On Monday Anita attended the Ottawa West-Nepean Federal Liberal Association Politics in the Pub, discussing policy development in the Liberal Party and how the OWNFLA got THREE resolutions prioritized and passed by the Liberal party.
- Tuesday, Anita spoke about her experiences working with women in Congo at a very powerful event held at the Ottawa Public Library.
- Every Wednesday from 5-6pm you can join Anita at the Tim Horton’s on 2970 Carling Ave. This is always a good opportunity to discuss your ideas, concerns and accomplishments with Anita! Later that day, Anita attended the thought provoking ‘Open Town Hall for Millenials’, hosted by our good friends the Nepean Young Liberals.
- Thursday evening, Anita enjoyed the  OWNFLA wine and cheese with the Hon. Ralph Goodale, who spoke about the economy, democracy and Liberal values.
- On Friday, Anita spoke at the University of Ottawa Equal Voice AGM, speaking to the group about women in Canadian politics.
- Saturday night, Anita and her partner Don attended the Ottawa Muslim Association dinner, enjoying good food and great company.

So there you have it,  a recap of just some of the events that Anita takes part in during an average week!

Want to attend an event with Anita?  Check her Facebook page and website for updates. Email info@electanita.ca for any questions about events that Anita will be attending.

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself, and to say why I'm one of the many young people supporting Anita Vandenbeld for Ottawa West-Nepean. My name is Steven Patterson and I'm  a second year Political Studies student at Queen's University. Politics is  one of the first things I think about when I wake up, and the last thing I'm thinking about when I go to sleep. So its no surprise that I have volunteered on election campaigns before, but Anita  stood out from the start as one of the most committed,  compassionate and thoughtful candidates that I've had the pleasure of meeting.

Anita Vandenbeld is seeking the Liberal Nomination in Ottawa West-Nepean, and I warmly support her candidacy. Anita has a rare blend of  impressive international credentials ,along with the ideal character for someone pursuing public office. To say she's an expert on democracy and human rights is probably an understatement, and her practical experience on the world stage speaks for itself. Beyond that, Anita is friendly, approachable and humble. I know she's in it for the right reasons, and that the people of Ottawa West-Nepean would be well served by her hard work, intelligence and local approach to politics.

Throughout the campaign I will be posting my thoughts on the nomination, political news, information on special events and also sharing the perspectives of other youth who are supporting Anita. Check back here often for updates. I encourage everyone to also check out Anita's Facebook page and official website.

Steven Patterson
Young Liberal
Vice President of External Affairs, Queen's University Liberal Association

- If you'd like to contribute to 'Youth For Anita', or to get involved in the campaign in another way, please email info@electanita.ca or fill out an online volunteer form.