Conservatives pick Jimmy Yu to run in Saint-Laurent byelection

Cultural events organizer Jimmy Yu will represent the federal Conservatives in the upcomingSaint-Laurent byelection.

Yuannounced his candidacy at a restaurant inSaint-Laurent Tuesday night.

"The Liberals didn't keep their promise, they have a really big deficit," he said.

"That's what encouraged me to run again against the Liberal party."

Yu also ran in the 2015 election, earning just 19.5 per centof the vote, a distant second to Stphane Dion's 61 per cent.

In a speech following the announcement, Yu highlighted his immigrant roots and panned the Liberals for authorizingsafe injection sites.

"The Liberal government already approved three injection sites, and I will never allow [one]to be in my riding."

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And while he wouldn't formally endorse any Conservative leadership candidates, leadership hopefulKellieLeitchwas there to show her support.

"As Jimmy says,we are a country built on immigrants and this is a huge opportunity for him, someone's who's so hardworking [who] will be talking about those things that resonate with voters here in Montreal," Leitchtold CBC News.

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