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Former Ontario NDP leader Howard Hampton scrummed after a special Sunday session of the Ontario legislature in this file photo, January 25, 2009.Tibor Kolley/The Globe and Mail
Former Ontario NDP leader Howard Hampton has announced he's seeking the federal NDP nomination in Kenora, Ont., which is shaping up to be a hotly contested riding, CKDR reports.
Hampton represented the area districts of Rainy River and later Kenora-Rainy River provincially from 1987 to 2011.
If he secures the nomination, Hampton would be up against Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford, the incumbent Conservative MP.
The Liberals are holding their nomination meeting Sunday, where it's widely expected former Indian Affairs Minister Bob Nault will be acclaimed.
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair appointed Hampton last year to act as a special adviser on the Ring of Fire, which holds one of the world's richest chromite deposits as well as nickel, copper and platinum.
Hampton took over leadership of Ontario's New Democrats following the Tory sweep in 1995 that defeated the province's only NDP government led by Bob Rae.