A Vanderhoof teacher wants to be the Conservative candidate in Cariboo-Prince George when the next federal election is called.
The constituency's current MP, Dick Harris, has not said he will be stepping down after 21 years in the job, but Gerald Caron said Monday he does not expect that will be an issue by this fall and chose to announce his intention now because school could begin as early as next week.
Caron acknowledged he is something of an outsider.
"A really important person in politics here in Prince George told me that politics has all to do with money - the more money you can get in, this is what's going to make you win," Caron said. "And I looked at him and said 'I'm pretty sure you're right, I just want to prove you're wrong.'"
To that end, Caron said he spent the entire month of July campaigning in Williams Lake, "passing out cards, going to all the events."
And while his support within the constituency association is limited, Caron said he does have connections higher up within the party.
Married and the father of four ranging from 15 to 23 years old, the 47-year-old Caron and his family have lived in Vanderhoof for 14 years, following brief stops in Alert Bay on Vancouver Island and in Prince George, where he taught at Duchess Park Secondary School for a year.
Caron earned a masters in business administration to become a school administrator but found he did not like that kind of work and got back into teaching.
He is now the second language specialist at the E-bus Academy, the province-wide online school based out of the community of 4,500 people west of Prince George.
If Caron will be remembered for anything by the time a candidate is chosen, it perhaps will be his facility with languages. Raised in Quebec, he speaks both of Canada's official languages as well as Cree and Spanish and said he recently delivered a speech in Punjabi.
Caron had nothing but good things to say about Harris and his performance during his years in office and, if he does become the constituency's next MP, plans to continue on the tradition of being an effective advocate for his constituents.
Caron said he is fiscally conservative and socially moderate.
"If you're socially moderate, you understand the people are best to judge their own moral standards," Caron said. "It is not the government that should implement moral dictates to people through legislation."
More on Caron can be found at geraldcaron.com.
