OTTAWA — Former New Democrat stalwart Svend Robinson says he's strongly considering a return to federal politics.
Robinson says that these are challenging times for the party and if he decides to run in Burnaby North—Seymour, he hopes it helps the candidate in the next riding over — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.
Robinson, 66, represented the Vancouver-area riding of Burnaby for 25 years and until 2004, when he admitted he stole a diamond ring from an auction, said he was under too much strain, and left politics.
Since then he's spent his time in Switzerland working with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and after retiring last year, Robinson and his partner moved to Cyprus.
Despite insisting that he's hasn't definitely bad up his mind, Robinson says over the phone from Cyprus that he spent a month door-knocking in the riding this fall and sent a letter to residents saying that he is seriously considering a run.
He says a number of experienced members of the NDP caucus are not standing for re-election and that's where he could make a contribution.