Broadcaster Marci Ien says she’s throwing her hat in the ring to become a Liberal MP for Toronto Centre, the riding most recently represented by former finance minister Bill Morneau.

Ien announced her candidacy in a message on her social media channels Thursday.

“I've always strived to provide a voice to people who need it most — and now more than ever, we need all Canadians’ voices and aspirations to be reflected in the hard work of building a better future,” she wrote. “That’s why I’m running to be your Liberal candidate in Toronto Centre.”

In a statement to CP24.com, the Liberal Party said Ien will be the party’s candidate for Toronto Centre.

Ien, 51, started her broadcast career in the early 90s and has worked as a reporter, as well as a co-anchor on the former CTV morning program Canada AM. Since 2017, she has been one of the co-hosts of the daytime talk program The Social on CTV.

Ien said she is taking a leave of absence from Bell Media, of which CTV and CP24 are divisions, as she seeks office.

Ien did not appear on The Social on Thursday, with co-host Melissa Grelo simply saying that “Marci is off.”

Ien was also in the public eye off-camera in 2018 when she penned an op-ed in The Globe and Mail accusing Toronto police of following her home and questioning her for “driving while Black” after she allegedly rolled through a stop sign near her home. Toronto police denied the interaction was racist. However Ien maintained that the stop and the subsequent line of questioning were unacceptable and said she was never given a ticket.

In her post Thursday, Ien touched on some of those same themes.

“For 30 years, I’ve heard the stories of Canadians who want a future where everyone has a fair chance at success. A future rooted in empathy and inclusion — without prejudice, racism, or discrimination,” she wrote. “It’s the Canada @JustinTrudeau is working to build, and the task is urgent.”

The Toronto Centre seat has been empty since Morneau announced last month that he was stepping down from his role as finance minister and as an MPP. His resignation came in the wake of a scandal around a lucrative contract handed to the WE Charity. He failed to recuse himself from the decision and it was later revealed that his daughter works for the organization and that he had taken expensive trips paid for by WE.

Last week Elections Canada also announced that Morneau had violated the Elections Act in the lead-up to the 2019 election.

A date has not yet been set for a byelection to fill Morneau’s seat. The earliest possible date is October 26 and the byelection must be held by Feb. 20, 2021. A bylection will likely be held for York Centre at the same time and the Liberal Party said Thursday that community advocate Ya’ara Saks will be the Liberal candidate for that riding.  

The Liberal nomination will likely mean an easy path to election for Ien. Morneau won the riding last year with 57.4 per cent of the vote, while NDP candidate Brian Chang – the closest competitor – took just 22.3 per cent. The riding has been held by the Liberals since 1993.

Both CTV and CP24 are divisions of Bell Media