A former military man and professional clown, David Mohr feels he’s well prepared to tackle federal politics as the People’s Party of Canada candidate in the Victoria riding.
Mohr grew up in a Canadian Forces family travelling Canada and Europe and has “seen a lot” along at the way.
A military man himself, 70-year-old Mohr served in the army and navy reserve as well as the navy and was medically released. A sentiment that remains strong for him as he runs a campaign now is his late dad’s steadfast belief you vote for the best person for the job – even if their party politics don’t align.
Mohr recalls calling him up while in basic training, and not living where he’d be voting – to seek advice.
“You need to be voting for those (who) will be honest and do something,” Mohr recalls his father saying.
“I believe personally that no matter which party I run for, if the riding elects me, party doesn’t matter.
"The important part is that I represent what the people want and need. Sometimes that means you need to go against what your party says.”
Elections aren’t new for Mohr, he's been involved in different levels, including the Western Canada concept in Alberta and as a campaign manager for an election there.
A former member of the Conservative Party of BC, he served as riding president while living in Vancouver and ran for school board in Port Moody.
“I’ve been sort of involved in politics a bit,” he said. “I’ve just always done stuff like this. I was student body president at Okanagan University College at one time. I’ve always been involved in stuff that impacts people.”
He may also be familiar as a professional clown, magician and actor who has seven credits listed in the online movie database (IMDB).
For him, two major impacts face residents these days – falling for U.S. President Donald Trump’s “games” and the economy.
“We need to make Canada Canadian again, quit listening to what’s going on with Trump,” he said. “We’re falling for it. It’s ridiculous. He can impose tariffs all he wants, we don’t need to be getting so excited about him imposing tariffs. We have other people who want to buy our products.” he added.
He figures, from wheat to cars, “Europe is crying for products from Canada. We can diversify.”
From his perspective, the nation should also focus more at home instead of abroad.
“It’s not good. We have people starving, we have people without clean water, we have people without housing, and yet we’re sending how many billions of dollars to other countries … It’s time we looked after our own people first.”
