A familiar face is re-entering Vancouver politics, this time at the federal level. Former Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson will run for the Liberal party in the new riding of Vancouver Fraserview-South Burnaby. Outgoing Liberal MP Harjit Sajjan currently represents the area. “We are in unprecedented times, our country is literally under siege from President (Donald) Trump, our sovereignty is on the table, which is unthinkable,” Robertson told Global News of his decision to re-enter the political arena. “This is a time when we all have to stand up.” Robertson was mayor of Vancouver from 2008 to 2018, and served as a provincial MLA in Vancouver-Fairview from 2005 to 2008 before that. He’s also known for his entrepreneurship, as a co-founder of the Happy Planet juice company. It’s a resume Robertson said would make him an ideal MP. “As a former mayor and also elected in British Columbia, I know how provincial and city governments work and I can bring that voice to Ottawa,” he said. “This is the time when we need expertise, we need experience, and bringing my own business and entrepreneurship to the table and knowing how cities work will be helpful I think for Canada.” Not everyone agrees. The Conservative Party was quick to attack Robertson’s nomination, accusing him of being a green “extremist” who presided over record increases in home prices, taxes and drug deaths in the region. “If this is a star candidate, I’m worried but I’m not really surprised because this is a government that really does tout so many of the values that the former mayor touts,” said Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola Conservative candidate Frank Caputo. “Safe supply that has shown itself to be not safe, cutting off our resources — these are the types of things where the Liberals don’t have a plan when it comes to prosperity for Canadians.” Robertson famously pledged to “end homelessness” in Vancouver by 2015. A decade later, the problem has only grown worse. Asked if he regretted making the pledge, Robertson told Global News he still feels it is important to set “big goals,” something he’d continue to pursue at a federal level. He also defended his record in office, saying Vancouver had the strongest municipal economy in Canada during his term, built more affordable housing than any previous administration, and stood on the world stage both for the 2010 Olympics and the Women’s World Cup. “We had a very aggressive and ambitious approach with homelessness and affordable housing,” Robertson said. “We didn’t realize it at the time, but we were at the front end of a global housing crisis, which has now spread right across B.C., across Canada, across the world.” UBC political scientist Max Cameron said Liberal Leader Mark Carney’s choice to tap the former mayor suggests he wants to put a fresh stamp on the incumbent party. “It’s going to be part of an effort by Carney, in particular, to show that even though he’s running for the Liberal Party, which has been in office for the last 10 years, he represents change, so he is going to want to bring in some new faces,” he said. Bringing in someone who had previously been elected as a provincial New Democrat could also signal the Liberals want to be seen as a “big tent” party, he added. Canadians will go to the polls on April 28.