Jeff May, who had filed his nomination papers to be the Liberal candidate for Dufferin- Caledon in the next federal election, has withdrawn his candidacy.

Mr. May, who said he was withdrawing at a riding association fundraiser Tuesday in Caledon, cited personal reasons for his decision. The move currently leaves Garth Turner as the only candidate for the nomination.

While it currently appears the nomination is Mr. Turner's for the asking, the chair of the Dufferin Caledon Federal Liberal Association (DCFLA) membership committee says it is not necessarily a done deal.

"The party will send someone to run a nomination meeting," said Janet Rosenstock in an interview. "If there are no other candidates, of course he will be nominated. But I never count my candidates until they hatch."

The often controversial Mr. Turner is somewhat of a political journeyman. After serving as a Progressive Conservative MP between 1988 and 1993 for Halton Peel (which incorporated parts of the current Dufferin Caledon), the business journalist and author of investment advice books returned to federal politics in 2006, winning Halton riding for the Conservatives.

His outspoken views put him in conflict with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and he was suspended from the caucus in October, 2006.

He sat as an independent until February, 2007 when he crossed the floor to join the Liberals. He ran in the last election as a Liberal, losing to Conservative Lisa Raitt, who became Minister of Natural Resources.

The guest speaker at the fundraiser was Martha Hall-Findlay, Liberal opposition critic for public works and government services.

When she asked those present what each thought was the "burning issue" in politics, there were several answers ranging from the economy to the environment to foreign affairs.

Ms. Hall Findlay spoke at some length on Omar Khadr, 22, the Canadian citizen who is now the last Western prisoner held at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre in Cuba, based on allegations that as a 15-year-old he threw a grenade that killed a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan. The Harper government has refused to ask for his repatriation to Canada and this week asked the Supreme Court of Canada to hear an appeal against a Federal Court of Appeal ruling that it seek his return.

She said Mr. Khadr may not be popular among many Canadians, but the federal government should view the issue "from the perspective of the tenets of Canadian justice."

Mr. Khadr's is "just one of a half dozen cases where the government has picked and chosen who it treats as Canadian citizens," said Ms. Hall Findlay. "It doesn't mean much when you won't stand by Canadians just because you may not like them."

As for the local association, interim president Dennis Adair said "financially, the association is fairly well off." He said membership has risen to 153 full members, as opposed to around 80 at the time of the October 2008 election.